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Sacha Baron Cohen has revived his iconic character Ali G after a 20-year hiatus, bringing the tracksuit-clad persona back to the big screen in Ali G: Who Iz I? The film is currently playing in theaters and arrives on Amazon Prime on October 30. During a live taping of the Happy Sad Confused podcast at New York’s 92nd Street Y on Wednesday, Baron Cohen reflected on his past encounters with world leaders — and one very memorable meeting with Donald Trump.
Trump Kept the Crew Waiting 40 Minutes
Baron Cohen told host Josh Horowitz that nearly every powerful figure he interviewed as Ali G arrived on time. Trump was the exception. “Donald Trump kept us waiting for about 40 minutes,” Baron Cohen said, after a deliberate pause for effect.
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He recalled entering Trump Tower with director James Bobin and waiting in a room while Trump loudly berated Rudy Giuliani over the phone. Baron Cohen described the language as not fit for “delicate Jewish ears.” He said the experience left him feeling intimidated. “Later on, I heard that he used to do that with other people,” Baron Cohen added. “It really was a power move.”
Trump initially took a liking to Bobin, whom Baron Cohen described as a “very handsome, blond, Oxford-educated” Englishman. However, once Trump realized he would be sitting down with Ali G instead, his mood changed immediately. Baron Cohen later learned from a woman who rode in the car with Trump after the interview that the future president was furious. Trump also publicly criticized Baron Cohen on more than one occasion. Baron Cohen, however, turned those clips to his advantage. He used them to promote another one of his shows.
Baron Cohen Acknowledges Trump’s “Elements of Brilliance”
The interview aired in 2003, when Trump was primarily known as a New York real estate developer and before he became the host of NBC’s The Apprentice. Looking back on that encounter, Baron Cohen said he now better understands how Trump secured a second term in the White House.
“People underestimated him,” Baron Cohen said. “We were too easy to dismiss him as a nincompoop. There are elements of brilliance to him. And that explains his appeal — the fact that he’s there for a second term, the fact that he’s transforming this country. I won’t say positively or negatively.”
Baron Cohen has made similar observations elsewhere on his current press tour. Speaking on the Pivot podcast with Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway, he called Trump “amusing” and noted that there is “a huge amount of comedy in the way he speaks.” He went further, suggesting Trump’s humor is deliberate. “He’s intentionally being funny,” Baron Cohen explained. “And if you have a look on the far right, they use comedy and sarcasm as an engaging way to dismiss criticisms.”
A Broader Reflection on Complexity and Comedy
Baron Cohen’s comments on Trump connect to a wider theme that runs through his career. His provocative characters — from Ali G to Borat — have long used humor to expose the contradictions in public life. He suggested that Trump’s popularity reflects a world that resists simple judgments. “In the black and white, the world is a little bit complicated,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ali G: Who Iz I? marks Baron Cohen’s return to a character that once put some of the world’s most powerful people in awkward positions. The film gives audiences a chance to revisit that era — and, in light of his recent remarks, perhaps see those interviews in a new light.
