Disgraced billionaire working his way into Trumpworld by blocking film's release: sources

The former owner of the Washington Commanders is blocking the release of a film he helped finance that shows Donald Trump raping his ex-wife.

"The Apprentice" won plaudits at the Cannes Film Festival, but Trumpworld sources told The Daily Beast they were "thrilled" that former NFL owner Dan Snyder was acting on his own initiative to prevent the movie's producers from cutting a deal with independent distributor Briarcliff, which has previously put out "Faherenheit 9/11" and "Spotlight."

“Obviously anything that depicts Trump negatively is not well received,” a Trumpworld strategist told The Beast.

Snyder saw a cut of the film before it premiered at Cannes and reportedly hated it, although he has a financial stake in his son-in-law Mark Rapaport’s production company, Kinematics – the film's main financier – and can prevent the movie from getting a distribution deal in the U.S.

"Sources in Trumpworld who spoke to The Daily Beast said Snyder does not currently have any kind of special standing in the former president’s orbit," the website reported, "but they see the move as a way for the billionaire to maneuver himself into their good graces should Trump emerge victorious in November."

"The Apprentice" depicts the future president, portrayed by Sebastian Stan, in his rise in New York City's real estate world and his tutelage by amoral attorney Roy Cohn, who's played by Jeremy Strong in a performance already drawing Oscar buzz, and the film depicts Trump's alleged rape of his first wife Ivana, who accused him of the assault during their divorce but later disavowed the claim.

ALSO READ: EXCLUSIVE: House Republicans subpoena ex-Capitol Police intel head for Jan. 6 inquiry

“This is not Barbenheimer,” said another Trumpworld strategist. “The idea that a movie would have any impact on the 2024 election is laughable.”

However, The Beast noted that the Trumpworld sources requests for anonymity reflects unease within the presumptive GOP nominee's orbit about the movie.

Synder, who has donated six figures to Trump's campaigns in the past, was long described as the NFL's worst team owner before he was forced to sell his stake after an investigation found a toxic culture within the organization rampant with sexual and workplace harassment.