'I don't find you funny either - but yet the whole world laughs at you': Sacha Baron Cohen responds to Trump's 'unfunny creep' jibe
Sacha Baron Cohen said the feeling was mutual after President Trump said that he didn't find the comedian funny after scenes from his new Borat movie posed security questions for the White House.
While aboard Air Force One Friday night, Trump was asked if he had seen the Borat sequel scene that showed Rudy Giuliani in what appeared to be a compromising position with one of the movie's actors and about whether he had any concerns about White House security breaches.
As part of his response, Trump said 'I don't find him [Cohen] funny' and added 'To me, he's a creep.'
On Saturday afternoon, Cohen took to Twitter to respond to the president.
Sacha Baron Cohen (as Borat, left) took to Twitter Saturday to respond to President Trump's (right) Friday night remark that he thought Cohen was not funny and a 'creep'
'Donald—I appreciate the free publicity for Borat!' Cohen tweeted.
'I admit, I don’t find you funny either. But yet the whole world laughs at you. I’m always looking for people to play racist buffoons, and you’ll need a job after Jan. 20. Let’s talk!'
January 20 is typically the day when new presidents are inaugurated.
Trump has had a long-standing feud with Cohen ever since the comedian interviewed the president during an episode of HBO's Da Ali G Show in 2003.
During his Air Force One comment about Cohen, Trump referenced that interaction.
'Years ago, you know, he tried to scam me,' Trump said. 'And I was the only one who said no way. That’s a phony guy.'
The latest brouhaha between the two men comes after promo footage for Cohen's new Borat Subsequent Moviefilm showed actress Mara Bakalova managing to get onto the grounds of the White House, allegedly without a proper security check or a COVID test.
A separate scene, which is included in the actual film, features Bakalova taking part in a sting of Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani.
The former mayor of New York City was seemingly filmed in a compromising position with the 24-year-old starlet inside a hotel room.
President Trump has lashed out at comedian Sasha Baron Cohen after his new Borat movie left the White House red faced. The Commander-in-chief called Cohen an unfunny 'creep' as he flew back to Washington from rallies in Florida on Friday
Cohen's new mockumentary film - titled Borat Subsequent Moviefilm - features a scene in which the titular character's daughter, played by actress Mara Bakalova (left), embarrasses Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani
Back in the mid-2000s, Cohen dressed up as his character Ali G and met with Trump. However, the billionaire businessman quickly realized he was being set up
Earlier on Friday, Cohen tweeted out promo footage from the new Borat movie which showed actress Mara Bakalova was able to gain admittance to the White House last month – making it steps from the Oval Office.
DailyMail.com was present at the White House when OAN correspondent Chanel Rion conducted an interview of the actress while being trailed back and forth by a camera and sound crew on September 16.
The film character Borat tweeted out footage of the day-trip Friday, mocking what the account cast as a security breach. 'Trump very careful who he let into his events and house. No Covid test necessary - High 5!'
He attached footage of Bakalova, who in the movie plays Borat's daughter Tutar Sagdiyev, being interviewed by Rion.
The Borat character mocks the conservative network as 'most rigorous news source in America,' and includes footage of Trump calling on 'OAN' and Rion claiming to have uncovered 'multiple crimes' in Ukraine committed by the Bidens.
The White House visit is one of three encounters which span months. Bakalova - who at the time was brunette - was both at a Trump reception for supporters in Phoenix and shook hands with Don Jr. at the CPAC conservative conference, both in February. She visited the White House - this time with blond hair - in September, two months after the Giuliani encounter. Bakalov is 24, but her character in the movie is his 15-year-old daughter.
The footage of her encounters with Trump and the first family were released on Twitter and are not in the movie itself, suggesting that there may be more material coming from Baron Cohen's production team.
The Borat character posted footage of actress Maria Bakalova, who plays his daughter in Borat 2, being interviewed by OANN's Chanel Rion at the White House. A Marine stationed behind them indicates that the president was in the West Wing
At event: 'Borat's daughter' was also at this Trump reception on February 19 before a rally in Phoenix. The camera pans from Trump to show the actress
Applauding the president: This is Maria Bakalova as the camera pans from Donald Trump, his son Don Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle at a reception for supporters on February 19. She changes from brunette to blonde in the course of the movie
The Borat Twitter account sent out the clip hours after the release of his new film
The crew didn't come with the correspondent, and is believed to be associated with the interview subject and actress.
The film clip raises serious questions about security and safety at the White House.
