The Grinch Live Show Has the Internet Making Donald Trump Comparisons

Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch Musical aired Wednesday night bringing the beloved holiday story into fans homes for the season and seeing Glee and American Horror Story: 1984 star Matthew Morrison follow in the footsteps of Jim Carrey, Benedict Cumberbatch and more at bringing the green, well, Grinch to life. But as the special aired Wednesday night on NBC, there were moments in the musical that had viewers comparing Morrison’s take on the character with a heart two sizes too small to President Donald Trump.

On social media, viewers found themselves noting a few things about Morrison’s Grinch that reminded them of Trump. For many it was Morrison’s portrayal of the Grinch, with some fans noting that his voice and accent reminded them of Alec Baldwin’s Saturday Night Live portrayal of Trump while others were more taken with the wig, makeup and other styling of Morrison’s character. A few even thought that Morrison was directly doing an impression of the president during the performance.

While the internet has its questions, Morrison has spoken about his inspirations for the famed Grinch character, and it wasn’t necessarily Trump that he spoke of. In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Morrison explained he looked for inspiration in a variety of places — including Joaquin Phoenix’s role in Joker, at least in terms of the dancing.

“I didn’t want the Grinch to be a good dancer,” Morrison told EW. “I took a lot from Joaquin Phoenix’s performance in Joker, just going down those steps, like loose and [reveling in] abandon and just carefree and raw. I really felt like that was how the Grinch would dance. At first, I was like ‘I don’t think the Grinch dances’; it didn’t feel very Grinch-y, but then I came up with that and it felt right.”

Morrison also explained that he enjoys playing “dirty and dastardly”, which fits nicely with the character of the Grinch.

“I love playing dirty and dastardly. That’s so much fun for me,” Morrison said. “Most people know me from Glee, and so this is a joy for me to do. But also, this part in particular is one of those parts where anything goes. You can really do anything you want to with this character, and it won’t be too big or too over-the-top. Having not worked in nine months, I really just also had this deep appreciation for what I get to do for a living. To not be doing that for so long, I had this hunger to really put everything into my next project. Thankfully it was this one, because I took some big swings. I don’t know if they’re going to be great or horrible, but I just went for it, and it felt dangerous and liberating all at the same time.”

Read on to see how the internet is comparing Morrison’s Grinch to Trump below.

Did he?

Hearing things

Wig

Further questions about the hair

That’s an interesting combination

Alec Baldwin

Very 2020

But why?

Just a bit of Broadway

But seriously, did he?