By Ray Cunneff
June 25, 2020
While our minds are regularly boggled by the level of devotion and adoration accorded Donald Trump by his hardcore supplicants, sycophants and enablers, we only rarely get a glimpse of the full narrative of Trump as “the Chosen One”, an almost mythical figure, the flawed savior, the most gifted and most persecuted man in history, bearer of the unmatched wisdom of a truly great, yet humble individual.
“Humble”? Donald Trump? You learn the all-purpose answer from the true believers of the Gospel of Trump is that we mere mortals cannot truly grasp the scope of his genius. Case in point: I recently saw an interview in which a Trump surrogate was pressed as to why Donald Trump blocks any and all attempts to review his school records, his medical records, or his tax and financial records. The jaw-dropping answer was that it’s a sign of Donald Trump’s “humility”.
The mythology spun around Donald Trump is of a superior human being, gifted both physically and mentally, a “natural leader”, “visionary”, a “very stable genius”, someone destined for greatness. An all-star athlete and top-of-class scholar, so extravagantly successful in every way he doesn’t release his records so as not to embarrass or humiliate others less blessed.
With the power of myth, the “Chosen One” narrative draws on sources as diverse as the biblical King Cyrus and the historical Thomas Becket, unlikely heroes and, like loveable rogues and scoundrels throughout history, found religion when chosen by God to save civilization from the barbarians at the gates.
In some dark corners of the internet, he’s known as “The God-Emperor”. Trump himself has no doubts about his superiority (if not divinity):
“I think nobody knows more about taxes than I do, maybe in the history of the world.”
“Nobody in the history of this country has ever known so much about infrastructure as Donald Trump.”
“Nobody knows banking better than I do…I understand money better than anybody. I think nobody knows the system better than I do.”
Another part of the Trump “Chosen One” narrative is the misunderstood “humble public servant”, having sacrificed his life of wealth and celebrity to selflessly serve his country, to take on the world’s demons and tame them with no thought of self-enrichment or the exercise of self-serving power.
"I don't want to Win for myself, I only want to Win for the people".
"I think I've made a lot of sacrifices. I work very, very hard."
"I didn't need [the presidency]. I didn't need it! I had a very nice life.
I used to get actually good press."
Trump’s love-hate relationship with the press, as well as their mutual dependency, is at the heart of his ‘selflessness’ theme, his sense of both victimhood and entitlement, demanding media praise he believes is deserved and crying foul, the system is rigged, when it is withheld or insufficient. Yet he nobly suffers it, a cross he is willing to bear.
The messianic subtext is unmistakable and resonates with his base, the fervent belief that Donald Trump is sacrificing his life to save America from a New World Order, or from Socialism, civil war, or the zombie apocalypse.
“The Chosen One” is willing to save us from unspecified but nonetheless impending doom, and in fact only he can, and is willing to bear the burden of his selflessness and sacrifice. And all he requires is absolute loyalty and total belief.
“There’s nobody bigger or better at the military than I am.”
“I know more (about ISIS) than the generals do. Believe me.”
“Nobody’s ever been more successful than me.”
“No one is smarter than me.”
Trump insists that his conversation with the president of Ukraine was “perfect”, but he is so humble about that conversation that he would bury all record of it and then reveal the identity of “the spy” that shared it with the world - taking his humility to an entirely new level.
The problem with ‘selfless superman’ Trump mythology is that it’s patently false. His entire brand is built on glamour, greed and winning at any cost. He is both a carnival barker and snake-oil salesman, and perhaps the ultimate ‘vulture capitalist’, a ruthless, predatory businessman leaving a trail of victims, employees, former partners and bankruptcies in his wake. And for good measure, he’s a sexual predator, racist and misogynist.
For his most zealous followers, Donald Trump’s amoral corruption and his righteous crusade are not mutually exclusive. They co-exist comfortably within a very flexible, cult-like mythology of an unorthodox 21st Century messiah. The difficulty with the narrative is that it nominates for sainthood a person so reprehensible.
“No one respects women more than me.”
“No one reads the Bible more than me.”
"I gave up two more seasons ofCelebrity Apprentice."
Ray Cunneff is a former CBS television executive, professional television and motion picture writer. His book, “2020: A Trump Odyssey — The Rise of America’s Fascist Dictator” is available (eBook) on Amazon Kindle