Trump and The 48 Laws of Power: Mastery at Its Finest

Every person on the face of this planet, in one way or another, is bound to a particular way of thinking, and a set of principles, that guide their actions. If most people were able to understand this, they would spend less time judging and trying to figure out others, and more time doing their own thing, because they would already realize that people are going to do whatever they want to do regardless. Their thinking patterns lead them to do so. But the truth is that most people will never reach this level of thinking. If they ever do, it definitely will not be any time soon. Why? Because their concept of what is right and wrong prevents them from doing such. In the very real world that we live in, they choose to not see and acknowledge the truth about people, and use everything from religion to generational misconceptions and excuses to justify their views on morality and life. When things go wrong, they run, too afraid to face their fears and challenge their own conditioned minds. When people harm, betray and threaten to hurt them, instead of striking back, they retreat, like cowards. To these kinds of people, revenge is "evil." They say things, like, "I don't have time for this negative energy" or "I'll just go pray about it." And it is exactly this particular mindset that makes them completely unequipped to even participate in the game of power, much more succeed at it. They pray to their gods but still end up getting fucked over in life. And I see examples of this every single day. You do, too — unless you are just in denial.

The truth is that Jesus is not coming back any time soon and, as much as you may want the world to be peaceful, this will not happen any time soon, either. People are going to rob, steal and kill until the world is over. They will deceive you, if you let them. They will lie to you as if it is nothing, befriend you and, then, stab you in the back, with no remorse. This is just life. Take it or leave it. If you want to have power or be successful in real-life "politics," you have to understand this first and accept that it all just comes with the territory. If you can understand this, soon enough, you will realize that life itself is nothing but a hub of political chaos. And, believe me, Donald Trump definitely understands this.

If you are not familiar with the works of Robert Greene by now, and have little to no idea of whom Sun Tzu and Niccolo Machiavelli were, and power is what you want, be it political or otherwise, it is time for you to step up your game. We live in the Information Age, so I need not go into profound detail about these amazing men. Your Web browser exists for that purpose. But let me give you the basics.

Sun Tzu was an ancient Chinese general, military strategist and philosopher. Greene is a bestselling author, speaker and acclaimed authority on strategy, power and seduction. And Niccolò Machiavelli, a late "distant relative" of mine, is credited as being "the founder of modern political science." Although strategy and power were being exercised long before these men ever existed, they studied and documented it in comprehensive, guidebook form, which, to this very day, facilitates one's application of strategy while on the quest for power. Countless people who have risen to power have pointed to their works, referencing them as political bibles, so to speak. And this is exactly what they are: political bibles on strategy and power. Hence, I, too, reference them. Just as every serious Christian should have a Holy Bible — and every Muslim, a Holy Quran — every person seeking success in politics, business and life should have copies of these men's works. Chiefly, The Art of War (Sun Tzu), The Prince (Machiavelli) and The 48 Laws of Power (Greene). And they should study and apply the knowledge within these works as if their lives depended on it. In the power game, believe me, your life surely does.

Now, in the Introduction, I mentioned that Donald Trump is a mastermind. I also asserted that, by strategic appearance, he is "masterfully masterminding his way into the White House." And guess what — I meant every word of it. And I believe that, if you read the three books I just mentioned, with emphasis on The 48 Laws of Power, you will see Donald Trump written all over them. Therefore, so that you can see this for yourself, in this chapter, I will review the 48 Laws and show you how, in my opinion, Trump is applying them as he sees fit — all to his advantage. If you have paid enough attention to him in the media, it will not be hard for you to see how masterfully he exercises these Laws. Moreover, if you do not have a copy of The 48 Laws of Power, then, I suggest you acquire one. With that said, let us begin.

Law 1 Never Outshine the Master

As we all know, anyone in a position above someone else is superior to the person positioned below. And he or she that is superior is master. Therefore, when a non-superior person aims to surpass a superior, the worst thing that he or she can do is outshine the master. Doing so would only, as Robert Greene points out, "inspire fear and insecurity" within the master, usually resulting in the banishment, not to mention the death, of the seeming inferior. Knowing this, it is much better for a shrewd power player to make a master feel even more masterful. This is basically what this Law is about.

But we also need to understand that masters are not just individuals or people, per se. Masters also come in the form of groups, and even nations. America is a prime example of a "master nation," because it is the power center of the world, which explains why most less-powerful nations think twice before going against this juggernaut we call the United States. Similarly, the Catholic Church could be considered an example of a master group, due to the massive influence of its Christian doctrine and world power, in general. And powerful master groups also exist in politics — groups that, at the moment, hold more power than Donald Trump. In the power sense, these groups are Trump's "masters."

