This Brooklynite correctly predicted a Donald Trump presidency while famed election analyst Nate Silver was still going through puberty.
Brighton Beacher Joseph Ben-Po’s obscure 1990 play “President Trump: A play about love, not a broken heart nor a messy divorce” follows The Donald’s road to the White House as he tries to make America great again by halting Japan’s acquisition of American real estate and preventing a second Pearl Harbor attack.
Even the writer, who voted for Trump, was floored that his bizarre prediction came true after nearly three decades, he said.
“I fell out of my chair,” Ben-Po said of his reaction to the Nov. 9 victory, which most said was in the bag for Hillary Clinton. “How is this possible my prediction from 27 years ago is becoming true, that he’s going to be the president of America? Who could believe it? Nobody, nobody — and I don’t think he himself — this time 27 years ago, thought that one day he would run to be the president.”
And the play apparently aged well — substitute Japan for China, and the production could be staged today, according to Ben-Po.
“In 1990, the Japanese used to buy a lot of buildings, many, many buildings. They became the power of real estate in New York and nobody knew how to stop them,” he said. “Now, the Chinese are buying all over, but nobody stands against the Chinese.”
Here’s a taste from the introduction:
“Now the king (Trump) and Queen (his fictional wife, O’bana) lived in a beautiful gold glittering castle and were happy with every new real estate purchase: buildings, hotels, hotel-casinos. And indeed, the handsome king and lovely queen could have lived happily ever after. But king was not too selfish, for he loved his country as much as he loved his casino kingdom and wished to save America from being taken over by the modern Samurais,” the script reads. “And as the Japanese purchase more real estate and American landmarks, Donald’s suspicion about a second Pearl Harbor grows even stronger. Believing he’s the reincarnation of President Roosevelt, Donald craves to be a president and to teach the Japanese a good lesson.”
Asked whether he meant Teddy Roosevelt of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was president during Pearl Harbor, Ben-Po clarified he meant to write Harry Truman, who dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
Before the play’s Trump can become president, he must undergo plastic surgery to make him look smarter.
“Yeah, for the love of my country, I’m ready to turn what’s down up. And have the look of the most intelligent president. President Trump!” the character says.
Meantime, his wife O’Bana seduces Japanese military officials who are named for electronics brands by using a perfume called “banana,” which she later sells to them at an engorged price.
“We don’t care about the price because your lustful perfume has gotten an instant sex result,” a character named Lieutenant Hitachi tells her.
The Israeli-born playwright moved to Brighton Beach about 30 years ago, penned the work shortly thereafter, published it through Oregon-based White House Publishing, and printed about 50 copies, he said. He sold a few, and all but one of the remaining copies washed away in Hurricane Sandy.
Ben-Po is still looking for someone to produce the work, he said.
