With eyes glued to the political news reporting the final days of the treacherous cyclone of Donald Trump’s turbulent autocratic reign, many Americans remain in a state of anxious trepidation and dispiriting sadness as we continue to witness Trump’s destruction of the democratic values we hold dear.
It is an understatement to say it has been an insidiously ugly four years, but nothing we have witnessed to date compares to Trump’s fight to dislodge his presidential loss by activating the siege of his followers to storm the United States Capitol building. The dog whistle he blew for years was on January 6 more a shouting order to his criminal followers. A menacing Trump turned the switch to “on”, igniting a chilling blood bath leaving five people dead including two Capitol police officers. The denouement of Trump’s last week has somehow made his four years of corruption, perfidy and destructive criminality actually look banal.
Trump’s band of criminals climbed walls, broke windows and doors to invade and threaten lawmakers in the nation’s Capitol building. They proceeded to loot, deface, steal computers, and other sensitive material, leave threatening messages, and disgustingly, relieve bodily fluids in a building that symbolizes American freedom and Democracy. Meanwhile there were reports of Donald Trump relishing the violence, lounging from his secure White House bedchamber, watching, unfazed, ignoring desperate calls for help, even from his sycophantic lawmaker friends who were caught in the insurrection maelstrom.
Just imagine what he may have been doing during the deadly siege — snacking on fast food, guzzling down soda pop, as he watched the live feed of bedlam. Nonchalant and gleeful, he did nothing to stop his mob as they defamed, destroyed, beat and murdered police officers, and violently taunted the media. Even the long serving former Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Burliscuoni, one of the most corrupt leaders of recent years, convicted for tax fraud and other crimes, would be shocked by this behavior.
As art imitates real life, it is amid the dramatic climatic ending of Trump’s dark autocracy that we may hear echoes of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”; “Richard III”; or Martin Scorsese’s “Goodfellas”, “Casino”; or John Frankenheimer’s “The Manchurian Candidate.” Take your pick.
Resonating in particular is Martin Scorsese’s film “Casino” whose main character, Ace Rothstein played by Robert De Niro is, like Trump, a king maker — a mobster casino owner who controls his Las Vegas fiefdom and world of mob lieutenants. In Ace’s world he declares: “in the casino, the cardinal rule is to keep them playing and to keep them coming back. The longer they play, the more they lose, and in the end, we get it all.” These could be the words of Donald Trump who ruled Atlantic City casinos in the 1990’s until his casino-hotel businesses collapsed in failure, brought on by the classic Trump mismanagement.
In the movie, the underbosses meet their own fatal endings, while Ace loses control over his turf. While Ace laments the end of mob rule, the ushering in of corporate ownership, and ultimately the transformation of Las Vegas, he remains stubborn; showing little contrition for his criminal life. “But in the end, I wound up right back where I started. I could still pick winners, and I could still make money for all kinds of people back home. And why mess up a good thing? And that’s that.” Is this Donald Trump speaking — it has a familiar ring to it.
And speaking of artful topics; painters depicting Trump border on clownish caricature – an orange tinged autocrat shouting racist epithets or a grossly corpulent, stiff-haired dictator, sitting on a golden toilet. Why not paint a group portrait of Ferdinand Marcos; Suharto; Baby Doc Duvalier and Donald Trump, all immoral despots. The painter should use the thickest, bravura brush strokes in somber shades of grey.
Ultimately, the journalists, historians and artists who recorded the four years of Trump turmoil will have birthed a vital civics lesson to this country. The lesson, a gift to the parents of this country to teach their children the ugly truths of the Trump years, and the litany of his criminal and presidential abuses of power. To these future voters, it will serve as a warning that elections don’t just have consequences for our economy, our legal system or our climate situation, but for our lives.
Many Trump enablers — the family members, cabinet officers, agency staffers and lawmakers — will live out their lives, unscathed; working in the Washington DC halls of power, or lounging in their protected Florida manses. And Donald, the ringleader, will return to his Shangri-la of Palm Beach gentle breezes and an adoring circle of desperate grifters who enable his worst impulses.
But even the softest beach breezes, daily golf outings and surrounding nutty sycophants offer no protection from what will be a torrent of protracted law suits and debt payments, ensnaring an impeached leader in a whirl of despair for years.
An impeached traitor who sold out the country to Putin and his minions; drummed up the worst hatred in our country, dividing and destructively ripping through the nation. A traitor who showed zero humanity toward a pandemic tragedy, claiming close to 390,000 American lives and decimating the economy; worsening the devastating pandemic with disinformation campaigns about mask use and false medical advice. A traitor who mocked and threatened principled and respected scientists, journalists and government civil servant patriots. A traitor who filed countless, groundless lawsuits to overturn the fair Presidential election; and unabashedly pressured election officials to come up with nonexistent votes.
With all Americans have been through, how can there not be poetic justice here as we watch the unravelling of Donald Trump’s desperate, tyrannical reign. In Shakespeare’s Henry VIII, the Surveyor declares : “On my soul, I’ll speak but truth.” It is doubtful that Donald ever will.
Lynn Villency Cohen is an art historian and writer.
