'Avengers: Infinity War' Directors On If Donald Trump Is President In Marvel Cinematic Universe

One of the exciting elements of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as compared to the DC Extended Universe, is that the events of the films seemingly exist in the real world, with action often unfolding in a variety of actual locations. A question that arises from grounding the films in our reality is just how many real-world figures exist in the MCU, with the directors of Avengers: Infinity War, Joe and Anthony Russo, refuting the idea that Donald Trump exists as the president in that universe.

When discussing the popular "I don't feel so good" memes that have been created honoring Infinity War, Joe Russo joked with Uproxx, "They are hilarious. People keep forwarding them to me. Interestingly, I haven't seen a Trump one yet." This resulted in the follow-up question about if Trump is the president in the MCU, to which Anthony clarified, "Oh, god, I don't know. If he was, it would literally take over the Marvel Universe."

The Russo brothers' responses seem to clarify that, while many elements of reality make their way into the MCU, one realm in which the continuity differs is the world of politics. This may complicate matters, as various entries in the MCU have offered contradictory information.

Iron Man 3 helped establish that Matthew Ellis, played by William Sadler, was the president during the events of that film, which was also briefly confirmed by Captain America: The Winter Soldier. With no official updates on the current president, one could assume that Ellis remains the president of the United States.

Marvel TV series, on the other hand, offer up a slightly different reality. One example would be that Marvel's Luke Cage regularly dropped references to Barack Obama, though the series didn't specify that he was president. Additionally, Marvel's Runaways on Hulu featured a character wearing an "I'm With Her" t-shirt that was created when Hillary Clinton ran against Donald Trump in the 2016 election, hinting that the series reflected the politics of the real world.

Perhaps a future chapter in the MCU will clarify the political standings of the universe to either confirm or deny how closely the franchise resembles reality.

Avengers: Infinity War is in theaters now.

Other upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe films include Ant-Man and The Wasp on July 6th, Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019, and the fourth Avengers on May 3, 2019. The sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming hits on July 5, 2019, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 lands in 2020.

Do you think Donald Trump is the president in the MCU? Let us know in the comments below!

[H/T Uproxx]