"Played like a fiddle" whilst America 'burns'. Is Mr Trump the new Nero?


Image: Getty.

The legend of the Roman Emperor, Nero, 'playing the fiddle whilst Rome burned', has survived for nearly two thousand years. Needless to say, it did his reputation no favours, but in a sense merely confirmed what was already a commonly held opinion of him.  Becoming the autocratic ruler of the most extensive empire the world had known at only 16 in AD 54, he has gone down in history as the epitome of human failing - the corruption of power and the power of corruption.

The victims of Nero's psychopathy allegedly included two wives, his mother, and his aunt; his perverted desires demonstrated by marrying two men and sleeping with his mother and a Vestal Virgin (at least!). But even more notoriously he is supposed to have set fire to Rome and played the fiddle while the city burned, then blaming it all on the Christians in order to deflect attention from himself.  Whether true or not, and many historians now dispute his colourful reputation, in today's 'BAME', 'LGBT', rioting world, he might even attract the sympathy and defence of many.

Some may see certain parallels in the current controversy surrounding the leader of today's most powerful nation, Donald Trump; more specifically the claim by his former National Security Adviser, John Bolton - 'sacked' or 'resigned' depending on which account you believe - that the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, "plays him like a fiddle." This in the wider context of Trump's alleged nonchalance in the face of plague and civil unrest, which he largely blames not on Christians but the Chinese.

The war of words and reputations arises from the book, The Room Where it Happened,  John Bolton's account of his 17 months  in the White House from 2018 to 2019, that is deeply critical of the President. In addition to the headline, he makes the damning assessment that, "I don't think he (Trump) is fit for office. I don't think he has the competence to carry out the job." In support of this opinion he cites Trump's alleged approval of Chinese oppression of the Muslim minority Uighurs, to gain trade deals; thinking Finland was a part of Russia; and not knowing Britain was a nuclear power. He paints a picture of complete confusion in the Oval Office and the President only interested in his popularity ratings and getting re elected. 

Of course Trump rejects all of this, now describing his erstwhile National Security Adviser as, "A washed-up guy. I gave him a chance ... and I wasn't very enamoured." In the Wall Street Journal he added, "He is a liar. Everybody in the White House hated John Bolton ... personally I thought he was crazy." Then in tweets he added, "Wacko John Bolton exceedingly tedious book is made up of lies and fake stories. Said all good about me until the day I fired him. A disgruntled boring fool who only wanted to go to war. Never had a clue, was ostracised and happily dumped. What a dope!" (As quoted by the London Times. 19.6.2020)

Image: The Guardian.

Whichever assessment is correct, the controversy will do no harm to future book sales, for which Bolton was reputed to have received at least $2 million. Apparently the government is attempting to prevent publication on the grounds of national security and confidentiality which on the face of it appears to contradict the line that it is "all lies". Whether this ploy works remains to be seen (It didn't. The Supreme Court rejected the application) but if similar attempts by the British Government in 1987 to prevent Peter Wright's Spy Catcher from entering the public domain are anything to go by, it will probably prove futile and only boost sales. 

It is likely that Trump's re election team will only really be interested in limiting its potential damage, in this the election year. Joe Biden (77) his likely Democrat opposition candidate, has already attempted to make political capital from the controversy but he is in a tricky position vis-a-vis China and Trump's success, up until Coronavirus took hold, to increase blue collar jobs and protect mid-western farmers. Trump is blaming China for the pandemic, which fits the global readjustment, but privately he may prefer to lay blame on the CDC and particularly Dr. Anthony Fauci, ostensibly in charge of the joint arrangements with the Wuhan lab to develop the Sars Cov-2 strain now causing such mayhem.

Tony Blair was once described as 'climbing up the outside of the building that was the Labour Party'. In a sense the same could be said of Donald Trump, elected in spite of the Republican Party machine, rather than because of it. He got elected by his commitment to 'drain the Washington swamp' because Americans, although highly patriotic, are sceptical of centralised government and the danger to freedom that it poses.  Whether or not he has succeeded is another matter but Trump's presidency must be seen in that light and his appeal direct to the public, suspicious of the Party machines. His popularity is currently at an all time low for him (around 40%) but this may well recover in time for the election to the chagrin of both major parties. Bolton's attack is dangerous partly because it comes from a 'died-in-the-wool' Republican, that is, from his own side of the political divide - if such a thing exists.

John Bolton has not only always been a right wing Republican, he has also been a vociferous hawk, which makes Trumps observation that "he only wanted to go to war", ring true. Significantly as part of his impressive government career, he was the Director of the 'Project for the New American Century' that famously argued for a "new Pearl Harbour" that actually came about in 2001. He was also in favour of both Iraq wars. He is therefore ineluctably central to the criminal fraud that was 9/11.

He is also an advocate for regime change, and American military involvement to achieve it, in Iran, Syria, Libya, Venezuela, Cuba, Yemen and N. Korea. I think we may say that up until Trump, this represented the American foreign policy position, and we have witnessed the wreckage it has caused. There is good reason to fear Bolton and those of his ilk.

So returning to the initial theme, Nero's reputation for good or ill has lasted for two millennia. There is little chance Trump's will last that long, even less one John Bolton. Nevertheless the brouhaha will no doubt play out over the election season and Trump will either win or loose another term. There is little doubt that there has been a conspiracy to oust him based on the completely empty Russiagate charges. The Democrats having failed on that one, the timing of Bolton's attack can hardly be accidental. He represents the Deep State as assiduously as anyone. Whether his accusation sticks that Trump is naive and incompetent and easily played by such leaders as Putin, whilst America 'burns',  awaits to be seen. Who knows, rather than be remembered as a Nero, Trump may turn out to be another Hadrian.* There are those that hope so.

* NOTES - From Wikipedia

Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus;^[ December 37 – June 68 AD) was Roman emperor from 54 to 68, the last ruler of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. During his reign his general Suetonius Paulinus crushed a major revolt in Britain, led by the Iceni Queen Boudica.

Hadrian  Latin: Caesar Trajanus Hadrianus Augustus; January 76 – July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born Publius Aelius Hadrianus in Italica, Hispania Baetica, into a Roman Italo-Hispanic family that settled in Spain from the Italian city of Atri in Picenum. He is known for building Hadrian's Wall, which marked the northern limit of Britannia. He was an ardent admirer of Greece and sought to make Athens the cultural capital of the Empire, so he ordered the construction of many opulent temples there.  Edward Gibbon includes him among the Empire's "Five Good Emperors", a "benevolent dictator"; Hadrian's own senate found him remote and authoritarian. He has been described as enigmatic and contradictory, with a capacity for both great personal generosity and extreme cruelty and driven by insatiable curiosity, self-conceit, and ambition.