In this blog post I will be addressing how Donald Trump, the President of the United States and Prospero, from the Tempest by Shakespeare share similar traits.

Donald Trump is known to be arrogant and irrational, as he makes poor decisions that affect the US. America is a large country, so it has several relationships with countries whether it be for trading or military reasons. Since Donald Trump has been president, he has made it his goal to isolate America from Mexico. The Mexican border has access to United States, allowing illegal access to those who use the border to enter the US. Trump sees these immigrants as threats, as they are “stealing jobs,” and are “criminals,” basically causing harm to the US. He wants to eliminate illegal access to the United States, by building a wall between Mexico and America, literally. How does this affect America? Mexico and America are trading partners, Mexico has supplied for the US for a long time, exporting necessities, such as agricultural products. Building this wall will the relationship between the countries, but yet Trump still wants Mexico to supply the US. How can Trump expect this relationship to continue after publicly claiming that Mexico is an “abuser” of the United States on his twitter.

Prospero is similar to Trump as he wants absolute power. After Prospero was kicked out of his home, he was abandoned at sea. When he reached an island, Caliban, a former friend of his helped him navigate his way around the island, showing him where all the resources are, and helping him adjust. Caliban was a friend, until Prospero turned him into a slave. Caliban rebelled against Prospero, leading Prospero to enslave him. Even with Caliban being slaved, Prospero expects loyalty from him and obedience. Prospero treats Caliban as if he weren’t a person, calling him names and threatening him. How can Prospero expect anything from Caliban with his cruel behavior?

Prospero and Trump are similar as they both try to control everything. Both Trump and Prospero have been cruel to their “friends.” They both expect loyalty and obedience after their behavior. They are self-centered, as they only want what’s beneficial to them regardless of who they are hurting. They are similar in their ruling, as they both seem to be dictators of their land. Trump’s action does replicate the same kind of thinking of nature as both Trump and Prospero manipulate, embarrass, and are egocentric.

Further Readings
Tweets about Mexico from Trump
Mexico and the border 
All about the border