Trump's Tariff "Rosebud" Is at Academy Museum
Paris flashback piano from Casablanca A 2019 article in the New York Times traced Donald Trump's costly obsession with tariffs to a 1988 auction of movie memorabilia. Flush with royalties from The Art of the Deal , Trump bid on a piano from Casablanca , losing out to a man named Vance. That was Eric Vance, U.S. representative of C. Itoh & Co., who was said to be bidding for a private Japanese collector. The winning bid was $154,000. At the time, Japan was considered an economic powerhouse, and Trump was considered a savvy businessperson. In interviews Trump began calling for a 15 to 20 percent tariff on Japanese imports, insisting that the island nation was taking advantage of the U.S. Two pianos were used in the filming of Casablanca , and both are in a current installation at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures (through Jan. 4, 2026). The primary Casablanca piano, the one that Sam (Dooley Wilson) used at Rick's Café, is blond wood with vaguely Moroccan decoration. T...
