“I’m not scared of Trump”: Josh Brolin reflects on past friendship with Donald Trump

Josh Brolin offered a surprisingly clinical breakdown of President Donald Trump’s hold on the American public this past weekend, steering clear of standard Hollywood outrage in favor of analysis. Speaking to The Independent on Saturday, November 29, the Weapons actor looked back on a friendship that began long before the White House, when the two crossed paths around the 2010 film Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps. Josh Brolin admitted that the man he knew then was a "different guy," but his assessment of the current President was rooted in professional respect for his salesmanship.

“There is no greater genius than him in marketing, he takes the weakness of a general population and fills it,” Brolin explained.

He argued that the President’s political durability wasn't necessarily about the man himself, but about what he represented to his voters.

“And that’s why I think a lot of people feel that they have a mascot in him, I think it’s much less about Trump than it is about the general population and their need for validation,” Brolin shared.

The interview also touched on the constitutionally muddy waters of a potential third term. Despite the 22nd Amendment prohibiting it, Trump had previously told NBC News that "a lot of people want me to" run again. Josh Brolin, however, refused to indulge the anxiety surrounding those claims.

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Josh Brolin insists Knives Out villain is not based on Trump:

Josh Brolin recently found himself caught between the political noise of the White House and the fictional chaos of Hollywood. Despite fan speculation, the actor strongly denied that his new character, Monsignor Wicks, a charismatic, cult-creating priest in Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, was a stand-in for President Donald Trump. The actor acknowledged that making the connection was simple:

“I could make something up and say it was rooted in a kind of Trumpian greed,” he admitted.

Ultimately, though, Josh Brolin insisted his portrayal was about power's universal corruption, noting that when Wicks was given influence, “there are no boundaries.” These artistic comments arrived as the President continued to fan the flames of controversy regarding the 2028 election. Although the 22nd Amendment prohibits a third term, Trump repeatedly showcased “Trump 2028” hats in the White House, including the Oval Office.

However, the speculation met firm resistance, and the probability of something like that happening was explained from the highest ranks of the Republican Party. House Speaker Mike Johnson directly addressed the issue, confirming to reporters that the constitutional barrier was well known to the administration. “It’s been a great run,” Johnson stated, before tempering his praise with legal reality.

“But I think the president knows, and he and I have talked about, the constrictions of the Constitution, as much as so many of the American people lament that.”

The Speaker’s pragmatic view echoed Brolin's own dismissal of fear surrounding the President’s political future.

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How Josh Brolin found confidence in smaller, more challenging roles:

If one looked at Josh Brolin’s long and versatile filmography, a sprawling list featuring Mimic, Only the Brave, and Sicario, it's easy to see an actor constantly pushing his boundaries. He built his career on taking the kind of challenging, transformative roles that often scared him, viewing that fear as the necessary fuel for his craft. This reputation for fearless dedication made it all the more jarring when Josh Brolin admitted to suffering a brief, but intense, crisis of confidence related to his career trajectory.

In an interview with Empire, Josh Brolin confessed to a moment of weakness over his recent string of projects.

“I called my agent and had a tiny bit of a freak-out, which I don’t normally have, why are we doing all these smaller parts? Is this the end of my career?’ All this stuff.”

But the momentary panic faded into clarity. Brolin quickly realized he was prioritizing the wrong metrics. His new perspective dictated that the quality of the project outweighed the screen time.

“It doesn’t matter how big or small they are — they’re with great filmmakers, and they’re great roles in great stories.”

The actor explained that he had “been looking for” exactly this type of work, a recognition that helped him appreciate the professional demands of 2025. Indeed, 2025 has already proven a fruitful year for that dedication. He played a vital part in Zach Cregger's horror-mystery Weapons, which was celebrated as one of the summer’s biggest hits, both critically and commercially. He also landed a pivotal role in Wake Up Dead Man, the new installment in Rian Johnson’s successful Knives Out franchise, a film that has already generated considerable industry buzz.

His next slate promised to keep the quality high: he signed on for Edgar Wright's adaptation of The Running Man, featuring an ensemble cast including Glen Powell, Colman Domingo, Lee Pace, and Michael Cera.