President Trump is pushing Paramount to restart the Rush Hour franchise nearly 20 years after the most recent sequel hit theaters in 2007.

On a 35 million dollar budget, Rush Hour grossed 245 million dollars. Rush Hour 2 cost 90 million and grossed 347 million. Rush Hour 3 cost anywhere between 125 and 180 million dollars and grossed 258 million, so that one might have lost money. It also wasn’t very good.

But in this era of nostalgia that is buried in legacy sequels, there’s little doubt a Rush Hour 4 would make money. Doesn’t matter that Jackie Chan is 71 or that Chris Tucker is 54.

So why is Trump interested in of all things a Rush Hour sequel?

Well the president is a fiercely loyal man, and director Brett Ratner just directed a 40 million dollar documentary about First Lady Melania Trump. She is also one of the movie’s producers. Amazon won the bidding war for what’s been advertised as an inside look at the first lady as she orchestrates inauguration plans, navigates the complexities of the White House transition, and reenters public life with her family. With exclusive footage capturing critical meetings, private conversations, and never-before-seen environments, Melania showcases Mrs. Trump’s return to one of the world’s most powerful roles.

Melania will hit theaters all around the world this January and then stream exclusively on Amazon Prime.

Ratner also filmed his 2011 hit comedy Tower Heist in Trump Tower.

Outside of personal loyalty and a desire to break the left’s ongoing blacklists, Trump might also want to see a Rush Hour 4 for cultural reasons. The franchise’s big appeal is the culture clash between Chan and Tucker which is handled with affection and humor. Rush Hour mines huge laughs out of cultural differences which forces us to come together as we laugh at ourselves.

This Norman Lear approach to race, ethnicity and creed is healthy and unifying. This is the exact opposite of the current regime in Hollywood, a woke gestapo that uses the shallowness of identity as a cudgel to alienate, shame and divide.

Trump’s intervention represents more than just nostalgia for a successful movie series. It demonstrates his willingness to use presidential influence to reward allies and challenge Hollywood’s blacklist culture that has punished conservatives for years.

Ratner has faced his own controversies in Hollywood that led to him being effectively blacklisted from major projects. Trump’s push for Rush Hour 4 could represent an attempt to restore the director to mainstream filmmaking despite opposition from industry gatekeepers.

The documentary about Melania Trump gives audiences unprecedented access to the First Lady during a critical transition period. Ratner’s involvement in such an intimate project shows the trust the Trump family places in him as a filmmaker.

Amazon’s decision to acquire worldwide distribution rights for the Melania documentary indicates strong commercial confidence in the project. The combination of theatrical release followed by streaming availability maximizes potential viewership.

The Rush Hour films succeeded because they brought together two very different cultures and found humor in the differences without being mean-spirited. Chan’s disciplined Hong Kong detective paired perfectly with Tucker’s fast-talking Los Angeles cop creating comedy gold.

Modern Hollywood has largely abandoned this approach to racial and cultural humor in favor of identity politics that divide rather than unite. The woke gatekeepers running studios today would likely never greenlight the original Rush Hour movies.

Trump’s support for reviving the franchise sends a message that comedy bringing different groups together through laughter is preferable to the current obsession with victimhood and grievance. The president understands that shared laughter can heal divisions better than constant accusations of bigotry.

The ages of Chan and Tucker actually work in favor of the project. Audiences love seeing beloved characters return even when actors have aged. The box office success of recent legacy sequels proves viewers want to revisit familiar franchises.

Whether Paramount actually moves forward with Rush Hour 4 remains to be seen. But Trump putting pressure on the studio shows he’s willing to fight Hollywood’s cultural gatekeepers and support those who have supported him.