Sacha Baron Cohen dusted off his tracksuit collection 20 years after Ali G retired and released “Ali G: Who Iz I?”, which is now in theaters before coming to Amazon Prime on October 30. He revived his character. The comedian first introduced Ali G to audiences on “Da Ali G Show,” where he interviewed some of the most powerful figures in the world at the turn of the century (and often made fools of them in the process).
“As Ali G, I had the privilege of sitting with some of the smartest and most powerful people in the world, and they were all on time,” Baron Cohen told Josh Horowitz during a live taping of “Happy Sad Confused” at New York’s 92nd Street Y on Wednesday night. After a long pause, he turned his attention to the sole exception: “Donald Trump kept us waiting for about 40 minutes.”
Baron Cohen recalled feeling “scared” when he and director James Bobin entered Trump Tower, and that they were waiting in a room while Trump yelled at Rudy Giuliani on the phone, saying “it’s not for sensitive Jewish ears.”
“I heard later that he did this with other people as well,” Baron Cohen said. “This was truly a power move.”
Trump appeared impressed by Bobin, whom Baron Cohen described as a “very handsome, blond, Oxford-educated” Englishman. However, his attitude changed “immediately” when he realized that he would be sitting at the table with Ali G instead.
“I actually met a woman who was in the car with him after that interview, and she was apparently very angry,” Baron Cohen said. “He actually came out publicly a few times to criticize me. And we ended up using all of those clips to promote another show that I was doing.”
Baron Cohen’s interview with Trump aired in 2003, when the future president was well-known as a New York real estate mogul, before he hosted NBC’s “The Apprentice.” Baron Cohen said looking back on their encounters he could understand how Trump won a second term in the White House, pointing to the president’s “elements of genius.”
“I mean, how did he survive the second term? People underestimated him,” Baron Cohen said. “It was very easy to dismiss him as a jerk. Otherwise, there are elements of genius to him. And that explains his appeal by the fact that he’s there for a second term and he’s transforming this country. I’m not going to say anything positive or negative.”
This wasn’t the only time Baron Cohen reflected on Trump’s unique characteristics during his latest press tour. He told Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway on the Pivot podcast that the president is “fun” and has “a huge amount of comedy in the way he speaks.”
“He’s being deliberately funny,” Baron Cohen explained. “And if you look at the far right, they use comedy and sarcasm as an engaging way to dismiss criticism.”
Baron Cohen suggests that Trump’s popularity perhaps reflects a broader theme explored through his own collection of provocative characters: “Black and white, the world is a little complicated.”