Days before the 2026 midterms, Donald Trump used a Florida campaign rally to send a mixed signal to entertainment executives: their access may come with public mockery, but the federal film and TV tax credits they are asking for are not off the table.
What Trump said
Trump claimed that actors and filmmakers who have criticized him for years are now asking to meet, and that the ask is for tax credits to keep moviemaking in the United States. He framed the industry as losing work to other countries.
“Now they’re all calling me, kissing my ass,” Trump said. “They want tax credits for Hollywood because Hollywood’s dying and other countries are taking away [jobs].”
He added that the internet lets him pull up what critics have said over the last 20 years, then offered the line entertainment executives should note: “And I’ll probably do it.”
He did not name the people he says are seeking meetings, and he gave no details on the size, structure or timing of any credit.
The insults are noise; the incentive signal is the story
Trump also aimed at Robert De Niro, calling him a “moron” and saying he is “no good for comedies,” and blamed Oscar-night criticism for ruining what he called a great show. Representatives for De Niro and the Academy did not immediately respond, TheWrap reported.
For entertainment marketers, studios and media planners, the personal attacks matter less than the transactional stance: Trump is describing Hollywood as a supplicant with a winnable ask, not an enemy to punish.
The wider context is familiar to production executives: incentives are a competitive tool. Trump’s framing—that jobs are leaving for other countries—is the same argument incentive advocates make when pressing for relief. What is new is that the president is saying the request is likely to be granted, without attaching a number or a bill.
- The claim: Hollywood is losing jobs to other countries.
- The ask: federal film and TV tax credits.
- The position: he will “probably” do it, with no program details.
What to watch next
No legislation is named in the source, and a rally line is not a Treasury proposal. The rational next step for production finance teams is to wait for a formal proposal and model the margin: how a federal credit would change location decisions for studios and streamers.
If the rhetoric turns into a real credit, the competitive map for US production could shift quickly. If it does not, the line becomes another campaign anecdote with no budget impact.
Source: TheWrap
