‘The Newsroom’ couldn’t keep up with Donald Trump: Jeff Daniels

The news cycle was too fast. 

Jeff Daniels, who starred on the Emmy-winning HBO drama “The Newsroom” as anchor Will McAvoy, told The Post that the show wouldn’t have been able to weather the Trump presidency. 

“I think one of the reasons that [creator Aaron Sorkin] decided to just stop was that we couldn’t keep up,” Daniels, 69, told The Post while promoting his Prime Video show “American Rust: Broken Justice,” in which he stars as a small town cop.

“I remember when – I think it was the start of Season 3 – we started with the Boston Marathon,” he said. 

“We were shooting that in November. It had happened in March, right? So we’re always months and months behind. And then, by the time it airs, it’s even further behind. So now Trump gets elected and there’s something every 15 minutes. I don’t think we could have kept up,” he said. 

“The Newsroom” aired on HBO for three seasons from 2012 to 2014, following the behind-the-scenes drama at the fictional Atlantis Cable News, including McAvoy, his executive producer MacKenzie McHale (Emily Mortimer), newsroom staff Jim Harper (John Gallagher Jr.), Maggie Jordan (Alison Pill), Sloan Sabbith (Olivia Munn), Neal Sampat (Dev Patel), Don Keefer (Thomas Sadoski) and the head of ACN, Charlie Skinner (Sam Waterston). 

The role earned Daniels a Golden Globe nomination in 2012 and an Emmy win in 2013. 

“I’m in my office here at home,” said Daniels, who lives in Michigan. “I can see this [Emmy] over in the corner. You wouldn’t see it unless you happened to glance out the window and then look up. It’s not like it’s in a showcase with three lights on it.” 

Regarding the Trump presidency, he said, “His presidency certainly was a show in and of itself that you couldn’t write, as they say. And I think that’s one of the reasons shows like ‘House of Cards’ and ‘Veep’ exited stage right when they did,” he said, referring to how the Netflix political drama ended in 2018, while the HBO political satire ended in 2019. 

“I mean, it was just – You can’t top that. What he was doing,” said Daniels. 

Referring to the fact that he’s running again, he added, “And, here we are again.”

Daniels also told The Post that rumors of a third “Dumb and Dumber” movie are unfounded.

“I talk to Jim [Carrey] occasionally. We’re still great friends,” he said. “I have no idea where he is. None of this happens if Jim doesn’t want it to happen. It would be fun to get together with Jim and [filmmakers] the Farrelly brothers again, that’s for sure.

“But no, there’s not one word [about a third movie], not to me.”