Michael Moore: ‘How could I top Trump taking himself down?’

It’s been a bit more than a week since Michael Moore surprise-released his latest, Michael Moore in TrumpLand, and the pro-Hillary Clinton film seems to be having its desired effect.

Judging by responses at screenings and on social media, “a lot of young people, a lot of Bernie [Sanders] supporters, feel better about voting for her,” Moore says. “And not just reluctantly, but actually getting out there and doing the work in the next couple weeks.”

TrumpLand (available on iTunes; now showing in New York and Los Angeles, and expanding to 51 cities in the US on Friday) was taped over two nights in Wilmington, in the US state of Ohio, earlier this month. Over the course of a roughly hour-long stand-up set, the divisive director unpacks his complicated feelings about the Democratic candidate, but ultimately encourages audience members to rally around her.

We recently caught up with Moore to talk about the new film:

Based on reviews and reactions on Twitter, many people had expected this film to be more of a Donald Trump takedown. Did you ever consider that approach?

I was never interested in making a film taking down Trump, because how could I top Trump taking himself down? What more needs to be said? He’s already revealed everything. On some level, he’s the most honest candidate we’ve ever had. There’s complete transparency about his misogyny, his racism, his narcissism. Plus, as a filmmaker, I’m not interested in shooting fish in a barrel. What’s the challenge there? How do you write satire about a guy who is self-satire? No, I was motivated by listening to Hillary people popping the corks on the champagne bottles way too early and being very concerned about that.