Better Than Washington and Lincoln

“He is a better president than George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.” Donald Trump said that. He really said it. Out loud. With his mouth. In front of people. About himself. Let us let that sink in for a moment. George Washington - the man who voluntarily gave up power after eight years, even though he could have been king. The man who laid the foundation of a democracy built on the principle that no one should declare himself the greatest.

Abraham Lincoln - the man who led the country through the bloodiest war in its history, ended slavery, and whose words “government of the people, by the people, for the people” became the very definition of democracy. And then there is Trump. The man who publicly declared that he is better than these two, the best president there has ever been.

Just imagine it: you are standing there, holding a microphone, the world is listening, and you think, “You know what? Now is the perfect moment to inform humanity that I am better than the two most defining presidents in American history.” Not, “I hope one day to live up to their legacy.” Not, “I admire what they achieved.” No. “I AM BETTER.”

This is a level of self-delusion for which there are hardly any words. It is like someone saying, “I cook better than a Michelin-star chef” while sliding a frozen pizza into the oven. Washington refused a third term to show that America does not need a king. Trump tried to overturn an election he lost. But sure, better.

Lincoln delivered a speech in Gettysburg that was 272 words long and is still considered a masterpiece. Trump tweets “FAKE NEWS!” in all caps. But sure, better. What is disturbing is not only the statement itself. What is disturbing is that he means it. That in his mind this assessment is completely logical. That he genuinely believes if he says it loudly enough, it becomes true. What is disturbing is that no one throws tomatoes or calls an ambulance.

Washington was called the “Father of the Nation” by others. Lincoln was called “Honest Abe” by others. Their greatness was confirmed by history, not proclaimed by themselves. Imagine Lincoln saying after the Emancipation Proclamation, “That was brilliant of me. I am the best. Better than all before me.” Imagine Washington declaring after the Revolution, “No one could have done this better. I AM America.” They would have been declared insane.

But today? Today someone can seriously claim to be better than the founders of the nation, and half the country nods and applauds. That is the truly satirical part: reality has become so absurd that it can no longer be exaggerated by satire. Trump has already pushed satire to its maximum.

“He is a better president than George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.”

When you hear that sentence, you have to ask yourself: how distorted must a person’s self-image be to claim something like that? How broken must something be in that mind? How deep must the narcissism run?

Washington and Lincoln have been dead for more than a hundred years, and their legacy is carved in stone on Mount Rushmore and in history books around the world. Trump had a Twitter account suspended and founded his own social network, where mostly he posts about himself.

But he is better. He said so himself, the man with a complete absence of humility.