D. Trump: “President Xi is very happy that the Strait of Hormuz is open and/or opening quickly,” Trump stated in a post on the Truth Social platform. “Our meeting in China will be special and possibly historic. I look forward to meeting President Xi. Much will be accomplished!” he added.
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History is neither swayed by roles nor deceived by well-performed acts. Leaders may change masks, adopt narratives, and invest in communicative artifices, yet facts remain relentless. Power, when exercised without principles, always reveals its true face—no matter how hard it tries to hide behind rhetoric of democracy and humanitarian concern.
The world does not need better “actors” on the political stage, but leaders of consistency, historical awareness, and moral gravity. And if history teaches anything, it is that truth, sooner or later, steps out from behind the curtain and claims its rightful leading role.
“Hypocrite” — from the ancient Greek hypokrinomai — originally meant “actor,” one who plays a role. As such, each time, depending on the play, he changes roles.
Donald Trump always had this longing: to become famous through acting. And since he failed to establish himself as an actor, he ended up… a politician. Not, of course, that there is much difference between these two professions. In both, distinction belongs to the one who plays his roles best.
According, however, to the judgment of the renowned director Woody Allen, the current President of the United States “had the ability, in front of the camera, to meet the demands of the role.” And this… “gift,” it seems, Donald Trump has retained—from his failed course as an actor to his successful career today as President of the United States.
When, a few weeks ago, his troops invaded Iran, the American president appeared proudly and arrogantly to convince us that purely humanitarian and politically sensitive reasons dictated the annihilation of the Mullah regime and the restoration of Democracy in the country, in order to relieve a people long oppressed, with many victims over time in its always unsuccessful uprisings. No reasonable and historically aware observer, of course, believed these new resounding lines from the latest script chosen by Donald Trump. He was merely performing a role—and only the ignorant or the naïve, who always confuse day with night, were convinced it was reality.
However, the new geopolitical conditions that have formed in the world—and not only in the Middle East—are not sufficient on their own to interpret the American president’s invasions of foreign countries. It is also Trump’s own character: beyond being an actor, he has built a long-standing behavior as a businessman, characterized by aggressive moves, especially in New York real estate and the famous “deals,” often using borrowed capital. These two factors are fundamental in explaining his choices and cannot be historically examined independently or in isolation from one another.
Let us be honest and clear. If it were Donald Trump’s democratic sensitivities that guide him each time in selecting targets—whom to abduct and whom to kill—then logically and ethically he should have begun with his friendly counterparts, the two dictators of Russia and North Korea. Both regimes have nothing to envy from that theocratic one of the Mullahs. Indeed, one could argue that at least the regime of Pyongyang is even harsher and more inhumane than that of Iran.
We left for last—but not outside historical scrutiny—the regime of China. This one, in turn, beyond its close relations with the aforementioned regimes, also possesses many of the severe pathologies of totalitarian systems worldwide. President Xi Jinping may maintain a low profile, avoiding openly displaying his true face like his allies Putin and Kim Jong-un, yet his own record in democratic procedures is far from exemplary. This will become even clearer if Chinese society dares to resist. It is certain that the country would relive the dark moments of Tiananmen Square.
Certainly, Donald Trump does not seem to share the views expressed here. He follows his own tactic, forged on the “bed” of the mythical bandit Procrustes. And today he fraternizes with the leaders of these regimes. Because, of course… “he has no other choice.” As we say in Greece: “If you cannot bite the hand, kiss it.” And Donald Trump is an expert in such “kisses of Judas”!