While one of many heroes in the Iliad, Odysseus is the main character of the Odyssey. He is characterized as possessing many positive traits, especially intelligence. While President Trump clearly lacks the intellectual keenness and skill at counsel of Odysseus, there are some interesting parallels between the two.
Odysseus is famously presented as a skilled deceiver and fond of adultery (his own, of course). While his fellow heroes benefit from his cunning, Achilles and others regard him as a liar and condemn him for this. For the heroes of the Republican party, Trump occupies a similar role: they are pleased when he wins and assists them in winning, but often find his lies and immoral actions (such as repeated acts of adultery) troubling. Trump, like Odysseus, is a master of deceit and disguise—Trump can, for example, receive massive applause from the economically insecure forgotten men and women of America by praising himself and them as the elite. Like Odysseus, Trump achieves victory through cunning and deceit—and thus deserves all the praise due such success.
While no one likes to lose, both Trump and Odysseus are obsessed with wining. Odysseus makes it clear that he wants to win in everything. One of Trump signature lines was that were he president, we would win so much we would be tired of winning. While winning is generally seen as good, there is the obvious question of what it means to be a victor.
In the case of Odysseus, being a victor means getting what he desires, despite the contrary wishes of friends or foes. “Odysseus’ outlook threatens to make nonsense of morality in the broadest sense: including those values that provide a guide for conduct in situations affecting the well-being of others, imposing constraints on what one may do in pursuit of personal gain.” Odysseus is thus someone who “disregards moral constraints to do anything at all in pursuit of his or her own goals.” Trump, famously, takes the same approach as Odysseus: he pursues what he wants and does not let concerns about ethics or the interests of others interfere with his pursuit. While this might seem to make both Odysseus and Trump villains, it must be remembered that Odysseus is the (complicated) hero of the Odyssey. Likewise, Trump is clearly a hero to his followers. This raises the question of how this is possible.
One tempting explanation is that Trump’s followers are simply deceived: they do not know what Trump truly is. If they knew, they would cease to back him. This view is, however, implausible. While Trump’s supporters do claim that he is honest (despite his obvious lies), religious (despite all evidence), and acting in their interest (despite all evidence) their support is not a matter of ignorance. Rather, as others have argued, they see Trump as acting against their enemies and his unethical behavior as justified because it is aimed at these enemies. Trump is, as his followers point out, “winning” and fighting against the “enemies of the people.” In this regard, Trump is much like Odysseus—he exemplifies the pre-Socratic “warrior-king” virtues. This is someone who is strong, who will do anything to win and will provide his friends with a cut of the spoils—or at least convince them that they are getting a share of the loot. Most importantly, this “warrior-king” promises to harm the enemies of his followers and not balk at doing this, no matter what. As long as the “warrior-king” convinces his followers that he is hurting their enemies and protecting their share of the loot, they are pleased to praise and follow him. If Trump started losing, stopped attacking their enemies and could no longer convince his followers that he is protecting their share of the loot, then he would presumably lose support. However, as long as he keeps attacking the right people and is able to convince his followers (against all evidence) that their loot is protected by him, then the loyalty of his base is assured. Ethical violations do not matter, unless they are violations that help the enemies of his followers. As such, his followers do not care about his adultery, they do not care about his lies, and they do not care about any collusion or other election misdeeds. What matters to them is what matters to Trump: victory in everything.
It’s truly refreshing to read an unbiased, well-thought-out essay on politics, devoid of tired populist saws and untrammeled by the influence of left-wing media.
And, after having finished that essay, I came here and read yours. Nice job.
“…Odysseus is famously presented as a skilled deceiver and fond of adultery (his own, of course). While his fellow heroes benefit from his cunning, Achilles and others regard him as a liar and condemn him for this. For the heroes of the Republican party, Trump occupies a similar role …”
Until I got to the last line, I thought you were talking about Bill Clinton. Or Hillary. Or both.
“Like Odysseus, Trump achieves victory through cunning and deceit—and thus deserves all the praise due such success.”
