The Compassion Revolution

I have written quite a few pieces about him already, but hopefully this will be my last. Donald Trump keeps intriguing. His rise to power surprised many, as does the continuing support of his base throughout his presidency, despite breaking every political rule in the book. It seems hard at times to make sense out of his often inconsistent, contradictory and chaotic behavior. However, I do not think he acts randomly or incoherently. There is one thread that weaves through much of his leadership – one that is so unpleasant we might not want to see it. It is no coincidence Trump enjoys the company of autocrats such as Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-Un. One of the main things that characterizes Donald J. Trump as a leader is, I believe, authoritarianism. Trump seems to have a knack for riling up people You may call him a bad leader, there is one thing Donald Trump is a master in: creating discord. After Barack Obama’s time in office, many on the left might have been lulled into thinking of ...

Donald Trump, he is an enigma. He took the political world by surprise. Every day his words and actions continue to stir up debate (and might continue to do so, depending on what happens after November 3rd). He brings out either shock and disgust or cheering and adoration. But let us look a little deeper, to try and understand how we got where we are today, and – most interestingly – how Donald Trump got into the position where he is today. There are many sides to this story, and books will probably continue to be written about him for a long time, but in this piece I would like to have a look at the personality cult that developed around him and that is one of the supporting factors for his presidency. Donald J. Trump, he sure did manage to make a name for himself Trump’s political following looks like a personality cult. He loves to hold rallies (doesn’t matter if there is corona), where his supporters wildly cheer him. Left-wing observers are surprised time and time again how ea...