Trump campaign manager compares 2020 campaign to the Death Star

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
(Image credit: Lucasfilm)

Of everything from Star Wars a presidential campaign could compare itself too, the comically evil superweapon that gets destroyed wouldn't normally be at the top of the list.

But on Thursday, Brad Parscale, President Trump's 2020 campaign manager, did just that, firing off a tweet declaring that the "juggernaut campaign" is the equivalent of the Death Star from the Star Wars franchise. You know, the one run by the sinister Empire that decimates planets and brutally murders people. This Death Star of a campaign is getting ready to press fire, Parscale declared.

This is not the first time the Trump campaign has compared itself to movie villains, having previously sent out a video depicting Trump as Thanos, the Avengers antagonist who wipes out half of all life in the universe. The creator of Thanos quickly shot back at "that pompous fool using my creation to stroke his infantile ego."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

At some point, the Trump campaign may want to check out how these movies end, considering Thanos in that clip is defeated literally moments later, and in Star Wars, the Death Star is destroyed as our heroes get the last laugh against the overconfident Grand Moff Tarkin. The Empire eventually makes another Death Star that's just blown up a second time.

After millions of voices cried out in "huh?" in response to the tweet, Parscale followed up by saying it's "the media" that's given the campaign the Death Star name, not him, but "I am happy to use the analogy," adding, "Laugh all you want, we will take the win!" Unlike the actual Empire, which did not, in fact, take a win.

Explore More
Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.