"The most famous King Midas is popularly remembered in Greek mythology for his ability to turn everything he touched into gold. This came to be called the golden touch, or the Midas touch. … According to Aristotle, legend held that Midas died of starvation as a result of his "vain prayer" for the gold touch." — Wikipedia
Glasser: Based on what you know about his personality from having studied it and written about it, how do you see him handling the next three weeks, given that he’s now in this hole? To me, his combative behavior since the release of the tape, his lack of remorse, his going on the offense, his complaining that it’s not fair, essentially, his going to war even against his own party seems very consistent with the person that you all have done such a good job of describing. So what does he do for the next three weeks? Is there a point at which he gives up, stops fighting? How can he be a loser for three weeks before the actual election?
O’Brien: I think he is just going to wage a scorch‑the‑earth campaign for the next three weeks. And if he loses, which I think he’s going to—I think he’s going to lose badly—he’s then going to come up with a scenario in which it was stolen from him, that the election was rigged, because he’s survived by creating alternate realities. And he’ll never say to himself he lost because he had a skeletal campaign operation, which he did; that he lost because he’s unappealing to a large swath of the voters; that he lost because he’s willfully ignorant about public policy; that he lost because he’s a nasty and unappealing bigot. He’ll never, ever acknowledge any of that. He’ll just come up with an alternate reality that said, “It was rigged against me.” …
O’Brien: Yeah. I don’t feel like I’ve seen or learned anything new about him. I think a lot of the way he’s approached this presidential race parallels all of the strengths and weaknesses of his business career, personally and professionally. He’s a profoundly narcissistic person who has been insulated from the realities of his own bad decision‑making by wealth and other people’s needs to kind of glom onto him, and I think he really did repeat so much of his past mistakes throughout this political season. He came into it with an opportunity and an advantage that he could have really built something on. But because of his myriad flaws—you know, he’s financially undisciplined, he’s emotionally and intellectually undisciplined, and he’s incapable of building teams and leading other people, profoundly incapable of those things—he blew those opportunities.
And I don’t think he really cares. I think he’s been more than satisfied to be on a big global stage and have everybody paying attention to him, and he’ll never characterize himself as a loser in this process, even if he ends up one. …
D’Antonio: I think he’s addicted to this kind of attention and addicted to being taken seriously, or at least in his own estimation being taken seriously. So whatever he does, it will be devoted more to politics and media than what he’s done so far, and the kids are going to pick up the pieces of the real estate and branding empire. I’m working on a piece with some people who are evaluating his business, and he’s really suffered an erosion of his brand, even among the people who supported it. So the kids may have seen some of their inheritance go down the drain here.
From Politico
Click through for this long but interesting piece about Trump, his personality, foibles and actions and the future, as told by four of his biographers. As I read the piece, I thought of King Midas and his golden touch. I see Trump in a similar light. Trump sees himself as the man with the golden touch — he'll make America great again, if you buy his press, which I do not. But like Midas, who wanted gold and starved because of it, Trump, accustomed to getting what he wants, will starve from the attention that he does not want, the attention ascribed to a loser.
14 Responses to “King Midas?”
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In one version of the story (I think it may have been Nathaniel Hawthorne's "gothic" re-telling), Midas had the sense to repent when his little daughter came running up to him for a hug, with predictable results. Personally I think Hawthorne was an optimist. I don't think that Midas, or this Midas, had/has it in him to repent.
Nor do I! Although in a different context, Drumpf has already said that he has no reason to ask God for forgiveness. So a genuine apology from a mere human, let alone a woman, is nowhere in his cards. Some Christian, eh?!
He's not shown one iota of presidential behavior, nor does he possess any ethics. Personally, I'd hate to be one in his inner circles, or a DT family member…. as he's going to explode. Literally. And..again, he'll blame everybody/thing for his loss, except himself.
Thanks, Lynn.
That he will! I wonder in the devil will make him the VP of hell?
I have to agree with you on this. I suspect that his "poll watchers" will disrupt orderly voting, and that his loss may well elicit a violent response.
I agree. It won't be pretty when he loses.
And that is a shame,
I agree with TC, I am afraid there will be violence when he loses, and lose he must if we want to keep this country even half way what it was meant to be. He thinks he is King Midas, but his many bankruptices and law suits show he really doesn't have the golden touch.
What I find profoundly depressing is that despite ALL the news that's been revealed about Trump, he will STILL probably get about 40% of the vote.
FORTY PERCENT!!!
*sigh*
Defies all logic, eh?
In the current version of the story, there's only one person who thinks he's got the Midas touch and that is Trump himself who thinks that everything he touches turns to gold. His followers just hope he has it, they've yet to see it in action. Untill now they've had to do with his description of how things have turned to gold in the past, most of which happened in this alter reality his ego lives in, and with his very vague plans of how it's going to rub off on them a bit too. Anyone who bothers to look any closer sees that it is al fabrication, delusions and gold plate at best.
The four biographers have a point when the expect him to wage a scorch‑the‑earth campaign for the remainder of time. And that is a good thing, because the more people see that he is dangerously insane the better. He'll try to incite violence in the remainder of his followers, but he's tried that before and that violence didn't come to much at the convention either. I think chances of real violence and rioting are much greater if he were to win the election. People were attacked after the Brexit referendum too, so when a Drumpf victory gives them permission to go all-out, some Drumpf supporters may drop the last remnants of civil behavior, go all Drumpf and settle some old scores.
Love the expression "go all Drumpf"!
The fallout from Rump Dump Drumpf losing is going to start a civil war, of sorts. That will be a terrible thing when people start doing what they have been told to do by Rump Dump Drumpf at the polling places while voting is going on!!! I wonder how many of them will land in jail for interfering with a general election!!! Surely, they will arrest some these "voter fraud"!!!!
"And I don’t think he really cares. I think he’s been more than satisfied to be on a big global stage and have everybody paying attention to him, and he’ll never characterize himself as a loser in this process, even if he ends up one." This is exactly what I hve been saying about him, for some time, that he is a emptiness trying to fill itself with attention. And, yes, that he can garner 40% is frightening, does not paint this "Exceptional" country as anything but exceptionally stupid! Maybe that's why "It defies all logic, eh?" because that 40% seem incapble of using logic! FEH!