The rule of President Trump can be compared with that of King Creon from Antigone story. Both Trump and Creon are portrayed as challenged leaders because they are all faced with difficult decisions. On one hand, Creon is depicted as a ruler that defied traditional norms through his unshakable conviction that he was always right, and his decisions were all in the interest of national security. He pre-empted any criticism as a conspiracy to rebel against him. On the other hand, President Trump is faced with hard times for democracy, but he is exceptionally prideful and trusts that his choices are the only correct ones.
Creon’s rule has been shown to entail inaccurate view of his place in relation to the gods. His rule portrays an internal inconsistency of Greek life as there is a clash of rules. There is the rule of the public sphere that the city state has set and the rules of private sphere that are the responsibility of gods. Creon failed to recognize the actions of Antigone of burying her brother as legitimate. He refused to see that the actions were done according to the necessities of Greek culture “Thou canst betake thee whither thou wilt, free and clear of a grave charge” (Jebb 153). Moreover, Creon was shown as a leader who used a boast ful tongue. From the quote “Such the spirit of my dealing; and never, by deed of mine, shall the wicked stand in honour before the just; but whoso hath good will to Thebes, he shall be honoured of me, in his life and in his death”, Creon can be said to be a man that used boastful tongue to let his followers recognize him as the King. The king glorified each and every action so that no one questioned him. He believed that it was him that only made the right decisions, which is why even after being told that killing Antigone would result to a tragedy, he went ahead and executed his thoughts.
Like Creon, Trump clashed with Comey as well as those that investigated his likely obstruction to justice, which signifies a contradiction between two differing rules that include that presently binding the state of America and the rule guarantees by non-political institutions, which are termed as the rule of law. Similar to Creon, Trump has refused to recognize that Comey’s actions as well as actions of other investigators were not under the motivation of personal caprice, but were dictated by those norms that define America as well as its institutions. He has not been sorry about firing Comey “O.K. Now, perhaps I would have fired Comey anyway, and it certainly didn’t hurt to have the letter” (Rose 1). There are current tensions between the executive power by the president and the system of checks and balances. Trump is also known to use a boastful tongue to make the people believe in him and to show authority. According to weeklystandard.com (1), Trump is known for using boastful phrases like “I alone can fix it”. Trump is also known to be a leader that glorifies his actions. He is a wild and uninhibited character that is very original in his excessed.
In conclusion, the rule of Creon and that of President Trump seems to be similar in many ways. Both seem to have so much pride and self-proclamations that do not allow them to accept that any other person is right. Under the current leader, America is far from reaching democracy because like all tragic heroes, President Trump is convicted that him alone knows what is right for the country. He is self-righteous as far as self-knowledge is concerned.
Works Cited
Jebb, Richard Claverhouse. The Tragedies of Sophocles: Translated Into English Prose. University Press, 1917.
Rose, Brian. Did Trump Intend To Fire FBI Director James Comey All Along? 2017. Web. 2nd March 2018 https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/did-trump-intend-to-fire-fbi-director-james-comey-all_us_59706fa2e4b04dcf308d2a4c
weeklystandard.com. The Good and the Bad. 2018. Web. 2nd March 2018 http://www.weeklystandard.com/the-good-and-the-bad/article/2011217
