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Former U.S. President Donald J. Trump recently announced a sudden proposal to impose a 100% tariff on all films produced outside the United States. The move, intended to incentivize productions that have moved abroad for subsidies to return stateside and revitalize the domestic film industry, sent shockwaves globally. However, just days later, during a press scrum at the White House today, Trump reversed course, stating that one particular film franchise would be exempt from this policy: the James Bond series.
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Trump elaborated that his reason for specifically exempting the British-produced Bond films was due to a significant favor done for him by the late "original Bond," Sir Sean Connery. "I can tell you, the James Bond series, they don't have to worry about it," Trump stated. "You know, Sean Connery was my friend, and he helped me get the zoning for Aberdeen, Scotland. He went to the local people and said, 'You gotta let the guy build his golf course.' I spent four years trying to get this thing done, and it was very hard to do in Aberdeen, and he just showed up one day and spoke on my behalf, and within a very short period of time after he spoke, it was done. Sean Connery was a great guy." Trump's remarks implied he was granting the Bond exemption as a personal favor in return for Connery's past assistance.