Presidential candidate Donald Trump has confounded lots of people during his run-up to the 2016 election. The focus on Trump isn’t waning as political experts thought it might. As of August 2015, most reputable polls had him leading, or near the top, of both the Republican and the mock national matchups.
Media consumers see pundits smirking at the mention of Trump. Perhaps this eyerolling is an affectation by political talking heads, so we will think they feel cheapened; that Trump makes a mockery of their jobs.
However, most of the public has already lost faith in media and in politics, knowing the mainstream is laughing all the way to the bank.
Donald Trump is an entertaining and profitable distraction. Here are a few ways he and comic book villain Lex Luthor are similar.
They’re billionaires. This is obvious and rightfully first on the list. Trump and Luthor have more money than you and me. Love makes the world go ’round, but money greases many a wheel. The first incarnations of Lex Luthor showed him as a fully-coiffed mad scientist. Over time, he became a power-hungry businessman, which is how the casual fan knows him today. And, in one Justice League animated series, Luthor angles all of his resources to run for president!
They’re ruthless. Goes along with having money. Maybe there have been a few extremely righteous, sweet men and women who’ve made huge fortunes and amassed power on many levels. However, that just isn’t the norm. “I’d trip my mother (to win),” said baseball legend Leo Durocher. “I’d help her up, brush her off, tell her I’m sorry. But mother don’t make it to third.” To succeed in the world’s systems, Luthor and Trump long ago decided what was important. That decision to win the competition is reflected in their bearing, and what they say and do.
They are surrounded by beautiful women. When Trump said that long-time model Heidi Klum was ‘no longer a 10’, he gave us a clue as to his lofty standards. He has been married to and dated many, many beauties. The women will keep coming as long as he is Donald Trump. Yet Lex Luthor trumps Trump. Not only does he marry and date goddesses, two of them (Mercy and Hope) are his deadly bodyguards.
Their heads command attention. Much is made of Donald Trump’s ’do. But many people don’t know the twisty history behind Lex’s slick-bald head. The story goes that an artist forgot to draw Luthor’s hair a couple of times, and to cover, the producers of the comic created a backstory where the permanent baldness is Superman’s fault. Multiple versions aside, we do know that Luthor and Trump are instantly recognizable because of their noggins. For very different reasons.
Your opinion doesn’t register. Lex’s rudeness is legendary. He once told Superman, “They say ‘Keep your enemies close’… in your case, I’m willing to make an exception.” Not many people get the last word with Luthor.
Neither is Donald Trump a shrinking violet: He infuriates people from Fox News to The View to Congress to Mexico, and everywhere between. “We are led by stupid people,” Trump told CNN once. ‘Trump Won’t Apologize For (fill-in-the-blank)’, trending headlines keep telling us. Does he seem worried that you’re angry? No. Luthor doesn’t care, either.
Unlike Lex Luthor, Donald Trump doesn’t pilot experimental planes nor encase himself inside battle exosuits. He is certainly not a crazed, villain with plans to subjugate the world. (We think.)
But, if Superman existed, Donald Trump would probably try to humble him, too.