It would have been a very fishy case of foreshadowing.
Months before Donald Trump declared himself as a candidate for the actual President of the United States, Hollywood Reporter says he was fishing to play the commander-in-chief in 2015's Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!
Producers' originally pined after Sarah Palin, but negotiations fell through. That's when Ian Ziering, star of the Syfy franchise, pulled inspiration from the relationship he'd developed with Trump while taping Celebrity Apprentice. An offer went out. Almost immediately, it elicited a response.
“The Donald said yes,” David Latt, the 51-year-old co-founder of The Asylum, which produces the series, says. “He was thrilled to be asked.”
The only issue was that Trump’s eyes were set on more than a fictional presidency — he waa after the real deal.
“Donald’s thinking about making a legitimate run for the presidency, so we’ll get back to you,” Latt recalled. “This might not be the best time.”
So the sharky show went on without Trump. But after casting Cuban, Latt says the waters got choppy:
“We immediately heard from Trump’s lawyer,” recalls Latt. “He basically said, ‘How dare you? Donald wanted to do this. We’re going to sue you! We’re going to shut the entire show down!'” Contacted by THR, Cohen acknowledges a dinner with Ziering to discuss casting Trump but says he has no recollection of the angry correspondence.
While you won't find Trump wrestling sharks on SyFy any time soon (at least we don't think), you can catch the franchise's fifth installment Sharknado 5: Global Swarming when it airs this Sunday.