Something rarely seen is a president donning himself as Pope using AI, yet that is exactly what the world witnessed on May 3 on Donald Trump’s Truth Social account and the White House’s official social media accounts. About a week prior, Trump had expressed he would like to be pope when a reporter asked him about the Roman Catholic Church’s next leader. “That would be my number one choice,” he boasted. While it was most likely said as a joke, it does portray a pattern in American governance: the god complex.

Trump’s recent actions remind one of former US President George W. Bush. Some reports stated Bush privately claimed he had received instructions from God to invade Iraq and Afghanistan.

"President Bush said to all of us: 'I am driven with a mission from God'. God would tell me, 'George go and fight these terrorists in Afghanistan'. And I did. And then God would tell me 'George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq'. And I did."

One could argue whether these were serious assertions or if Bush even uttered them, given that the White House denied it. Nevertheless, there is ample evidence from Bush’s public speeches that indicates his so-called “war on terror” was often backed by a view of good versus evil and the bringing about of justice, the same war that unjustly killed hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians.

Trump’s behavior mimics this “holier-than-thou” attitude. On the one hand, it is yet another sign of pathological narcissism. On the other hand, such grandiose rhetoric helps justify self-serving policies and reinforces the reign of elite power over democratic principles.

Decades of Trump’s self-serving policies

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The recent introduction of a tariff exemption list that shocked many is an example of Trump’s self-serving policy maneuvering. The purpose of tariffs was supposedly the accomplishment of “America First” economic goals. However, some of the items on Trump’s exemption list were placed on ambiguous criteria, and, more notably, seem to protect industries in which his inner circle’s interests lie.

For instance, one of the items exempted is a thermoplastic used in the manufacturing of plastic bottles. This greatly benefits Reyes Holdings, one of the largest privately held companies in the US. Unsurprisingly, the owners of this company happen to have contributed millions to Republican causes. Further up the timeline, Trump posted on Truth Social, “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!” hours before he introduced the 90-day pause on tariffs. He later on bragged in the Oval Office about his billionaire friends making large sums of money from that decision:

“He made $2.5 billion, and he made $900 million! That’s not bad!”

Accusations of market manipulation and insider trading poured in, and senators demanded that such practices be banned, as well as the disclosure of transactions on those days.

Another important incident is when Trump promoted hydroxychloroquine as a treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic. His actions led to a jump in the shares of companies linked to the drug. Investigations also revealed connections between Trump and his donors to the manufacturers of the drug. The drug in question was never proven effective in treating COVID-19, has been associated with serious side effects, and may have contributed to thousands of deaths.

Flashback to December 2019: Trump was impeached for withholding military aid to Ukraine. A summary of a telephone call revealed that Trump was attempting to pressure an investigation into the political rival, Biden’s son. Then, in January 2021, he was impeached once again over allegations of the elections being rigged and inciting the Capitol riots. In the 1980s, did the real estate megalomaniac not make living conditions unbearable for middle-income tenants to force them out of a building he had bought to convert into luxury condos?

Role of elite power dynamics in American policies

Trump’s god complex and self-serving policies fall into the class-domination structure of American governance. As Professor G. William Domhoff explains, the US federal government is greatly influenced by an intricate web of elites who possess control over economic resources and political institutions. These elites often have the ability to frame policies that favor their interests. Furthermore, they maintain their dominance through social networks and a shared ideology of being superior and having the right to rule.

There exists a plethora of cases in which US presidents took governmental actions that served their interests. For instance, there are reports that suggest Obama’s administration may have selectively leaked classified information in 2012, which became known as the “Kill List", to portray him as a strong national security leader to boost his re-election campaign. In 1972, a group tied to President Nixon’s team broke into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate Hotel to help with his re-election campaign. What became known as the Watergate scandal forced Nixon to resign. Decades prior, in 1921, the administration of President Harding was involved in what became known as the “Teapot Dome” scandal, exploiting natural resources on public land.

Therefore, the implementation of self-serving policies is not a Trump-isolated phenomenon; rather, it is the nature of the US state, the same system founded on the genocide of indigenous Americans, currently executing the genocide of Palestinians, and killing many other innocent lives to maintain global hegemony. The US government carries out its policies under the guise of a savior complex, with the help of elite puppeteers on the theatrical stage of American democracy.