Trackdown 1958 Another Trump Another Wall

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Donald Trump is demanding his wall across the Mexican border, an impossible, expensive pipe dream for which he has shut down many government civil service departments in effect taking the whole USA hostage. Originally, Trump expected his wall to be paid for by Mexico, and it gradually moved from being concrete to being supposedly steel slats and transparent in places. It will never happen. Uncannily, a 1950’s TV Western series touched on many of these themes in 1958. The series was Trackdown, which ran for 71 episodes between 1957 and 1959. It starred Robert Culp as a smart Texas Ranger called Hoby Gilman. In an episode from 1958 called The End Of The World, Gilman comes across a town held in the sway of an apocalyptic preacher called Walter Trump (Lawrence Dobkin), who has convinced a town that there is a meteorite shower heading their way but that the people can save themselves by building his special deflective wall. The people must of course pay for their protection which somehow turns into holding up magic umbrellas instead of building a literal wall. The people are so panicked that they are prepared to collectively rob the bank to pay Trump for their protection. They turn ugly with Gilman for protesting but he eventually saves the day and arrests Trump. So many coincidences here. A villain called Trump. A hero called Robert (Culp rather than Muller), people convinced that they have to pay for a wall, umbrellas (as opposed to MAGA hats), a contempt for truth and reason by Trump, etc. The episode still holds up fifty years on. Its parallels to the Trump story make it all the more valuable. Youtube The full episode - Trackdown – The End Of The World Arthur Chappell