ABSTRACT
The fifth chapter explores Trump as a “creature of theater,” of carefully worded slogans, performances, and bold improvisation, and compares him in particular to several figures in Machiavelli’s works. Machiavelli understood politics as an exercise of theatrics, or the careful management of appearances. Two figures, in particular, are brought into the comparison, both 14th-century Florentine strong men: Walter Duke of Athens and the commoner Michelle di Lando. While theatricality is essential to political success, according to Machiavelli, it is not sufficient, and indeed an undue reliance on theatricality alone, rather than more secure bases of power, can lead to the early failure of a political career. In the modern case of Trump, the chapter suggests, it is possible that his zestful handling of his theatrical role, so that the gap between the player and the play becomes visible, is part of how his contemporary audience appreciates and connects to him: self-consciously ironic, meme-drenched, and distrustful of all political appeals to authenticity. If bad faith is universal, why not embrace the greatest liar of all?
