this post was submitted on 25 Mar 2026
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Historical comparisons to Trump? (hexbear.net)
submitted 19 hours ago by Dr_Pepper@hexbear.net to c/askchapo@hexbear.net
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What historical figures (recent or ancient) can compare to Trump?

Liberals will of course say Putin (which of course they know nothing about), but in my limited knowledge, Putin gained support by reighning in oligarchs and stabilizing the country. Trump is doing the opposite of this.

In my limited knowledge, he seems most like Boris Yeltsin. A complete dolt and perfect avatar for the terminal stage of a failed empire.

I think certain traits are unprecedented. He may be the most anti-social leader in history. His administration is doing things that don't make sense on a societal level, like defunding research for extreme weather and disease prevention.

Maybe this is just the most extreme form of narcissism on history: the entire world can end as long as I get what I want.

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[–] Wertheimer@hexbear.net 4 points 15 hours ago

Alcibiades is an interesting Greek pull. Article's from before the 2016 election. I'll add some more, since there's a lot of overlap:

  • Wealthy sex pests who spent their whole lives being famous, and being famous for being famous
  • Pretended that losing was winning (Alcibiades's whole resume consisted of "Well, I almost succeeded at . . .")
  • Profaning the mysteries : Epstein connections. Secret societies of aristocratic ghouls breaking major taboos.
  • Charming enough to wriggle his way out of jams that would have ended with hemlock for other leaders. Survived multiple cancellations (banished and sentenced to death in absentia, defected to Sparta, fled to Persia after supposedly having an affair with a Spartan queen, came back to Athens to lead the military again, only to fuck up and flee again for good)
  • Convinced his country to engage in an imperial boondoggle supposedly on behalf of an overseas ally, only for that war to ultimately lead to the collapse of the entire empire (it took another ten years, and involved Alcibiades being exiled and returning from exile and being exiled again, but they were never going to recover from the loss of the Sicilian Expedition).
  • Per Aristophanes, the Athenians "love him, they hate him, they can't get enough of him."
  • Masters of public relations - Trump would not only do real interviews but fake interviews (John Barron). Alcibiades's talents are overrated to this day because he was likely a major source for Thucydides, who gives him the benefit of the doubt in all sorts of places where he really didn't deserve it.