In Sept, 2015 I opined that Barack Obama and Donald Trump are Two Sides of the Same Coin. In January of this year, I wrote that it would be exactly like the American people to replace one narcissistic sociopath for another.
Now, going along those same lines, Bret Stephens has written in the Wall Street Journal that Trump Is Obama Squared: "Two epic narcissists who see themselves as singularly suited to redeem America".
As much as I would love to say otherwise, Stephens has done a much better job of explaining the point I was attempting to get across in my very modest way.
He does point out their differences.
"Donald Trump is Barack Obama squared. Not as a matter of rhetorical style, where the president is glib and grammatical, while the developer is rambling and coarse. Not as a matter of economic instincts, where Mr. Obama is a social democrat while Mr. Trump is a mercantilist.
And not as a matter of temperament. Mr. Obama is aloof and calculated. Mr. Trump loves to get in your face."
He goes on to explore the similarities of the two "epic narcissists".
"Both men see themselves not as politicians but as movement leaders. Both are prone to telling fairy tales about their lives and careers.
And both believe they are better than everyone else."
In one way, Stephens did not go quite as far as I did in comparing the two men to Benito Mussolini. All three rose to fame via a cult of personality.
Oddly enough, Wikipedia compiled a list of cults of personality because it is a phenomenon that has taken place in several countries in the world. There are quite a few countries on the list, but no Wikipedia editor has had the cojones to list the United States, Barack Obama, or Donald Trump.
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