The Decline of the Jest

When I first heard that President Trump had been shot in the head earlier this summer, my heart sank: I feared that the irrepressible old man whom I had come to regard as the funniest living comedian had met a sad and shocking end. I logged onto Twitter expecting the worst. What I saw surprised me.

Trump had, indeed, been shot. But he was standing, fist in the air, surrounded by Secret Service agents who seemed to be holding him back, as though Trump were ready to rush into the crowd and apprehend the shooter himself. Blood streaming from his ear, Trump was shouting “Fight!” At that moment, the comedian, the reality television star, the frivolous playboy…they were all gone. In their place stood an almost Homeric figure, a warrior in the heat of battle. Had Trump been Diomedes all along? Or perhaps something happened in that instant on that stage in Butler, Pennsylvania. After all, unexpected events often produce unexpected results. And there’s little that’s more unexpected than a bullet flying through your ear. But whatever alchemy transpired in that strange flash, it was clear that we had stepped into a new reality. Playtime was over; not just for Trump, but for all of us.

Earlier than most, Constantin von Hoffmeister, author and Editor-in-Chief of Arktos Journal, recognized the historical importance of Donald Trump. In his book Esoteric Trumpism, published by Arktos in 2024, von Hoffmeister compiled a collection of essays that analyze Trump from many literary angles and philosophical traditions. “In the Chthonic Realms of Power: Trump’s Colossal Endeavor” is an essay in which von Hoffmeister imagines Trump as the hero of an H.P. Lovecraft tale, a solitary Romantic figure squaring off against the forces of Cthulhu. But in this case, Cthulhu symbolizes the decentralized network of chaotic power that has come to be known as the “Swamp,” the “Regime,” or the “Cathedral,” depending on one’s particular brand of nomenclature.

But it’s not all literary criticism. In “Trump and the Caesarian Age: A Spenglerian Reading,” von Hoffmeister ponders whether Trump is one of the strongmen whom Spengler foretold would arise in the winter of the West. In Spengler’s telling, great cultures eventually succumb to the rule of an oligarchic elite, which can only be overcome by a Caesarian figure, who will then revive the original spirit of the people. Similarly, in “Trump and Archeofuturism: A Reflection through Guillaume Faye’s Visionary Lens,” von Hoffmeister wonders whether Trump’s plan to “Make America Great Again” aligns with the archeofuturism of Guillaume Faye, which posits a fusion of traditional values and advanced technology.

Having been a guest on von Hoffmeister’s podcast Eurosiberia and having had von Hoffmeister as a guest on my own podcast that I co-host with Mattp969, New Write, I think it is fair to say that Esoteric Trumpism is no mere intellectual exercise. Von Hoffmeister believes that Trump is not only worthy of the mythical comparisons, but an important enough figure to warrant an “ism” attached to his last name.

The man has a point. Though what “Trumpism” is or will be remains to be determined, not least of all by the actions of Trump himself, it’s clear that Trump is offering a break from business as usual, a politics that’s both old and new. As a result, Trump has changed the course of American culture, becoming a beloved and reviled figure in the process.

Those who revile Trump seem to spend a great deal of energy on the project. But in addition to this mental cost, they are also missing out on one of life’s great pleasures: the comedic genius of Donald Trump. Without exaggeration, I believe Trump is the best comedian of the 21^st Century. Trump has the cadence and rhythm of a vaudeville master, but what elevates his act to the sublime is the stage on which it unfolds. It’s one thing to say “I don’t think he knows what he said” to a heckler in the Catskills; it’s quite another to say it to the sitting president during a live presidential debate with all the world watching. Trump’s refusal to “play the game” is what endeared him to populists across the nation and painted a target on his back for the so-called Deep State. But it’s also the key factor elevating his performance from the merely humorous to the virtuosic, from the entertaining to the transcendent.

Being one of the great artists of the 21^st Century is no mean feat. And for many, this would be the whole story. But there was nothing funny about Trump’s exhortation to “Fight!” on that stage in Butler, Pennsylvania. As noted earlier, when Trump rose to his feet and pumped his fist, it surprised me. I knew Trump was formidable, but this level of physical courage on display made me wonder whether Trump was perhaps more than a political magician. There was something, frankly, Caesarian in his bearing.

Trump as Spengler’s Caesar sounds like a stretch to some and a nightmare to others, but there’s certainly a case for it. Like Caesar, Trump is from the elite but has allied himself with the masses against the entrenched powers of the state. But Caesar only became “Caesar” by crossing the Rubicon, making the choice to come to Rome with his legions and confront the Roman senate who had condemned him for spurious crimes. Trump arguably had an opportunity to cross his own Rubicon in 2020 and demurred. Not exactly a Battle of Alesia-tier moment.

If the story ended there, the case for Trump as Caesar would be over. But the years since have not been kind to Trump. As the media frequently reminds us, he has been convicted of tens of felonies, mostly arising from the type of spurious charges familiar to students of the fall of the Roman republic. If Trump had started his political life as a publicity stunt, he was well past the point where he was earning any dividends from his publicity. It’s fair to assume that the persecution Trump has endured has hardened him, toughening his spirit and strengthening his resolve. But has it turned him into one of the men Spengler foretold? Only time will tell. But what is certain is that the man who pumped his fist on that stage in Butler, Pennsylvania looked like no ordinary politician.

            The humor is still there: from “Tampon Tim” to musing about how he’s more attractive than Kamala Harris, Trump’s still got it. But many have remarked that his tone is more retrained, more thoughtful than before the shooting. What this means is anyone’s guess. But I think it’s clear that the nation’s foremost comedian knows that the stakes are deadly serious, for him and everyone else. Should Trump prevail in this game of thrones, it wouldn’t be the first time a playboy put away childish things and became the man he was always meant to be. History is replete with men who followed a winding path to glory.