It’s been 30 years since “Dumb and Dumber” hit screens, and on Thursday morning, actor Jeff Daniels celebrated by “revealing” a secret — he based his character in the movie off of Eric Trump.
Stopping by “The View” in support of his new Netflix series “A Man in Full,” Daniels was first asked by the hosts if he based his newest character off of Donald Trump, considering the ego and crazy things he has and says in the series. Daniels was quick to debunk that, saying he really didn’t think of Trump at all.
Eventually, the conversation turned to “Dumb and Dumber,” with the women of “The View” wondering how he got into character as Harry Dunne.
“The key to Harry Dunne was, don’t act dumb, be dumb,” Daniels explained. “So, for whatever reason, I determined that he had an IQ of eight. Single digit IQ — not seven, not nine, eight.”
Daniels also explained that he acted as if Harry were “on a half-second” delay. And, at that, Behar questioned if maybe Harry was actually the character Daniels used Donald Trump as inspiration for.
“Eric,” Daniels replied quietly, leaning over in his chair.
The moment earned a huge laugh from the table and the audience, with Behar agreeing, “He is the dumbest one, you’re right.”
Now, obviously, Eric Trump almost certainly wasn’t an inspiration for the “Dumb and Dumber” character, considering he would’ve been roughly 10 years old when it came out.
“The View” airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET on ABC.