Citizen Kane is one of the films whose stellar reputation rarely leads to serious engagement with what it has to teach. It is the centerpiece of Orson Welles's reputation as a master of the art, such that from 1962 to 2002 it was the critics' choice for best film of all time in the Sight & Sound magazine poll. Since they almost invariably abstract from plot in their judgment, critics are uniquely bad judges. Yet their opinion has sufficed to keep the film famous enough for us to think about today. And once you see the parallels between Kane and Trump, it's obvious that the story does have a claim to enduring greatness.
The film was not popular when it came out in 1941, and that itself became part of the film's legend—its disguised portrait of media magnate William Randolph Hearst is supposed to have hurt the movie, since the studio didn't want to anger the man. Well, the Academy loved it anyway—it was nominated for nine Oscars, and Welles won the writer's award. He was also nominated for directing and acting, thus cementing his personal legend as a boy genius. He was 26.
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