- "Air" is director Ben Affleck's ode to Nike and the creation of the Air Jordan.
- Matt Damon's character gives an emotional speech convincing Michael Jordan to sign with Nike.
Twice-indicted former President Donald Trump appears to be a big fan of the movie "Air." His campaign took the Matt Damon monologue, almost certainly without permission from Ben Affleck or the film's studio, Amazon, and inserted it over a very reel of highlights and lowlights from Trump's tumultuous political career.
"Air" is director Ben Affleck's ode to then-corporate underdogs Nike and their pursuit of Michael Jordan for an endorsement deal that would lead to the creation of the iconic Air Jordan shoe.
Matt Damon stars as Sonny Vaccaro, a marketing executive for Nike who passionately believes Jordan is Nike's best and only hope at competing with the likes of Adidas and Converse.
During a pivotal scene in the film, when it seems like Jordan might still go with a competitor, Damon delivers a speech to the young UNC star about how great and unique he will be one day, and how Nike can get him there. If you can forget this is all about selling shoes, it's a powerful and inspiring moment, with the dialogue playing over clips of highs and lows from Jordan's singular career.
"Everyone will be forgotten as soon as our time here is up, except for you," Damon-as-Vaccaro tells Jordan in the film. "You're going to be remembered forever because some things are eternal. And your story is gonna make us fight and never give up.
The Trump version of the clip, distributed on Truth Social, includes a link to donate to his campaign.
In a statment to Axios, Artists Equity, Damon and Affleck's production company, denied giving Trump permission to use the speech and said "we hereby, expressly give notice that in the case of any use of material from Air by the Trump campaign where approval or consent is required, we do not grant such consent."
On Thursday, Trump was indicted for the second time. He faces 37 federal felony counts related to his hoarding of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, where he stored them, among other places, in a bathroom and shower.
—Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) June 10, 2023
This story has been updated to include the statement from Affleck and Damon's production company.