After reading Dr. Bezio’s paper about the similarities between Shakespeare’s Richard III and Donald Trump’s presidency, I was left with a feeling of discomfort. How could two time periods over 400 years apart be so analogous? It was almost scary how Shakespeare’s play, based off of real events, and Trump’s actions lined up so well in terms of a chronological order. It was also really interesting to see how long toxic leadership has been around, and recognized for what it is. Bezio refers to the cliché that “those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” My first time reading that cliché, I only thought of Trump not learning from the failed history of toxic charismatics. However, second time around I realized that the United States also did not learn from history, as Donald Trump was elected by the people. Did the people not recognize that he was a toxic charismatic due to his manipulative tactics, or did they just not care?
In Bezio’s paper and during our class discussion, we talked about why charismatic leaders can be so supported. Charismatics act as “emotional actors,” meaning that they read their audiences to decide how they should lead. In Bezio’s words, charismatics “confirm what their followers ‘know’ to be true.” In class we talked about how everyone thinks that what they think is right, and if their opinions change, their new opinions are right. Trump was able to gain so much popularity because he figured out what people believed, and fed those thoughts back. I knew that Trump was a toxic charismatic, but I didn’t even realize how many actions he had used to gain support until comparing him to Richard III.
I also found the similarities borderline frightening. The way Trump was/is able to convince his supporters to agree with virtually everything he says, regardless of their initial beliefs or opinions, has me concerned about the future of this democracy.
I think Hannah’s point about charismatic leaders being emotional leaders is especially significant. A major explanation for their ability to gain so much support, despite potentially toxic characteristics can be attributed to their ability to manipulate an audience to exactly what they want to gain.
The point you made about history repeating itself is definitely true, and we’ve seen it play out in a multitude of ways. Comparing Trump to Richard III makes that historical repetition even more clear. They both were manipulative leaders but unfortunately still motivational and possessing enough charisma to unite large groups of followers.
It seems like everyone is knows the cliché of history being doomed to repeat itself, but apparently never listens to it. This example just makes it even more clear that history will just continue to repeat itself, even if many years separate two events. Though many of the ideas in the articles did make me nervous I did take solace in the idea presented that we have survived worse and will survive this as well. Though this may be a difficult time, we will make it to the other side.