The King of Chaos.
Nha Trang, Vietnam, February 3rd, 2025.
Salaroche


There are two politico-philosophical tenets usually attributed to the political thinker Nicolo Machiavelli that encapsulate Donald Trump’s political strategies quite well. Both those tenets were included in the treatise titled “The Prince” and served as political advise to the Medici family who ruled Florence, Italy, from 1434 to 1737 except for a couple of short periods.

The first tenet, that “the ends justify the means”, is not explicitly stated in the text, but implied across the pages to mean that whenever it is necessary to perform immoral acts in order to obtain or maintain power, those immoral acts should be performed.

The second tenet is clearly stated, that if a ruler has to choose between being loved or being feared, the ruler will be much better-off being feared. Together, those two largely-amoral precepts form the fulcrum of Donald Trump's political strategy.

We all know about Trump’s often-total lack of moral principles, so that particular Machiavellian tenet does not need any explanation. But how has Trump managed thus far, and intends to continue, to be feared, therefore respected, by friend and foe, for the duration of his second term and beyond?

First, he is behaving, as he usually does, as unpredictable as possible in his decisions and, second, he already started dismantling all preexisting institutions of government that might put limits to his dictatorial ambitions. The latter includes reshaping all possible relevant rules and regulations so as to make them instruments of his will.

Trump is a master at sowing chaos. That is basically what he is all about. He is a master at sowing confusion, disconcert, and fear of retribution, not only among his entourage, but also among everyone that has anything to do with him, including foreign leaders, thereby managing to hold the upper hand above them all.

Within his administration, Trump’s unpredictability generates intrigues, rivalry, and distrust of each other, so that, to avoid his whimsical ire, they all compete for his graces. The same goes for the American News Media and most of the oligarchs leading the tech industries in Silicon Valley and elsewhere. For their own sake, they all have to toe the line. And what is the surest way to avoid the “Dear Leader’s” ire? To show through word and deed the highest possible level of fealty to him.

Don’t know what fealty means? Just observe Musk’s, Zuckerberg’s, and Bezos’ vassal submission to Trump's will and you will know exactly what it means.

There is not much new about the current unpredictable political atmosphere in the United States. Trump’s constant penchant for chaos is just a 21st-Century version of the same cunning strategies that were first put on paper by Nicolo Machiavelli sometime back in the 16th century and have already been applied in different parts of the world time and again across history.

There is, however, one element in this political saga that generates amazement. That element is the fact that, even as all those insidious authoritarian strategies have been known to humanity for centuries, it is all being applied again in real time during the second quarter of the 21st Century and in the United States of America, a country that in many ways and by millions of people was until today considered the leader of human civilization.

It has already been said a myriad times before and by now it is indeed rather sad having to admit it: To ignore history is to be inescapably bound to repeat it.

Will we ever learn?

Salaroche