In 2016, before he was elected, and again in 2018, after he’d been confusing the U.S. with his family’s business for two years, I wrote that Donald Trump embodies the collective national shadow of the nation.
As Hunter Thompson wrote of Richard Nixon, I want to thank Mr. Trump for never letting me down—for continuing to prove me right at a breakneck, unfortunate pace.
Notes and Sources
Marra, Healing America’s Narratives (2022), for shadow, 19-32; for Trump and shadow, 261-290. Chapters 3-7 explore U.S. shadow in the histories of women, Native Americans, African Americans, the Vietnam War, and the post-9/11 wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
These definitions are sufficient here, and, obviously, abbreviated.
Folks who have deep knowledge in a specific area tend to be ignorant in many other areas. Some folks who have broader knowledge across many areas tend to be ignorant in the depths of these many areas. That’s oversimplified, but makes the point. One place to see this, from an academic perspective: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_academic_disciplines
Ashley Parker, “Trump’s Cosplay Cabinet,” Atlantic, April 26, 2025, https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/04/trumps-cabinet-cosplay/682601/?gift=9RaJP4gXCLSBS5Gbmf4B1TY_S3PhyiXJXcYiHKLe7jM&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share
“Last Week Tonight” is a comedy show. It is also impeccably researched, written, directed, and performed, and makes use of a team of attorneys to make sure that what is presented is factual, not defamatory, and not susceptible to lawsuits.
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