Self-glorification orgy continues.
#Trump #Hitler #MAGA #Nazis #despot #fascist #delusion #hubris #selfaggrandize #selfglorification #sick #pathetic #EndTimes #TheEnd

But the news about the statue makes you wonder about what new frontiers of presidential self-regard lay ahead of us. The project was organized by a group of cryptocurrency investors who raised $300,000 for it and have been using it to hype a memecoin called $PATRIOT. The sculptor, meanwhile, had no idea that his art would be used in this promotional way. Like many people who have worked on Trump-related projects over the decades, he is still awaiting full payment for his work, and he won't release the colossus from his studio in Zanesville, Ohio, until the check arrives. As for Trump, he loves what he's seen so far-"It LOOKS FANTASTIC," he wrote in a letter to one of the organizers-and so not only will the statue most likely be erected in Miami before long, but a smaller version might also be headed for the White House. Bear with me when I say something that many might find distasteful: Let's have even more of this. The most effective way to highlight the unprecedentedly self-serving nature of Trump's presidency has always been through moments when its abnormality is abject and undeniable. Moments that provide contrast. He separates families. He sends masked federal agents to terrorize various American cities. He calls his enemies "vermin" and "scum" and "Piggy." For some of his fans, evidently, this is refreshing, the sign of a president willing to speak truthfully and shatter outdated norms. But mostly these moments have chipped away at his support, even among his voters, because they force everyone to gaze upon the true face of Trump.

In case a reminder is needed: There is no tradition in America of presidents commissioning or even unveiling statues of themselves. Of course, there are a few famous postmortem monuments, including the Lincoln Memorial and Mount Rushmore. But even these can be controversial. When the sculptor Horatio Greenough created a 12-ton marble statue of President George Washington in 1842 for the centennial of the Founder's birth, he modeled it on images of Zeus. People felt such deep discomfort at the sight of Washington in nothing but a toga and sandals—looking like he was relaxing in a sauna and showing off some admirable pecs-that it kept being schlepped around the Capitol, even landing at one point on the East Lawn, hidden in a shed. Whether you are a president or not, endorsing a 15-foot golden statue of yourself suggests either an enormous ego or a drive to inspire fear—or both. In authoritarian countries where the Dear Leader's image is a mandatory fixture in public or even private places —during the Cultural Revolution, a Mao Zedong portrait in your home was obligatory—it also risks telegraphing insecurity. The object of enforced idol worship might be compensating for being a mortal with earthbound power by literally representing themselves as omnipresent or larger than life. Such self-aggrandizement has never been an attractive side of Trump —again, even for many of his supporters. Polls show that his voters want him to get things done: fix the economy and make it affordable, project strength on the world stage, make good deals. Burnishing his cult of personality is, for all but the most besotted or trollish, not on that list. Which is why those opposed to Trump might consider keeping quiet at the sight of false idols. Statues and nameplates reveal better than anything else how much his idea of power diverges from the traditional institution of the American presidency.

Let Trump keep building monuments to himself: The president’s penchant for gilded statues and self-glorification might at least help clarify the nature of his leadership. archive.ph/dJA34 #trumpism #selfglorification #megalomania #authoritarianism