Donald Trump is the First President of the Apocalypse
Our 45th President is the embodiment of many different conflicting archetypes accurately reflecting the current turmoil of our polarized society. First, he is the Trickster President, who keeps everyone off balance and turns conventional norms upside down with chaotic and unpredictable daily tweets. In the Lakota tradition he would be a manifestation of the Heyoka, a paradox as he has been actively undermining the efforts of that tribe at Standing Rock.
He is indeed the Paradoxical President, on one hand, a misogynist, racist, environmentally destructive bully, and on the other hand, an underdog hero, who single-handedly, against all odds, brought down the two most powerful political family dynasties in modern times, infamous for their war-mongering deeds, the Bushes during the primaries, and the Clintons in the presidential election.
Thirdly, he is the Shadow President, the term Jung used to describe all the forbidden material of our lives that has been repressed into the subconscious. Trump blurts out consciously or unconsciously, what half the country believes, but what all but a small minority would not speak in public. Jung observed that “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”
For that reason, he is, most importantly, the Apocalyptic President, remembering that the literal meaning of the word is not the end of world, as in Armageddon, but rather, in the ancient Greek, “uncovering” or Revelation. Think about what has been revealed thus far during the presidential campaign and the first years of his presidency.
During the primaries, major corruption in the DNC was revealed through Wikileaks, demonstrating that Bernie Sanders, the populist who had the best chance of actually beating Trump, was being actively shafted. After the shocking upset in the national election, Confederate war memorials began to be pulled down around the country, fueled by the backlash against Trump’s racist alt-right base in Charlottesville.
The Me Too movement also gathered powerful momentum, energized by Trump’s misogynist attitudes. It is reasonable to conclude that if Hillary had been elected, neither of these major paradigm shifts would have been promoted to the same degree into the public consciousness. It is likely that Clinton would have had the same effect for women that Obama had for African-Americans, everyone would have been excited to have a woman president, but nothing fundamental would have changed for women.
Inspired in part by Trump’s behavior, things are in fact starting to change. More women and people of color and diverse ethnicity are running for office and getting elected. The stage is being set for a powerful woman president to be elected in one of the next cycles, 2020 or 2024, which may be dependent on how much more revelation still needs to occur catalyzed through the actions of Trump.
Which brings us to the question implied in the title of this article, if Trump is the First Apocalyptic President, who will be the Second? A clue was offered during the closing scene of X-Men: Apocalypse in the summer of 2016 with the final line from the villain as he is destroyed by Jean Grey stepping into her power, “All is revealed.” Who will be the Dark Phoenix rising from the ashes of Trump’s presidency in the next election?
With her Trump takedown tweet two weeks ago Hawaii Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has catapulted herself into the spotlight as a worthy social media opponent of the tweeter-in-chief: “Hey @realdonaldtrump: being Saudi Arabia’s bitch is not ‘America First.’” As a pacifist Iraq War veteran who has been to Syria to meet with Assad, and as a surfer who looks like a movie star, she could be just the powerful woman needed for the electoral challenge.
Gabbard rose to prominence as the vice chair of the DNC who resigned after discovering the corrupt bias against Bernie Sanders and gave the speech nominating him at the convention. Her embrace of that revelation has paid dividends, as she has the ongoing support of Our Revolution launched by former Sanders’ campaigners. She also has environmental credentials as one of the veterans who joined the water protectors at Standing Rock.
Currently 37 years of age, she would be the youngest president ever in 2020, and the second president of color since her father is an American Samoan. She would also be the first Kirtan-chanting Hindu president, which might be a sign of the Apocalypse to Trump’s evangelical Christian base. Perhaps with the ongoing grotesque revelations about the Catholic Church pedophilia scandals, it might be time for us to opt for a non-Christian president. I wonder what our Masonic founding fathers would think of that twist of fate?
