Essay Sample on Donald Trump as a Machiavellian Leader

📌Category: Government, Historical Figures, History, Leadership, President of the United States
📌Words: 1170
📌Pages: 5
📌Published: 09 April 2022

Niccolo Machiavelli was an Italian diplomat who lived in Florence. He wrote the book The Prince, a handbook for future politicians. He lived during the Renaissance and exemplified what is known as “praise” characteristics, which are qualities that a prince must possess in terms of protecting his kingdom. He additionally offers instances of improper and inconsiderate qualities that princes should avoid, which he calls “blame” characteristics. Machiavelli offers guidance on how to obtain, hold, keep power. He goes into great detail on the significance of being feared rather than loved by one’s people, the need of being cruel to the public to establish authority but not the point of being loathed, and most crucially, the value of deceiving one’s citizens. Meanwhile, former president trump demonstrates the deceit and cruelty traits that Machiavelli praises in a major way.  Trump exhibits the blame characteristic of Machiavelli, such as deceit, cruelty, and treachery, in attempts to be liked by his people to get the support of the nation.

Throughout The Prince, Machiavelli advocates undesirable attributes like deception as vital for effective state leadership. Trump who is frequently reprimanded for spreading false information, did utilize deceit in his January 6th speech to push his demand for his followers to challenge the election results certification. When Trump, was defeated in the election, he informed his supporters that it was stolen from him. He demonstrates the characteristic of deception by deceiving his audience and claiming that we would not concede out of bitterness at his loss and encourages his fans to fight for what was taken from him. Here is a quote from his speech, demonstrating deceit, “All of us here today do not want to see our election victory stolen by emboldened radical-left Democrats, which is what they're doing. And stolen by the fake news media. That's what they've done and what they're doing. We will never give up, we will never concede. It doesn't happen. You don't concede when there's theft involved.” He manipulates his audience, enticing them to feel enraged and fight for what he thinks was taken from him. When Trump refers to "radical left Democrats," he is deceptive because he implies that they are extremists in their political views, leading his audience to assume that they are liberals who oppose capitalism's fundamentals. Additionally, when he claims that the election was "stolen by the news media," he is attempting to deceive his audience by blaming the news media for stealing and passing judgments and blames. His resentment of the loss of the election caused chaos for failing to acknowledge the people’s will leaving those who support him with the belief of the great deception which led to him launching an attack on America by leading his people to strike the Capitol.

Then, in another quote, where he leads his audience to commit acts of violence by calling upon them to attack the Capitol, in this quote he displays cruelty another Machiavelli trait, stating; “And you have to get your people to fight. And if they don't fight, we have to primary the hell out of the ones that don't fight. You primary them. We're going to. We're going to let you know who they are. I can already tell you, frankly.” Trump pushes his supporters to fight and attacks those who refuse, ordering an invasion on the Capitol that resulted in him being impeached, which was one of the main reasons for his impeachment. He demonstrates cruelty by influencing his audience to fight and he also bullies the people who refused to fight. According to Machiavelli, a ruler's ability to sustain power depends on his ability to preserve the impression of being a good ruler. He states, “it is not necessary for a prince to have all of the above mentioned good qualities, but it is very necessary for him to appear to have them.” (Machiavelli par.23). In this quote, Machiavelli argues that despite his prior ideas that power should come first, it is critical to preserve a good appearance to reign successfully. Trump jeopardized the security of the united states and its institution, assaulted the democratic system integrity, and disturbed the peaceful transition of power.

Furthermore, Trump also displays treachery, he betrays his former attorney Bill Barr simply for resigning his job as his attorney, according to another quote from his speech where he states. “ If you hadn't noticed. I like Bill Barr, but he changed because he didn't want to be considered my personal attorney. And the Supreme Court, they rule against me so much. You know why? Because the story is — I haven't spoken to any of them, any of them, since virtually they got in — but the story is that they're my puppets. Right? That they're puppets.” Trump has shown animosity towards his allies, such as Bill Barr in which he exhibits treachery. Trump betrays former Attorney General Bill Barr, who was far too loyal for most of his tenure. Trump delivered a scathing attack on both his political enemies and long-time allies. In the quote he attacks Attorney general Bill Barr for not wanting to be his personal attorney, he continues to insult and betray the supreme court by stating that they’re his puppets. Though Trump has been impeached for his unlawful attacks, will he be the last?

An article on the foreign policy website states “Trump may have left office for now, but he will not be the last of his kind. The underlying antipathy and distrust millions of Americans bear toward their political, financial, and media elites remains very much available for leverage by ambitious future politicians, whether that’s Trump or others. Sens. Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley sought to do this with their objections to the electoral vote, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene did so with the farcical impeachment articles against Biden—articles that a future Republican Congress is also likely to bring.”It is critical to understand that the widespread mistrust of millions of people in the government gives a fertile opportunity to potential politicians who are seeking and looking for the chance to be in power by using the qualities of deceit, cruelty, and treachery to achieve their goals and follow the same steps of previous leaders by using the motto ‘Aims justify means.’

Another quote from the article states, “The people are, after all, fickle. But it will more likely entail a more comprehensive reconciliation of the material interests of ruler and ruled in the United States—on trade, foreign policy, taxation, and the prevailing structure of the domestic political economy. The kind of response we’re seeing instead, such as the expansion of Capitol Police powers and jurisdiction, carries its own dangers.” This should serve as a warning; the public has to be aware of the extension of power being granted to capitol police and jurisdiction as well as the promises made and not kept by politicians to win power, will the violence be prevented?

Trump has embraced these Machiavelli qualities, but he is not the first to do so, since others hold his attributes and way of thinking. Machiavelli's characteristics will continue to exist no matter what. If those qualities aren't followed by leaders out there, the people wouldn't have to fear their leader and there would be less violence. A ruler can prosper without wrongdoing and abuse of power. 

Work Cited Page

Machiavelli, Niccolo. “The Qualities of the Prince.” A World of Ideas: Essential Reading for

College Writers 9th ed. Ed. Lee A Jacobus. Boston: Bedford, 219,233. Print

Trump, Donald. “A Key Part of Impeachment Trials.” Washington D.C. 6th January 2021 Polansky, David. “Machiavelli’s Lessons for America’s Jan.6 Tumult.” Foreign Policy. 8 January 2022.

+
x
Remember! This is just a sample.

You can order a custom paper by our expert writers

Order now
By clicking “Receive Essay”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement. We will occasionally send you account related emails.