The blockbuster film Sound of Freedom has gained an enthusiastic new fan — former President Donald Trump, who praised the anti-child trafficking drama as a “great movie” and “an incredible inspiration” during a special screening Wednesday evening at his club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
Trump kicked off the evening in trademark style, making a grand entrance at his club’s main dining room to an avalanche of fans and well-wishers.
He then sat down to dinner with the Sound of Freedom team.
The former president started the screening with a few words about his 2024 re-election campaign.
“We’re leading by 50 points,” he said. “It’s been pretty crazy out there. It’s a vicious world. These are vicious people, these are very sick people — they’re deranged. We have a lot of them out who really don’t stand for what we stand for. But for some reason, the public understands it better than they’ve ever understood it before and are stepping up like I’ve never seen before.”
He added: “We won the first time and then we did much better the second time… but the election was rigged — you can say what you want, it doesn’t matter. But the election was rigged. And we’re going to do it a third time. I will say this: we’ve never had the kind of spirit, love, the enthusiasm that we have right now.”
President Trump sat in the front row of the outdoor screening, flanked by the movie’s star, Jim Caviezel, and director, Alejandro Gómez Monteverde, along with the movie’s real-life inspiration — Tim Ballard, the former Homeland Security agent who quit his job in order to devote himself to rescuing children from sex trafficking rings and bringing their kidnappers to justice.
A special screening of the blockbuster film “Sound of Freedom” at former President Donald Trump’s club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
A visibly moved Trump — who didn’t budge from his seat for the movie’s entire running time — addressed the audience of several hundred supporters and club members after the final credits rolled.
“I hope you enjoyed it. It’s something I’m not sure if you’re supposed to enjoy or learn — it’s a combination. But that was a great movie,” he said. “Now I understand why it’s doing so well.”
Trump also praised Caviezel, saying “it was an honor getting to know you.”
“I hope everyone had a fantastic time. It’s an incredible inspiration,” Trump concluded.
Sound of Freedom has emerged as the surprise box-office success of the summer, easily beating much bigger studio releases, including Disney’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and Paramount’s latest Mission: Impossible sequel on a per-screen basis.
Released by Angel Studios, the company behind the hit faith-based series The Chosen , the independently financed Sound of Freedom has grossed $80 million in two weeks and is expected to pass the $100 million mark in a matter of days, making it one of the most successful indie films of the past decade.
But its popularity has inevitably resulted in attacks from the mainstream news media, which first ignored the movie and then sought to smear it as a “QAnon” fantasy, even though the film was shot five years ago before the term had gained prominence.
The movie’s power was clearly not lost on the audience at Bedminster on Wednesday. Viewers broke into spontaneous applause and cheers at key moments, including Caviezel’s retort that has become the movie’s tagline — “God’s children are not for sale.”
Among the prominent faces in the audience were Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake (R) and former White House chief strategist (and former Breitbart News executive chairman) Steve Bannon. First daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner stopped by. Conservative influencer Jack Posobiec was also on hand.
Pastor Paula White — who served as Trump’s Christian advisor — led the audience in a prayer just before the screening began.
Former President Donald Trump flanked by “Sound of Freedom” star, Jim Caviezel, and director, Alejandro Gómez Monteverde, along with the movie’s real-life inspiration — Tim Ballard.
Trump took a dig at his chief Republican rival Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. “He’s disappearing fast,” he said. “He suffers from one major problem — he’s got no personality. Historically, that has not been good for politicians.”
He also mocked President Joe Biden (D) for dozing off during a recent meeting with Israel’s prime minister.
“The head of Israel is there and he fell asleep. I would say that is somewhat insulting to Israel,” Trump said. “And that was one of his better days. So bad guy, bad people. They’re destroying our country and we won’t let it happen. Enjoy the movie everybody.”