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 In a seven-episode series launching on cable channel Showtime on
Sunday, the British prankster takes on four different personas
as he satirizes the political and cultural life of the United
States in the era of President Donald Trump.
In the first episode of "Who is America?", previewed for media
by Showtime, Baron Cohen poses as an Israeli anti-terror expert
who gets two U.S. congressmen to voice support for his fake "Kinderguardians"
scheme for children as young as three.
The scheme includes a fake instructional video featuring
children's songs and "gunimals" -- weapons adorned with soft
toys -- that would purportedly help kids confront the school
shootings that have plagued the United States for the past
decade.
Republican congressmen Dana Rohrabacher of California and Joe
Wilson of South Carolina, along with former Senate Republican
leader Trent Lott, who is now a lobbyist at a Washington law
firm, are shown enthusiastically backing the idea, alongside gun
rights advocates and a former congressman-turned-talk radio
host, Joe Walsh.
Showtime and Sacha Baron Cohen both declined to comment on the
series. Those shown endorsing the fake scheme, including the
politicians, had not seen the finished show ahead of its Sunday
premiere. Rohrabacher, Wilson and Lott did not immediately reply
to requests for comment late on Saturday.
Walsh told CNN on Saturday that he was tricked into reading the
words off a teleprompter.
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The show marks Baron Cohen's first television project in a decade
after he launched his comedy career as subversive white English
rapper Ali G., whose interviewees included Donald Trump and Newt
Gingrich. His 2006 faux documentary film "Borat" ridiculed
Kazakhstan and Middle Americans.
In "Who is America?", Baron Cohen also takes aim at the media and
political correctness, with the comedian posing as a pony-tailed
liberal radio reporter on a post-2016 election cycling tour, and a
man in a disability scooter who purports to investigate fake news.
In the first episode, Baron Cohen's radio journalist persona is
shown dining at the home of two Trump supporters in South Carolina
and regaling them with lurid stories about his supposed family.
Walsh, the former congressman from Illinois, told CNN on Saturday
that he had been asked by a documentary crew to read lines from a
teleprompter endorsing various supposed Israeli innovations,
including the idea of arming four-year-olds to defend themselves
against terrorists.
"I'll probably laugh at myself" when the episode airs, Walsh told
CNN, adding that he is a fan of Baron Cohen. "He's a funny guy
because he gets people to say stupid things."
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
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