Source: Fortune
Summary
President Donald Trump’s relentless personal branding has reached unprecedented levels, with his name and image appearing on everything from Trump RX and Trump accounts to Trump coins and Trump fighter jets. This grandiose image building is a key leadership lever for Trump, who has been obsessed with gold and luxury throughout his career. Historians note that Trump’s level of personal branding is unmatched by other successful leaders, who tend to radiate restraint rather than gawk-inspiring shows of wealth. Trump’s obsession with grandiosity is seen as a desperate attempt to prove his greatness, which is fragile and easily threatened by dissent.
Our Reading
The numbers tell one story. Trump’s personal branding is a key aspect of his leadership style, with his name and image appearing on everything from Trump Tower’s golden atrium to the President Donald J. Trump International Airport. He is obsessed with gold, which screams money to the masses. This is not just commercial branding or entrepreneurial greed, but a desperate attempt to prove his greatness. Trump’s desired destiny will not be realized. The futility of leaders arrogantly seeking fame in a quest for immortal renown was warned about in the 1818 sonnet “Ozymandias” by English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. Trump’s grandiose image is a thin veneer, easily punctured by reality.
Author: Evan Null
