What is Donald Trump’s Bacon Number? Uncovering the Degrees of Separation

Have you ever played the popular party game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon? The concept is simple – you try to connect any actor back to prolific Hollywood star Kevin Bacon through their co-stars in as few links as possible. Well, there’s a new spin on this game making the rounds on the internet called Six Degrees of Donald Trump

In this informal game, people are trying to link famous figures to former president and celebrity Donald Trump in 6 connections or less using the concept of a “Bacon number” to quantify the degrees of separation. But what exactly is Trump’s Bacon number, and how is it calculated? Let’s take a deep dive into the world of interconnected celebrities and find out!

Understanding the Bacon Number

First things first – what is a Bacon number and how does it work? The Bacon number was created in 1994 by three college students as a spoof of the “six degrees of separation” concept. It specifically measures how far an actor is from prolific movie star Kevin Bacon based on their co-starring roles.

Here’s a quick guide on how it works:

• Kevin Bacon has a Bacon number of 0
• Actors who have worked directly with Kevin Bacon in a movie have a Bacon number of 1
• Actors who have not worked with Kevin Bacon but appeared in a movie with a co-star of his would have a Bacon number of 2.
• The process continues for each additional degree of separation from Bacon, with 3 being the actor’s co-star worked with someone who worked with Bacon, and so on.

The higher the Bacon number, the further away the actor is from Bacon in Hollywood connections. It’s a fun way to measure an performer’s interconnectedness in the industry.

Determining Donald Trump’s Place in the Baconverse

Now that we understand the concept, the next obvious question is – what is Donald Trump’s Bacon number?

Well, some clever internet users have dug into Trump’s history as both a politician and celebrity to map his connections. As a businessman and reality TV host before becoming president, Trump made cameos in several movies over the years.

His Bacon number breakthrough comes via the 2002 romantic comedy Two Weeks Notice starring Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock. In the film, Trump appears as himself in a brief scene with Bullock. Sandra Bullock previously co-starred with none other than Kevin Bacon himself in the 2005 movie Loverboy.

Therefore, through Bullock, Donald Trump has a Bacon number of 2!

Interestingly, this gives Trump a lower Bacon number than some other politicians and public figures like Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Vladimir Putin (all 3). Trump’s relatively high interconnectedness in Hollywood circles explains how he qualifies for a Bacon number at all, let alone a low one.

Delving Deeper into Trump Connections

In addition to Two Weeks Notice, Donald Trump has popped up in cameos across other movies and television over his long career in the public eye. Beyond just his Bacon number, mapping his connections to other celebrities through these roles presents an interesting picture of his ties in entertainment and politics.

For example, Trump appeared alongside Macaulay Culkin in the 1992 holiday classic Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. Through Culkin, we can connect Trump to actors like Mila Kunis, Seth Green, Matt Dillon, and Brenda Song.

As the long-time host and producer of the reality show The Apprentice, Trump worked closely with figures like Piers Morgan, LaToya Jackson, and Omarosa Manigault-Newman. Each of those connections fans out in many directions across the celebrity universe through their own projects over the years.

And of course, Trump has documented personal friendships and acquaintances with major stars outside his on-screen roles, like Michael Jackson, Hugh Hefner, Oprah Winfrey, and more.

While his Bacon number sticks at 2, exploring Trump’s network beyond that minimum link presents an intriguing exercise about fame, popularity, and the crossover between media, politics, and business.

Playing Six Degrees with Other Figures

In addition to Donald Trump, the Six Degrees concept can be applied to map connections between many famous figures across politics, entertainment, business, and other spheres.

For example, prominent entrepreneur Elon Musk has an estimated Bacon number of 3 through connections like Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, and Angelina Jolie. Pop star Justin Bieber clocks in at 4 via links to performers like Usher, Ludacris, and Kevin Hart. Even Pope Francis is connected in the Baconverse with a Bacon number of 3 through links to stars like Mark Wahlberg and Jon Voight.

The list goes on – try thinking of prominent people in any field and tracing a path through co-stars and associates back to Kevin Bacon. The connections out there may surprise you!

Of course, mathematical algorithms and services like Google have now mapped out and catalogued the shortest links between most actors and celebrities. But thinking through the degrees manually can still be an entertaining way to reflect on how connected public figures truly are across perceived barriers like politics, geography, and profession.

In the end, Donald Trump registering at a Bacon number of 2 makes sense given his eclectic career. The next time you’re searching for trivia or looking to link celebrities, keep the former president and his Hollywood network in mind!

Key Takeaways on Trump’s Place in the Hollywood Universe

To review the main points, here is a quick summary of Donald Trump’s place in the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game:

• The Bacon number measures how far an actor is from prolific star Kevin Bacon through co-starring links.
• Trump earned a Bacon number of 2 through his connection to Kevin Bacon via Sandra Bullock.
• A Bacon number of 2 puts Trump on par with or ahead of many other famous figures.
• Beyond his Bacon number, Trump has connections across entertainment and politics through cameos, reality TV, and personal relationships.
• The Six Degrees concept can also be applied to map links between other celebrities and public figures.
• While algorithms have now catalogued all the shortest links, thinking through connections manually can still be an engaging exercise and parlor game.

So next time you’re debating degrees of fame and influence, consider Donald Trump’s surprisingly high level of interconnectedness in the Hollywood universe! His Bacon number may reveal more cross-industry ties than you might expect.