The manipulative Trumpian charm of Mikey from ‘Red Rocket’
Many of Sean Baker’s movies detail the lives of sex workers, whether in the transgender figures of Tangerine or the titular stripper protagonist of the Palme d’Or-winning Anora. In Baker’s brilliant 2021 film Red Rocket, the director focuses on a washed-up porn star whose manipulative charm resembles that of Donald Trump.
Played by Rex Simon, Mikey Saber returns to his small-town Texas beginnings after spending years in the adult entertainment industry in Los Angeles. However, Mikey has no intention of sticking around in Texas City but rather plots out his moves to return to Hollywood, having arrived battered and without a dime.
After briefly toying with the idea of getting a legitimate job, Mikey begins selling weed to get him back on his feet, but he mostly gets back towards his former glory by manipulating and exploiting those around him. For instance, he convinces his ex-wife and mother-in-law to take him in without paying rent, despite his abandonment of them 17 years prior.
It might seem like Mikey is immoral, but he manages to come across as amoral instead, avoiding judgment even during moments of ill behaviour. In addition, Mikey is undoubtedly charming, alluring, and attractive, and he can talk his way into or out of any situation, much like Donald Trump has done throughout his political and media-centric careers.
Mikey, like Trump, uses his charm to direct attention from his ethical shortcomings, delivering fake sincerity to get lifts, jobs and loans. However, at no point would Mikey actually return a favour; he only has one goal – to return to his former glories – much in the same way that Trump coerces his voters into trusting him without any plan to actually make good on his political promises.
Discussing the Trumpian qualities of Mikey with Uproxx, Baker noted, “A lot of people have pointed out that they see Trump in Mikey, and it’s a hundred per cent legit. He’s also apolitical. He didn’t take a side. I tried to mix it up a little bit because things aren’t black and white. Things are very grey. And I’m exploring the moral grey with Mikey, so I wanted to explore the grey area.”
Perhaps the most Trumpian thing about Mikey, though, is his ability to tell stories that resonate with those around him, especially those who are living in dire circumstances, as most citizens of Texas Town, addicted and poverty-stricken, are. By portraying himself as an underdog figure, Mikey is more likeable, and therefore, he can use his new false allies to achieve his own ends.
So too, does Mikey shrug off controversy, showing a disregard for moral and social conventions, shown when he begins dating a 17-year-old girl, convincing her slowly to set out for Los Angeles with him to become a porn star while lying to her about his love. If anything, though, Mikey, like Trump, seems to thrive in such a kind of controversy.
Self-promotion is at the core of Mikey’s very being, always telling those around him how many views on PornHub he has, though often embellishing his achievements. Baker’s protagonist in Red Rocket is a brilliant portrayal of the exploitative nature of charm and the kind of ethical boundaries people are willing to cross in order to achieve their personal ambitions, and in American politics, few have detailed this kind of behaviour as Donald Trump has.
