President Trump expressed interest in reopening the infamous Alcatraz penitentiary Sunday after a South Florida TV station aired the 1979 Clint Eastwood film “Escape from Alcatraz.”
“REBUILD, AND OPEN ALCATRAZ!” he demanded on Truth Social that same evening.
That San Francisco institution was closed in 1963 due in part to the island-based prison’s crumbling, difficult to maintain infrastructure and high-operating costs. California Rep. Nancy Pelosi was quick to point out that Alcatraz is now a popular national park and major tourist attraction in a social media post claiming “The President’s proposal is not a serious one.”
But Trump claimed on Sunday that he would direct federal agencies to revive the prison “to house America’s most ruthless and violent Offenders.”
On Sunday morning, Florida PBS affiliate WLRN, which broadcasts in the Palm Beach area that includes Trump’s Mar-a-lago estate, aired “Escape from Alcatraz.”
TV listings indicate WLRN also showed that film the previous night.
President Trump, an avid TV watcher with plans to cut funding to PBS, was in Mar-a-lago over the weekend.
When asked how he came up with the idea of reopening Alcatraz, the President told reporters Monday that he once wanted to make movies before explaining the prison “represents something very strong, very powerful in terms of law and order.”
Trump explained that inmates who managed to make it past the building’s walls had to contend with sharks before they could make it to freedom, which made escapes nearly impossible.
“It sort of represents something that’s both horrible and beautiful and strong and miserable…weak,” he added. “It’s got a lot of qualities that are interesting.”
It’s not clear if Trump watched his local outlet’s airing of “Escape from Alcatraz,” though his press conference seemed to allude to its premise.
The movie is based on a true story about a group of Alcatraz inmates who attempted to bust out of the joint in 1962. The film ends with viewers being told the escapees were never found.
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