Trump Works the Presidency: Imperial Boss and Cyborg Operator

Another working paper; title above; abstract, contents, and introduction below. Download here:

Academia.edu: https://www.academia.edu/37531960/Trump_Works_the_Presidency_Imperial_Boss_and_Cyborg_Operator
SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3260841

Abstract: One feature of Trump’s Presidency is that he consistently blurs the line between his personal interests and duties and his duties to and responsibility for the nation. This kind of distinction has been dramatized in various works, such as Shakespeare plays (Henry V, Part II) and current TV series, The Crown, and NCIS. General behavior and policies aside, there are two specific mechanisms Trump employs that act to blur that crucial distinction: 1) He issues a constant stream of tweets on political matters and on national policy. 2) He conducts regular campaign-style rallies around the nation. Using these two mechanisms he projects his unbridled Id over the nation, thereby connecting with his “base” and, in effect, fusing with it to form a hybrid cybernetic organ of national control.

Contents

King Tyrant Lizard-in-Chief 2
Trump, Falstaff, and the Queen 3

The Rejection of Falstaff 3
The Humbling of Philip Mountbatten 4

Donald Trump is no Leroy Jethro Gibbs 6

The honor to serve 6
Everything in its place 7
Personal interest vs. public duty 8
What would Donald do? 10
God save the Queen! 11

Feed Me Donald! – Trump, Musk, the Internet, and Monsters from the Id 13

Limbic Resonance 14
Trumposaurus Rising 15
Feed Me Donald 16
Yes, I mistrust those organic metaphors 17

Trumposaurus Rex – Toward a cybernetic interpretation 18
Appendix: Salvation and Democracy, or How One's Personal Relationship with Christ Underwrites Governmental Legitimacy 22

King Tyrant Lizard-in-Chief

This working paper isn’t about President Trump’s politics, his views and policies. It’s about how he runs/enacts/executes the Presidency.

The first two pieces, “Trump, Falstaff, and the Queen” and “Donald Trump is no Leroy Jethro Gibbs”, are about his flagrant disregard for the distinction between his personal interests and responsibilities and his responsibilities and duties to the nation as its president. Shakespeare marks the distinction in Henry V, Part II by having Prince Hal reject his old carousing buddy Falstaff once he’s ascended the throne to become King Henry V. In The Crown Elizabeth enforces the distinction by having her husband bow down before her, in public, during the coronation ceremony. In the last episodes of season seven of NCIS we learn that while he was a Marine sniper Leroy Gibbs (the central character in the show) had murdered a drug lord who was responsible for the deaths of his wife and young daughter. Abby Sciuto, a Forensic Specialist, has discovered this and is reluctant issue a report that would reveal this fact, thereby exposing Gibbs to arrest and trial. Gibbs gives her permission to issue the report.

In each of these cases a character is faced with a decision that pits their duty to a position against deep bonds of personal affection. Prince Hal has had been a close companion to Falstaff for several years. Elizabeth loves her husband and does not want to humiliate him. Abby feels a deep personal loyalty to Gibbs and he, of course, has no desire to go on trial for murder. But he knows what duty demands. This last case is particularly important in this context because NCIS is known to be popular among Trump supporters, who respond to its patriotic sentiment and respect for authority.

The next two pieces, “Feed Me Donald! – Trump, Musk, the Internet, and Monsters from the Id” and “Trumposaurus Rex – Toward a cybernetic interpretation”, are about, if you will, Trump’s procedural innovations, the personal tweet stream and his series of campaign-style rallies. The provocative nature of Trump’s tweets allows him to dominate the 24-hour news cycle and to keep in emotional contact with his base by monitoring the effects of his tweets through Fox News and other programs. The rallies give him an immediate performative buzz, allowing him to bask in the glow of fan approval – for we ARE talking about fans here – and, of course, allows his fans to experience his powers.

At the same time we must realize that Trump is all but powerless in the face of his need for emotional release and fan approval. Equally, there is a sense in which his base is constantly demanding that he feed them with his anger, rage, and, beneath it all, his fear. He needs them, they need him. It is a technologically mediated marriage of convenience. A conversation between Elon Musk and Joe Rogan outlines that cybernetic man-machine hybrid. A clip from the 1986 film, Little Shop of Horrors, illustrates the hunger.

The concluding appendix is about the structure of governmental legitimacy as expressed in The Declaration of Independence. The federal government gets its legitimacy from the people, though the mechanism of voting. The people are endowed with their powers from God. This stands in contrast to a monarchy where the monarch gets their powers directly from God. The mechanisms of government thus depend on the separation of church and state. Though Trump does not claim divine authority, he is quite willing to enact policies that erode the distinction between church and state. And, of course, his mode of governance is perhaps close to that of the authoritarian monarch than that of any previous president. That mode comes into play through his inability to distinguish between his private person and his role as president and it is amplified by his tweets and rallies.