A small part of President Donald Trump’s inaugural address may have sounded familiar to those who remember 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises.
As a side-by-side comparison by Deadspin‘s Timothy Burke points out, part of the new President’s populist message was similar to what Bane told the people of Gotham after taking control of their city.
Here’s a part of what Trump told the Washington D.C. crowd: “Today’s ceremony, however, has a very special meaning because today we are not merely transferring power from one administration to another or from one party to another, but we are transferring power from Washington, D.C., and giving it back to you, the people.”
And what Bane said on the steps of Gotham’s Blackgate Prison: “We take Gotham from the corrupt! The rich! The oppressors of generations who have kept you down with myths of opportunity. And we give it to you, the people.”
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) January 20, 2017
And here’s the Bane audio synced with Trump’s visual.
Synced up the audio, seems so natural. pic.twitter.com/JLiyMtMEro
— Jason Brown (@browniefed) January 20, 2017
As it turns out, Trump was actually a fan of The Dark Knight rises (as Vice‘s Mike Perl points out). After seeing the film, he posted a review to YouTube, praising its cinematography and it’s use of Trump Tower, which doubled for Wayne Enterprises.
Comedians have been attempting to compare Trump to a villain for weeks, with Mark Hamill recording tweets from Trump in the voice of the Joker — and New York artist R. Sikoryak placing Trump in classic comic book covers.
Seth Meyers joked in September that people have speculated the many zingers he lobbed at Trump during the 2011 White House Correspondents Dinner inspired the future President to seek the office.
“I thought, ‘Oh, that was a good job of zinging that guy.’ And then it seems like I gave Bane his origin story,” Meyers said.
Coincidence or fate Meyers referenced Bane?
Here’s the full Bane speech:
Subsequent theories that Trump quoted lines from The Bee Movie and James Cameron’s Avatar in his speech floated around social media shortly after, but were later proved unfounded.
Head to Death and Taxes for an additional perspective on Donald Trump accidentally quoting Bane on inauguration day.
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Jan. 20, 1:32 p.m.: Updated with additional video syncing the Bane speech with the Trump video.
Jan. 20, 4:04 p.m.: Updated with Trump’s review of The Dark Knight Rises.
