When discussing Hollywood, Donald Trump often sounds like a man of his age and time — rooted in a gauzy past, much like that older relative who, whenever the subject of movies and TV arises, tends to complain, “They don’t make ‘em like they used to.”
Listening to the new president, and seeing what cultural artifacts and personalties attract his attention (and wrath), reveals the fairly familiar preoccupations of a 78-year-old man, one who still sees the major broadcast networks as the biggest force in television — despite their sharp ratings decline from the days of “Who Shot J.R.?” and “Roots” — while lamenting that movie stars lack the gravitas and glamour they once possessed.