The Vanity of Donald J. Trump

I performed a Google search for “list of all things named after Donald Trump.”   This is what came up: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_things_named_after_Donald_Trump.  Check out the web page, it’s fascinating.  It is 10 ½ scrolling pages long and it has a total count of 226 items, most (200?) of which were of his making.  This is the top level breakdown: Real estate, 49; Hotels, 24; Golf courses, 26; Casinos, 11; Streets/roads/government buildings, 20; Arts and media, 40; Food and drink, 7; Sales/retail/side ventures, 25; Transportation, 2; Species, 3; Tributes and homages, 12; Satirical and critical, 5; Political parties, 2.

One might come away from this list thinking Donald Trump must have been one of the greatest creators of all time, perhaps surpassing the immortal Leonardo da Vinci himself.  But none of the great Leonardo’s works has his name attached to his creation.  The Last Supper is never referred to as da Vinci’s Last Supper; it is always just plain The Last Supper.  Indeed, take every one of today’s centibillionaires and none of them has attached his own name to any of their creations.  Not a single one.  For many of these projects, all Trump did was sell his name.  Note also that the vast majority of Trump’s 226 creations were cancelled, never completed, renamed, or went bankrupt.  Indeed, unlike da Vinci’s Last Supper, van Gogh’s Starry Night, Jeff Bezos’ Amazon, and Elon Musk’s Space X, virtually all of Trump’s creations were Trump’s idea and his name, others brought them to fruition.  He was not even the architect of his own Trump Towers.

What do we call this need to broadcast oneself?  Vanity.  Is it weakness or strength?  If you say strength, you are implicitly accusing the others whom I mentioned of weakness.

Why did I write this piece?  To prove how utterly solipsistic Donald Trump is.  What is solipsism?  Merriam-Webster: "a theory holding that the self can know nothing but its own modifications and that the self is the only existent thing.  Also: extreme egocentrism."  A solipsist is a narcissist to the 10th degree.

A solipsist has no empathy, a solipsist has no friends, a solipsist is incapable of love.  And that is the man whom we have elevated to the presidency, not once but twice.  And how many of us wonder what he will do when his second term as president comes to an end?  He did not leave gracefully the first time.

These are three of my favorite examples of Trumpian solipsism: 

Vietnam War veterans sue to block construction of Trump’s triumphal arch

1) "The Arc de Trump," a planned 250 feet tall(!) arch that would be constructed one mile SW of the Lincoln Memorial, would be 2.5 times the Lincoln Memorial's height, and will never be built. 

2) The Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts: 1) he replaced the Center’s Board members with his own slate; 2) they appointed him Chairman; 3) he changed the name of the Kennedy Center to the Trump/Kennedy Center; 4) box office receipts collapsed; 5) scheduled performers cancelled their commitments; 6) he took the Center offline for a two years’ renovation.  What a guy!

3) The East Wing Ballroom: 1) he tore down the East Wing of the White House; 2) the price of constructing the ballroom began at $200 million, then $300 million, then $400 million, then perhaps $1 billion, and all privately paid for (haha); 3) the price of entry to the Ballroom will be $1 million so YOU will never see its inside.

In a democracy, the people get the government that they deserve.  Sad.