Former president Donald Trump was “depressed” in 2021 after being banned from social media, “Unprecedented” filmmaker Alex Holder said Wednesday
“That’s an interesting story. When I was at Mar-a-Lago, I saw a moment of him showing his true colors, when he was remarkably depressed and very upset,” Holder said at Vox Media’s Code Conference in Los Angeles. “And the reason he was so upset and depressed was because he was going through withdrawal from not being able to use social media…. He was really, really upset.”
The filmmaker also noted that he finds Trump’s mannerisms from that time “similar” to his reactions now amidst the Department of Justice’s ongoing Mar-a-Lago investigation.
“I think, seeing him now, [he] has a very similar facial reaction, similar way of speaking,” Holder said. “He’s scared [and] I think he should be.”
The British filmmaker also brought up a particularly memorable moment from filming “Unprecedented,” which was released in July 2022, that took place at the Jan. 6 Capitol riots. Holder noted how it influenced his take on whether media companies should intervene to prevent misinformation on social media.
“I’m there, Jan. 6, and we catch one of Trump’s own supporters dying on the steps of Capitol Hill, and the only reason they are there is because of Trump,” he said. “This happened in America — American citizens are going to the American Capitol by order of the American president to essentially assassinate the American vice president.”
“When you’re being an American company,” he continued, “and you see this happening on Twitter and on Facebook, I mean, it’s reasonable to assume there would be some emotional response.”
The former president was banned from virtually all social media platforms, including Twitter, Instagram and Twitter in early 2021 following the Jan. 6 Capitol riots; he has recently taken to Truth Social as an outlet for sharing his thoughts.
Holder’s three-part docuseries shed new light on Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign, his relationships with members of his family, and the Jan. 6 insurrection. It didn’t, however, provide bombshells about the Jan. 6 riots beyond what was revealed in Congressional hearings after Holder’s footage was subpoenaed by the House panel.