If we were to ask ourselves, "Well, if Trump isn't the master, then, who is?" the answer to this question would have to be the GOP and its Tea Party, because it would have been nearly impossible for Trump to win the Republican nomination without them. Therefore, knowing this, if Trump really wants to get into the White House as President, the stupidest thing that he could ever do is outshine and refuse to compromise with such groups. Conservative power and influence lie at their feet, and Trump is definitely smart enough to recognize this and see that it would be in his best interest to make these masters feel more masterful than they actually are. And it appears that this is exactly what Trump is doing, and has done. Here is an example.

During the presidential primaries, in order to become the presumptive Republican presidential nominee and make people take him seriously, Trump had to wage political warfare on his Republican opponents. During that time, many spats occurred between Trump and them, and many other powerful Republicans said that they would not even support The Donald. For instance, Bob Dole would not even commit to voting for Trump. Eric Cantor said that a Trump-Clinton matchup was "probably not the best choice for anybody." And Marco Rubio had unleashed an array of sharp attacks upon Trump while running against him. Then, things changed. Unexpectedly, Dole, Cantor and Rubio reversed their stances and publicly endorsed Trump! But there is more. GQ Magazine released a photo gallery piece entitled "The 50 Most Powerful People in Washington Photos." Among this list of people, guess whose faces popped up: Eric Cantor and Marco Rubio. Other names included Mitch McConnell, Kevin McCarthy, John Boehner and Paul Ryan — all powerful Republicans who are either members of, or have ties to, the GOP and Tea Party. Trump winning over these powerful people was not the result of him outshining them. He did it by making them underestimate him, and by not going too far in displaying his political talents. Case in point: Eric Cantor, in a CNBC interview, admitted that he had underestimated Trump as a presidential candidate, and alluded that Trump had changed the rules of the game.

It is also a well-known fact that Paul Ryan (whose name also appears on the "50 Most Powerful People" list) is one of the most powerful members of the GOP, and the same is true concerning Sarah Palin and the Tea Party. Because Trump could not win the Republican presidential nomination without the GOP and Tea Party, this, in a sense, made Ryan and Palin two of his "masters." Outshining them would have greatly lessened his power, so winning them over was the only alternative. He had already succeeded with Palin, which was no hard feat at all, since she is very vulnerable and susceptible to seduction. So, Ryan became Trump's primary focus concerning this Law. Eventually, as was broadcast all over the world news, Trump won him over.

After the primaries were over and Donald was the last man standing, Ryan said in an interview that he was "just not ready" to back Trump. However, Trump, under the guise of Republican unity, and knowing how passionate Ryan was about party unification, agreed to meet with Ryan. They met, and it was broadcast that other meetings were in the works. But here is what tells us how powerful Trump's strategy was: after the meeting, the two Republicans released a joint statement about how they were committed to working together in order to unify their party, in spite of their differences. Who do you think masterminded that? And Trump went on to speak well of Ryan — he did not go around trying to outshine him publicly. Shortly after, Ryan officially boarded the Trump Train.

As for Sarah Palin being vulnerable and easily seduced, I mean every word of it. Her general psychology and major political loss to Barack Obama in 2008, I believe, is what makes her so susceptible to seduction. In Robert Greene's book, The Art of Seduction, there is a section titled "The Seducer's Victims — The 18 Types," and Palin falls directly under type five: "The Crushed Star." So that you can see this for yourself, I want you to keep Palin in mind while reading the following excerpt from Greene's book:

The Crushed Star

We all want attention, we all want to shine, but with most of us, these desires are fleeting and easily quieted. The problem with Crushed Stars is that at one point in their lives they did find themselves the center of attention — perhaps they were beautiful, charming and effervescent, perhaps they were athletes, or had some other talent — but those days are gone. They may seem to have accepted this, but the memory of having once shone is hard to get over. In general, the appearance of wanting attention, of trying to stand out, is not seen too kindly in polite society or in the workplace. So, to get along, Crushed Stars learn to tamp down their desires; but failing to get the attention they feel they deserve, they also become resentful. You can recognize Crushed Stars by certain unguarded moments: they suddenly receive some attention in a social setting, and it makes them glow; they mention their glory days, and there is a little glint in the eye; a little wine in the system, and they become effervescent. Seducing this type is simple: just make them the center of attention. When you are with them, act as if they were stars and you were basking in their glow. Get them to talk, particularly about themselves. In social situations, mute your own colors and let them look funny and radiant by comparison. In general, play the Charmer. The reward of seducing Crushed Stars is that you stir up powerful emotions. They will feel intensely grateful to you for letting them shine. To whatever extent they had felt crushed and bottled up, the easing of that pain releases intensity and passion, all directed at you. They will fall madly in love....

