Andrew Sullivan compared Trump and Richard III in his weekly column in last Friday’s New York Magazine. On balance, he found Richard to be the more sympathetic figure, given his physical issues and difficult upbringing. He identified an essential similarity, however; both of them used outrageous lies as a tool to enforce loyalty and eliminate political opponents.
The similarity does, in fact, exist, but I’m more impressed by the differences. Trump is ego-driven; he didn’t want power as much as the adulation that comes with it. Richard, on the other hand, was a grim practitioner of realpolitik; he came of age at a time when defeat in politics at the highest level meant death. Richard was also a very experienced politician, and competent, unlike Trump.
In other words, Richard resembled Putin far more than Trump.