September 20 was just days before the superspreader unveiling of SCOTUS nominee Amy Coney Barrett, and a time when people coming on to White House property were supposed to be tested for coroanvirus.
But in the clip, narrated in character by Baron Cohen, he said: 'I know this because they take my daughter into the White House,' he said – as the short video switches to footage shot on the north lawn with Bakalova. She also tours the White House briefing room, which is right outside the West Wing offices used by the president and his staff.
'No need for security test or COVID test. They boring,' he said.
It is unclear how an actress would be able to access the executive mansion in the identity of her character - and particularly given that Baklova is Bulgarian, not American. DailyMail.com has asked the White House for comment.
The Borat clip identifies the White House clip as September 20, although DailyMail.com obtained footage of the encounter on September 16.
She may have been a guest of Rion, a controversial figure who crashed White House COVID briefings and refused to wear a mask, and who has opened a feud with the White House Correspondents Association over their attempt to curb numbers of journalists on the property during the pandemic.
Rion has partied at Mar-a-Lago and boasts close ties to Giuliani - ironically the target of the most high-profile stunt by Borat.
However the film crew which recorded the interview did not come with Rion, and is believed to be associated with the interview subject and actress.
At the White House, Bakalova asks Rion: 'Why is all of the fake journalists for the left, and none on the right?' DailyMail.com has asked Rion and OANN for comment.
The scenes at the White House got cut and didn't make it into the movie, titled 'Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.'
The clip then shows Bakalova in character with dark hair attending an event with President Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and his girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle.
She is shown clapping wildly while the president speaks. The event appears to be a reception for supporters before a rally in Phoenix's Veterans Memorial Coliseum on February 19.
On stage, Trump is flanked by his son and Guilfoyle, who addressed the rally he held that evening.
In a different cut, she shakes hands with the president's eldest son and proclaims herself 'a little bit nervous' and 'excited to meet you.'
The footage with Don Jr. appears to have come during a Turning Point USA event during the Conservative Political Action Conference in late February.
'I'm a little bit nervous but I'm very excited to meet you,' she tells Don Jr.
'I appreciate it. Good to meet you,' he replies.
At the same conference, Sacha Baron Cohen, playing Borat but dressed up as President Donald Trump, ran into the hall where Vice President Mike Pence was speaking carrying Bakalova. 'Michael Pennis! I brought a girl for you!' Cohen yelled.
This scene made the movie, while the footage from the promo released Friday with Rion did not
It was the second time the movie ripped through U.S. politics, after the release of footage showing Borat's 'daughter' in a hotel room with Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani.
In one scene, Giuliani falls back on a bed after she removes his microphone after getting pranked into an interview. He briefly puts his hands in his pants, but the former New York mayor said he was simply tucking in his shirt after it got messed up when the microphone was being removed.
First family encounter: Her greeting with the president's son happened at a Turning Point USA event that was part of the Conservative Political Action Conference, where Cohen dressed as Trump and crashed a Mike Pence speech
A DailyMail.com reporter spotted the unusual encounter at the White House on September 16, with 'Borat's daughter' talking to Chanel Rion, the controversial OAN correspondent. The Borat twitter account labeled it September 20 'Year of Hawk 435'
Walk and talk: In the course of her time at the White House, accompanied by a camera and sound crew, Maria Bakalova, posing as Borat's daughter, also walked outside the north doors of the Palm Room, which leads to the Rose Garden
The actress was trailed by two cameras during the interview at the WHite House on September 16, which didn't make it into the final film
She visited the White House on a day Trump displayed charts intended to show a drop in spread of the coronavirus. Dr. Scott Atlas also was there
Baron Cohen hit back at Giuliani's claims that the Borat honey trap video is a 'complete fabrication', saying Friday 'heaven knows what he has done with other female journalists in hotel rooms' - as scenes from the full film show the president's 76-year-old attorney patting a young woman on her hip.
After a snippet of the scene emerged earlier this week, Giuliani said he was only tucking in his shirt after removing his recording equipment and insisted that he was never 'inappropriate'.
In an interview on ABC's Good Morning America on Friday, Baron Cohen was asked to respond after Giuliani accused him of being a 'stone-cold liar'.
'I would say that if the president's lawyer found what he did there appropriate behavior, then heaven knows what he has done with other female journalists in hotel rooms,' Baron Cohen said.
'I urge everyone to watch the movie. It is what it is, he did what he did. Make your own mind up. It was pretty clear to us.'
