America Must Hope Trump Is Not a New Caligula

The Economist: “America’s founding fathers brooded about the decline of the Roman republic into a corrupt and brutal empire. They feared such tyrannical emperors as Caligula, who renamed temples in his honour, had golden statues of himself erected, and revelled in humiliating Rome’s former elites, including the cowardly senators who handed him supreme powers.”

“Many ordinary Romans loved Caligula as a showman who built marble monuments, organised military parades and relished attending gladiatorial contests, the gorier the better. To show his contempt for the ruling classes, Caligula threatened to make his horse a consul.”

“Mr Trump, a fan of golden statues, marble monuments and cage-fighting, has yet to appoint a horse to his cabinet. He has, however, appointed unqualified sycophants to positions of high rank, where they vie to show their loyalty while squabbling over trivial perks of office. Americans can only hope that their follies are personal to the Trump era, and can be reversed by an election or two.”