Donald Trump once said: "I have all the characteristics of a human being: blood, flesh, skin, hair; but not a single, clear, identifiable emotion, except for greed and disgust."
Just kidding, that was actually a quote from deranged madman Patrick Bateman in the movie American Psycho. But for a second there you thought it might have been a throwaway sentence uttered by the President of the United States.
Such are the times we live in.
Donald Trump walks and talks like a fictional character. Conversations and messages he has exchanged with other world leaders sound like they have been plucked straight from the script of an action movie. In 2017, during a time of heightened tensions between North Korea and the U.S, Trump decided to try an interesting alternative to conventional diplomacy and instead issued a threat to the North Korean regime. He promised that they would "be met with fire, fury and frankly power, the likes of which the world has never seen before". This line could easily have been said by Emperor Palpatine, and in fact, I think the Emperor would be pretty proud of himself for coming up with something so menacing. He might even pat himself on the back or do whatever it is evil emperors do when they feel good about their work. I don’t see the Emperor rewarding himself with chocolate or a relaxing bubble bath somehow. Maybe a glass of wine?
Just because Donald Trump is an absurd character, however, does not mean that we should not take him seriously. I know that can seem like a hard task; how can you take someone with skin so orange it would make a Geiger counter blush seriously? Perhaps this disconnect between the seriousness of his rhetoric and the outrageousness of his persona is why in some circles he continues to be treated like a reality TV star. He used to be a reality TV star by the way, but not anymore. These days he’s only the leader of the free world.
Take, for instance, the way that his full-frontal assault on democracy has been handled by the vast majority of the world’s leaders. Trump has consistently cast doubt over the integrity of the election, refused to concede defeat, refused to co-operate with the incoming administration, and in general has acted like a complete and total tosser. Has this been met with swift and total condemnation? Has the world collectively expressed outrage at this 74-year-old man-child’s attempts to undermine the very system that has held his country together for 250 years?
Sadly, it has not.
Instead, the world has reacted in much the same way a tired parent might when their toddler is throwing a tantrum. They have sat themselves down in front of the TV and turned the volume all the way up, hoping if they don’t pay any attention to the screaming banshee decapitating an Action-Man figure in the spare room they might stop of their own accord. Unfortunately, this tactic has not worked. Action-Man is currently lying limbless and shattered against the wall, while the tantrum grows louder and louder.
The lack of pushback has emboldened Trump and allowed him to continue peddling his lies, his devoted followers now seeing him as a martyr-like figure, fighting tooth and nail against a corrupt establishment desperate to keep him down. A messiah with a dodgy fake-tan. This, of course, is not the case. Well, the dodgy fake-tan bit is true, but the rest is not. There is zero evidence of widespread voter fraud, and even the champions of impartiality over at FOX News have admitted as much. Through gritted teeth mind you, but at least they admitted it. Baby steps.
So, while it’s more than acceptable to sit back and laugh at Donald Trump, and acknowledge that he is a ridiculous character, it’s also important to acknowledge that he’s not a cartoon (although something about him does remind me of Mr. Krabs). He is as real as you and me, and his actions have had serious consequences for millions of people.