An uncannily prescient TV movie from 1958.

[bangstrom]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1D2ynA ... e=youtu.be

[TheVat]

How did this not go viral a couple years ago? Wow.

[Serpent]

Whaaa...!?

[TheVat]

About 4 minutes in.

[toucana]

Trackdown” aired on CBS between 1957 and 1959 and took place in Texas following the Civil War. The series followed Texas Ranger Hoby Gilman, played by Robert Culp, on his adventures protecting the people of the Lone Star State. The 30th episode of the show, titled “The End of The World,” premiered on May 9, 1958, and saw a con man named Walter Trump, played by Lawrence Dobkin, attempt to scam the entire town.

The fictional Trump warned the Texans that apocalyptic meteors would strike the town at midnight, but he could protect everyone. “I bring you a message,” he said. “A message few of you will be able to believe…but be not afraid my friends: I also bring you the means with which to save yourself.”

His solution was to build a wall made of magical metal that would repel the meteors and keep everyone safe. As the citizens started to believe Trump, he offered to give them walls for $50 each. However, Ranger Gilman wasn’t convinced. Pandemonium erupted in the town, but in the end Gilman arrests Trump for grand theft and fraud.

https://variety.com/2019/politics/news/trackdown-1950s-tv-show-border-wall-trump-1203106000/

[hyksos]

"I can't arrest him {Trump} until he commits an actual crime."

Literally a line of dialog from that episode.

[Serpent]

The ending is quite satisfactory, as well.