Trump Responds to Michael Moore’s Broadway Show

“While not at all presidential,” President Trump's tweet begins, before addressing the recent limited engagement.

Though Michael Moore’s Broadway debut in The Terms of My Surrender was billed as a limited engagement that was already scheduled to end October 22, President Donald Trump used its recent closing as an opportunity to address the show, which examined his presidency and administration with a decidedly critical eye.

“While not at all presidential,” he wrote, “I must point out that the Sloppy Michael Moore Show on Broadway was a TOTAL BOMB and was forced to close. Sad!”

Moore’s show began performances July 28 at the Belasco Theatre, where it opened officially August 10. It was reported in May—when the show was announced—that it would play a 12-week limited engagement.

While the show was not a box-office front-runner (grossing less than half of its potential most weeks and drawing in a capacity hovering in the mid-70 percentile), it did play its fully scheduled run.

The Oscar- and Emmy-winning filmmaker announced earlier this week that he intends to tour the country with The Terms of My Surrender next year. Itinerary details will be announced in the coming months.

Read: MICHAEL MOORE WILL TOUR THE COUNTRY WITH HIS BROADWAY SHOW

While not at all presidential I must point out that the Sloppy Michael Moore Show on Broadway was a TOTAL BOMB and was forced to close. Sad! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 28, 2017

In the Michael Mayer-helmed show, Moore shared personal anecdotes and engaged the audience in quizzes and pleas for various forms of activism. The engagement featured appearances from the likes of Whoopi Goldberg, Gloria Steinem, Billie Joe Armstrong, Lee Daniels, and Representative Maxine Waters. On August 15, Moore, along with Mark Ruffalo and Olivia Wilde, led a post-performance march to Trump Tower.

This is not the first time the president has taken to Twitter to object to a Broadway show. In November of last year (11 days following the election), Trump referred to Hamilton as "highly overrated" after the cast addressed Vice President-Elect Mike Pence during the curtain call when he attended the Tony- and Pulitzer-winning musical.

Read: HAMILTON CAST REACTS TO TRUMP'S TWEETS

Update: Moore in turn tweeted his rebuttal to Trump's claim, using the opportunity to further shed light on the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan, the first charges filed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller in the Russian interference investigation, and the crisis in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria.

Moore writes The Terms of My Surrender was the highest-grossing non-musical play of the summer. While it was indeed the highest-grossing among the plays that opened in the summer—alongside 1984 and Marvin's Room—during its time on Broadway, The Play That Goes Wrong grossed more in Moore's 12 full weeks (beginning the week ending August 6). However, Moore's first two performances (during the weekend of July 28–30) grossed significantly more than average—over 102 percent of its potential.

