Turns out, Donald Trump could have been president twice. In a Hollywood Reporter deep-dive into the Sharknado movie franchise — the line of celebrity-laden shark films that air on Syfy — the creators of the camp classics revealed that the president had actually agreed to appear as commander-in-chief in 2015's Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! before pulling out to pursue the real deal.
"The Donald said yes," David Latt, the cofounder of The Asylum, the film company behind the franchise, revealed. "He was thrilled to be asked."
Gerald Webb, an actor and casting director from the first three films, says that their negotiations got "pretty far." They had drawn up a contract and sent it to Trump's lawyer, Michael D. Cohen. Then, they got a pretty surprising response.
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"Donald's thinking about making a legitimate run for the presidency, so we'll get back to you," Cohen said, according to Latt. "This might not be the best time."
But production was underway, so they had to make a last-minute switch to Shark Tank's Mark Cuban for the role — something Trump did not take kindly to.
"Then we immediately heard from Trump's lawyer," Latt continued. "He basically said, 'How dare you? Donald wanted to do this. We're going to sue you! We're going to shut the entire show down!'"
Clearly, however, Sharknado is doing fine — and so is Trump. He's ascended to the IRL presidency, and Sharknado 5: Global Swarming is set to air on Syfy on August 6.
"I took it personally, but I get it now," Webb reflected. "That was my moment of doing business with Donald Trump. And that's Sharknado."
The real question is, however: Will the president tune in?