Former President Donald Trump hosted a screening of Sound of Freedom on Wednesday night at his golf course in New Jersey.
Following the film, Trump thanked those in attendance for coming and praised the work of producer Eduardo Verastegui, lead actor Jim Caviezel, and former Homeland Security agent Tim Ballard, on whose life the movie is based.
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“Jim, that was unbelievable. Oh, what a job!” Trump said, acknowledging Caviezel’s performance before addressing Verastegui: “You made this the hottest movie anywhere in the world.”
“And Tim, what a job you did. Someone’s got to do it,” Trump told Ballard. Ballard pointed to his wife, Katherine, and the former president acknowledged her support, saying they were “a great combination, a beautiful combination.”
Matthew Faraci, senior strategist with the Spear Fund, an organization inspired by Sound of Freedom, told the Washington Examiner that Trump was given an autographed poster-sized sign of the film following the screening.
Faraci said the screening was a “surreal moment” and a “gathering of good people who care deeply about protecting our children.”
“President Trump was a gracious host. As we spoke to him, he listened very carefully about the issues surrounding child trafficking and asked numerous questions,” Faraci said. “There was an incredible atmosphere of warmth in the place.”
Trump ended the evening by acknowledging the film’s difficult subject matter concerning child sex trafficking.
?Trump congratulates Jim Caviezel, Tim Ballard, and Eduardo Verastegui after watching the Sound of Freedom ?
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 20, 2023
“It’s something that I’m not sure you’re supposed to enjoy or learn. It’s a combination. That was a great movie. And now I understand why it is doing so well,” Trump said. “It’s an incredible inspiration.”
After the event, Trump sat for a podcast interview with Ballard and Caviezel.
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Sound of Freedom continues to shock the box office, now grossing $100 million in sales, according to Angel Studios, the film’s distributor. It continues to beat Sony Pictures’s Insidious: The Red Door overall, in addition to besting Disney’s latest Indiana Jones film on a daily basis for more than a week.
The movie details the true story of how Ballard quit his Homeland Security job and risked his life to journey into the jungles of Colombia in an effort to save children from sex slavery.
