Louis Theroux casually compares Donald Trump to Brexit

"He’s a predatory business man with a short attention span."
 By 
Nicole Gallucci
 on 
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Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

That wacky Louis Theroux is at it again.

The British documentary maker took a break from his Australian tour to stop and chat with Hayden Cooper at ABC News' 7.30 about some very important topics.

In addition to offering hope that he would soon be making a documentary in Australia, Theroux made some shocking political statements, weighing in on Donald Trump's campaign and even comparing his potential election to Brexit.


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As both a British citizen and an American citizen, who better than Theroux to comment on two huge political happenings -- Brexit and the 2016 election -- in the world?

Theroux told Cooper he didn't see the UK's June vote to leave the European Union coming, but he used the event to understand Trump's popularity. "... I always think there is a silent majority," he said. "There's a phenomenon called the Shy Tory: the right-leaning voter who is a bit bashful about expressing candidly his or her opinions. So it didn't massively surprise me."

Theroux said he can understand how the result came about, believing it stemmed from a feeling of "being betrayed by the elites in some way." The documentary maker said that much like Brexit, he believes those who feel "the system is working for itself and not for the people at the bottom" are the ones behind Trump.

Back in August, Trump actually drew a comparison between himself and Brexit. It remains unclear the meaning behind the tweet, but Trump may have been insinuating that he believed the 2016 presidential election could similarly surprise everyone.

"I think a lot of people feel let down by the whole Republican and Democrat political system and see Trump as, for all his flaws, a breath of fresh air," Theroux said. He also told Cooper that while he thinks Trump as president would be "disastrous," he does believe the Republican candidate has the potential to win due to the silent fanbase.

In addition to calling Trump's honesty into question, Theroux admitted he sees Trump as being unengaged and uninformed. "He’s a predatory business man with a short attention span who has been playing fast and loose with very emotive issues, agitating people about sensitive subjects and stirring up racial and religious sensitivities," he said.

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Nicole Gallucci

Nicole is a Senior Editor at Mashable. She primarily covers entertainment and digital culture trends, and in her free time she can be found watching TV, sending voice notes, or going viral on Twitter for admiring knitwear. You can follow her on Twitter @nicolemichele5.

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