How Aaron Sorkin would write the 2020 election night

Gregory Wakeman
·Contributor
·2 min read
90th Oscars Nominees Luncheon– Arrivals – Los Angeles, California, U.S., 05/02/2018 – Director Aaron Sorkin. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni
Aaron Sorkin arrives at the Oscars Nominees Luncheon, Los Angeles, California, February 5, 2018. (Reuters/Mario Anzuoni)

Aaron Sorkin has revealed how the night of the 2020 United States presidential election between Donald Trump and Joe Biden would unfold, if he was writing it as a screenplay.

Sorkin, who is widely remembered for his work on the hit political series The West Wing, broke down his dramatisation of Tuesday, November 3, 2020, during a video conference at the San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain for his upcoming Netflix film The Trial Of The Chicago Seven.

Read More: Jeremy Strong begged Aaron Sorkin to use real tear gas on ’The Trial Of The Chicago 7’ set

In Sorkin’s head, Biden will come out on top, but Trump will do “what we all assume he will do” and “not concede defeat”. Instead, he will claim that “the election’s rigged and the Democrats cheated,” Variety reported.

Vice President Mike Pence laughs as U.S. President Donald Trump holds a baseball bat as they attend a Made in America product showcase event at the White House in Washington, U.S., July 17, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Mike Pence laughs as Donald Trump holds a baseball bat as they attend a Made in America product showcase event at the White House in Washington, July 17, 2017. (Reuters/Carlos Barria)

All of which Trump has already suggested might actually happen.

But this is where Sorkin took a huge leap of faith, as he added: “For the first time, his Republican enablers march up to the White House and say Donald it’s time to go. I would write the ending where everyone does the right thing. I don’t think Trump will do the right thing, except by accident.”

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During his press conference for The Trial Of The Chicago Seven, Sorkin admitted that he was inspired to start work on the story of the anti-Vietnam War protests in the Windy City in 1968 after the 2016 election of Trump, especially since the current president of the United States “started being nostalgic about the good old days beating up protestors”.

Sorkin said the court case has now gone on to become even more relevant in the wake of the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement across the world.

The Trial Of The Chicago Seven will be released on Netflix on October 16.