His comments came as the full controversial scene emerged on Friday following the release of the film, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, on Amazon Prime.
The scene, which was shot back in July in the Mark Hotel, shows Giuliani sitting down with 24-year-old actress Maria Bakalova, who was posing as a conservative reporter, for an interview about the Trump administration's COVID-19 response.
During the scene, Giuliani answered several questions about coronavirus, including how many lives he thought Trump had saved due to his handling of the pandemic.
In the interview scene, the woman was flirtatious with Giuliani and could be seen repeatedly touching his knee.
She also told him he was 'one of her greatest heroes' and that she felt like she was in a fairy tale. At one point, she said she felt like she was Melania Trump.
After being interrupted by Baron Cohen's Borat character, who was disguised as a sound technician, the scene cuts to Giuliani following the woman into the hotel bedroom as she asks: 'Should we have a drink in the bedroom.'
The 30-second scene in the bedroom cuts repeatedly to different frames from the various hidden cameras. It is not clear how much of it has been edited together to portray a specific story line.
It shows Giuliani asking for her phone number and address. That audio is played over a shot in which the woman can be seen removing his microphone and he pats her lower back.
He can then be seen lying back on the bed to tuck in his shirt after she helps remove his recording equipment.
He has his hands in his pants when Baron Cohen's character rushes in for a second time wearing an outlandish outfit.
In one part, Giuliani can be heard asking for the woman's phone number and address. That audio is played over a shot in which the woman can be seen removing his microphone and he pats her lower back
The scene from Sacha Baron Cohen's Borat sequel film that was released in full on Friday, shows Rudy Giuliani in a compromising position in a New York City hotel room alongside a young woman posing as a conservative TV reporter
Baron Cohen on Friday hit out at Rudy Giuliani's claims that the Borat honey trap video is a 'complete fabrication', saying 'heaven knows what he has done with other female journalists in hotel rooms'
In the scene, President Trump's personal attorney is seen lying on the bed, tucking in his shirt with his hand down his pants as the woman stands nearby
Discussing the scene during the GMA interview on Friday, Baron Cohen said he was in a hideaway in the hotel room and keeping tabs on what was happening.
'I was quite concerned for her during the scene,' Baron Cohen said.
After a snippet of the scene emerged earlier this week, Giuliani said he was only tucking in his shirt after removing his recording equipment and insisted that he was never 'inappropriate'
'We built a hideaway that I was hiding in during the scene. I was monitoring it by text. It's my responsibility as a producer to ensure the lead actor is looked after.'
Bakalova, who joined Baron Cohen for the interview, said she felt safe the entire time.
After a clip of the scene emerged this week prior to the film being released, Giuliani declared that it was a 'hit job' and a 'total fabrication'.
'The Borat video is a complete fabrication,' he tweeted.
'I was tucking in my shirt after taking off the recording equipment. At no time before, during, or after the interview was I ever inappropriate. If Sacha Baron Cohen implies otherwise he is a stone-cold liar.
'This is an effort to blunt my relentless exposure of the criminality and depravity of Joe Biden and his entire family.'
Speaking on his weekly radio program on WABC on Wednesday, Giuliani doubled down that he was only tucking in his shirt.
'I am tucking my shirt in, I assure you, that's all that I was doing,' he said.
Giuliani said he went to what he thought was an interview and said it felt 'legitimate.'
'I did the interview with the young woman who was new to interviewing and I was being kind to her,' he said. 'At one point she explained to me some problems I had, I actually prayed with her.'
When he got up to leave he said he had his jacket on.
'I was fully clothed at all times and I had to take off the electronic equipment and when the electronic equipment came off, some of it was in the back and my shirt got a little out, came a little out, although my clothes were entirely on,' he said.
He said he realized that something was amiss when the woman asked if he'd like a massage.
'She says something about, "Do I want a massage?" I realize now that this is a set-up and I call my security guy Brian who's right outside,' Giuliani said. 'And then all of the sudden crazy Sacha Baron Cohen runs in with a cape on and he's yelling and screaming all sorts of stupid stuff.'
The former New York City mayor called police after the encounter but there is no indication an investigation was launched.
Giuliani spoke to the New York Post's Page Six column about the encounter back in July but did not mention the bedroom aspect.
He has since argued that in calling the police he proved he was an innocent party.
'If I was doing anything wrong, I would not call the police and if he was doing anything right, he wouldn't have been running away,' Giuliani said.