See, in 2008, John McCain made Palin the center of attention in politics. She had very big dreams of becoming the first female Republican Vice President of the United States. However, Obama crushed that dream by taking the presidency in a landslide. And many would argue that this created a resentment in her that has lasted to this very day. Then entered Donald Trump, a charming mastermind with the power to make her shine again if he were to win their party's nomination for President. And the fact that she had known him for a while only made the seduction easier. She has been happily "riding" the Trump Train ever since. Simply put, by seduction definition, Palin is a Crushed Star yearning to shine again. And this is why I believe she endorsed Trump — even if she does not know the real reason behind it herself. If you still do not believe me, go to YouTube and watch the full video of Sarah Palin endorsing Donald Trump. Just put "Full Video: Sarah Palin Endorses Donald Trump" into the search bar and click on the CBSN video that has over a million views. Pay attention to how composed Trump is while he is letting her shine, as well as to how excited she is to be shining again — seduction at its finest.

Anyway, the point is that Trump is not outshining his masters — he is letting them shine. By doing so, he has attained the heights of power, and this is what a true mastermind does.

Law 2 Never Put Too Much Trust in Friends, Learn How to Use Enemies

The main problem with making new friends is that, oftentimes, after you let your guard down and let them in, out of the blue, they tend to start acting shady, seemingly for no reason at all. And the friends that you already have can only be trusted on certain levels. Of course, this is not true regarding all friends, but definitely most. If they care about you too much and you have big dreams, big goals, etc., and your plan to accomplish those dreams is a tad bit controversial, they will try their best to talk you out of whatever it is that your gut is telling you to do, claiming that doing so is in your best interest. And, if they are insecure, your big dreams and success will make them jealous, and they will try to sabotage you. They rarely, if ever, tell you what they really think about you. But none of this insecure, emotional shit is a factor when you are dealing with enemies on common ground, because both your enemy and you already know how one feels about the other, and your shared goal trumps emotion. You both want the same thing, and if your enemy is a former friend, he or she will have more to prove in order to regain your favor. Therefore, they would do more for you than a typical friend would do and, for that, I say, "Fuck friends." From the strategic perspective, it is much better to use your enemies — something that I believe Donald Trump has done quite well. In fact, it seems as if the closer Trump gets to the White House, the more he is seen with his former foes — and the more they endorse him. Here are some examples.

Many of us remember that unforgettable spat between Donald Trump and American journalist Megyn Kelly during and after the Fox News Republican debate, in which Kelly confronted Trump about his constant stance reversal on several issues. They were at each other's throats in the media for what seemed like forever, and there was no doubt in the public's mind that they were enemies. However, that was before Trump slaughtered all of his competition during the Republican primaries and became the presumptive Republican nominee. A couple months later, Trump shocked the world by appearing in his first extensive interview with Kelly since their squabble at the prior debate — and they got along well. Trump, a man who rarely, if ever, says he is sorry for anything, even apologized to Kelly on live television, admitting that he was sorry for calling her a "bimbo." And, guess what — her ratings went up, resulting in Trump getting a lot of free publicity that cast him in a positive light. Now, people are saying that Kelly is a Trump supporter.

Trump also turned to his former political foe, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who ran against him during the primaries, to assist him in his search for a potential Vice President. In fact, at the time of this writing, many of those who ran against Trump during the primaries, or simply doubted and bashed him in the media during that time, are now endorsing him. This includes Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, former Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal, New Hampshire senator Kelly Ayotte and former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer. Though I believe he would never admit it, Trump is using all of this to his advantage. Every former enemy who endorses Trump is doing him a great service because, by supporting him, many of their own supporters begin joining &&& the Trump Crusade. In this way, Trump's enemies are more useful than his friends are. Even Paul Ryan's primary opponent, Paul Nehlen, is endorsing Trump. Here is what he had to say, according to Jim Hoft of TheGatewayPundit.com:

If Ryan was even vaguely interested in the will of the people, rather than his own agenda and self-advancement, he'd find a way to work with the choice of the people ... This is a classic example of Paul Ryan saying one thing and doing another. He wants us to believe he's the great unifier, but his actions reveal him as the great divider. It isn't the will of the people to engage in secret shenanigans. It isn't the will of the people to parachute in at the eleventh hour a GOP hand-selected candidate that they had nothing to do with selecting. There is already a candidate out there who campaigned, who got voters on board, who won Republican delegates ... If Mr. Trump is the nominee, I will support that decision, because it will have been the will of the voters that got him there.