Of all the negative things you can say about Trump, I don’t think this is one of them. Trump is neither cunning nor decietful – at least not outwardly. He states his goals and methods fully and accurately – and takes a lot of heat for it. He plays hard, but on an open court. The only thing you can say about him in terms of being “deceitful” is that he holds his cards close to the chest and does not let his opponents know how far, if at all, he is willing to go to reach a compromise.
Compare that, if you will, to the process by which Obama managed to get the ACA passed – we can count the lies, misdirections, and backroom deals for that one – but we’d need an abacus. And who was the winner there? Obama’s political legacy.
“Trump is, as his followers point out, “winning” and fighting against the “enemies of the people.”
I’m glad you mentioned Trump by name here, otherwise I might have thought you were talking about Obama, and his “Wealth Redistribution” ideas. Obama was the one who made “the rich” the enemies of the people, wasn’t he? Isn’t he the one behind our class envy and resentment of anyone who made more money than we did, and fostered an era of victimhood and government “savng the day” for all those hapless victims of the rich taking all their money?
“Trump’s followers are simply deceived: they do not know what Trump truly is.
If Trump is analogous to Odysseus – you must be the Oracle.
…”his lies and immoral actions (such as repeated acts of adultery) “
Is this a thing? I mean, I know it was a thing, probably, and here are stories in the news every day, but is it continuing? Does he have an intern playing with cigars in the Oval Office? Does he have secret service agents sneaking women in the back door of the White House, like Kennedy did?
While it may seem as though I’m a defender of Trump, that’s not the case. I find fault with much of what he does – but I have learned – I have been soundly told by my liberal friends – that the sort of infidelity, reprobate behavior, and lies and deceit in the course of doing business is unimportant. What is important is getting the job done. So, I take that at face value and pay no attention to the stories of Stormy Daniels or his constant barrage of tweets.
I do respect that he put his money where his mouth was and cut taxes across the board, and that his corporate tax cuts resulted in bonuses and raises for working people. I do understand your outrage at this, because it definitely weakens the cause of a mandatory minimum wage increase …
I do respect that his tax cuts have repatriated billions of dollars of corporate cash previously cached overseas.
I am cautiously optimistic that his tariffs will lead to the negotiation of better trade deals with our allies and competitors. Conversations with China and Canada and the EU seem to be pointing in that direction – but you’d have to get out of your comfort zone and read something other than biased media to get that kind of in-depth reportage. (Of course, the left-wing “tribe” has already attacked sources like that as being “Pro Trump”, so they have no credibility with half of this country. And I’m not talking about Fox, here).
I am equally optimistic about NAFTA. While the left was, and still is, panicking about Trump being a “loose cannon” and undoing everything that was great about this country, we find that the US and Mexico are closing in on a trade deal that is more balanced and better for us … and Canada is next. So I do appreciate that kind of “winning”.
Not so much with North Korea – but that’s a developing situation. It’s disappointing to see what Kim is up to, but it was not unpredicted – even Trump himself walked away from the meeting with a “wait and see” attitude.
Immigration is in the hands of Congress, where it belongs. Congress has not acted on this issue in decades, forcing Obama to issue executive orders, expanding the role of the Executive and undermining the belief in our tri-cameral system. Trump is no dictator – he is risking his own legacy and the electability of his fellow Republicans by his willingness to go to the wall and shut down government if Congress does not act on these issues. i respect that. Better that than to cave, kick the can down the road a bit, issue a weak order that the next president can just undo, and capitulate on principles.
It does sound a bit like I’m a Trump supporter, doesn’t it? Not true, though – I appreciate success, though, and further, I practice what I preach and actually engage in critical thinking without being swayed by an angry mob on Facebook.
Nice analogy, though – it shows you were educated prior to the shift in Liberal Arts curriculum pointed out in the last post. At least you have read the classics.
I use Clinton as my example of the Unjust Man in the Ring of Gyges; although you could draw many similarities between him and Odysseus as well. Clinton, because he is so cunning, would not be a discount Odysseus. Whatever you might think of him, he is far more capable than Trump in this area.