Sworn in on The Prince: Trump’s Machiavellian Approach to Presidency

Zola Stevens ’26

Machiavelli’s The Prince is often regarded as the rulebook for tyrants, and in the first weeks of his presidency, Donald Trump has been following it to a T. Machiavelli is hailed as one of the greatest writers of his time and is most famous for writing The Prince, a logical yet morally askew how-to book on ruling a state. Though the prince's doctrine has been used to analyze generations of rulers, perhaps nobody's opening moves have been as Machiavellian as Trump's. In the first four weeks of his presidency, Trump has purged the Capitol Building of civil career servants, enforced and signed numerous bills on controversial topics, and tightly controlled both American media and his public persona, all of which point to a very Machiavellian take on presidency. Machiavelli and President Trump are separated by 6 centuries, but they appear to be following the same principles and ideas about utilizing strength, decisiveness, and the abuse of power. 

One of Machiavelli’s central teachings is that rulers should get controversial rulings and orders over with quickly and all at once, only then doling out benefits sparingly, making people enjoy the moments of reprise and encouraging them to forget about initial hardship. The early moments of Trump’s presidency have reflected this teaching–his most immediate executive orders have been focused on the most controversial topics of his presidency. He made his first move on immigration, reimplementing 27 executive orders and 7 new policies on day one of his presidency. President Trump then cracked down on trangender rights, ordering the government to recognize only 2 genders and signing an executive order banning trans female student athletes from competing in women's sports. This bombardment of executive orders, bills, and policies has been both overwhelming and destructive, a “blitz” of which Machiavelli would almost certainly approve. By attempting to cram all his controversial ideas and bills into his first few weeks in office, Trump has effectively implemented one of Machiavelli's  key ideas about cruelty: exact it hard and fast so people are appropriately stunned. President Trump’s early moves serve to satisfy and reassure his followers that he is sticking to his campaign promises, simultaneously making his opposition feel too overwhelmed to strike back. 

Yes, Trump desires to overwhelm the people, but that does not mean he doesn’t care deeply about how he’s perceived by the public. In The Prince, Machiavelli argues that a clever ruler should put significant effort into how they appear to the public, even if they’re creating a false image. He actively encourages deception, especially when it suits a ruler’s  needs or helps them keep their power intact. Machiavelli also suggests that ruler’s mindsets shift with the wind, adapting to changes in circumstance, a principle that Trump clearly embodies through his ever-changing stance on abortion rights. On the 2024 campaign trail he made conflicting statements about abortion depending on the different circumstances he was in. After Kamala Harris, his opposition in the election, accused him of wanting to impose a national abortion ban, he fervently denied it. Yet later, he stated that he wouldn’t veto a ban if Congress passed it. In his first days of presidency, he revoked two of Biden's pro-choice executive orders, reinstating an anti-abortion policy. His tendency to swiftly change his stance on key issues based on the public’s reactions categorically follows Machiavelli’s advice on how to maintain power. 

Arguably the most important factor in maintaining power is controlling the people. Machiavelli argues that, because a ruler’s fate depends on the opinion of the people, a successful ruler must be loved. Trump aligns with Machiavelli’s prioritization of the people. Obviously the powerful’s approach to retaining public relevance has changed since 1513, as modern politicians must master the media, but the fundamentals of Machiavelli’s claim have prevailed. A ruler must ensure the public is devoted to him. Trump goes about ensuring devotion through control of the media. Two years ago, President Trump described independent media as the “enemy of the people,” claiming he had plans to replace it with outlets and reporters that were under his control. Trump’s views have not changed, and during the weeks before and after his reelection he has pursued complete control of the media. In the period between winning the election and his inauguration, Trump filed multiple lawsuits against news sources such as ABC, CBS, and Meta. These companies all settled, or will in the future, for millions of dollars. These settlements serve as an example for other news outlets–they let them know that if they criticize Trump, they will face consequences. Donald Trump has decided that if he cannot control the entire population, then he will control the media, the main source of information for most Americans.  By controlling the media and its content, President Trump has found a way to cultivate his public image into one Machiavelli would be proud of. Machiavelli himself states that a prince must appear “merciful, faithful, humane, upright, and religious” (56). Trump's carefully cultivated image as an over-confident “strongman” allows him to come across as strong, intelligent, and, most importantly, loved.

It is also worth mentioning that the 2024 election had the 2nd highest voter turnout in history. President Trump won both the popular vote and the electoral college, indicating that he is loved by the majority of the nation. However, America is a polarized nation, divided in half by different political ideologies. Machiavelli would likely prefer a ruler to take action to make himself loved by all, but as this is impossible in a country of democrat and republican, Machiavelli has another answer for President Trump's dilemma. In fact, he gives an example of a situation in which a ruler is faced with a divided country. He uses the ancient Roman empire as a case study, stating that the empire was divided between the army and the people, the former of whom wanted a cruel ruler and the latter of whom wanted a more moderate ruler. Machiavelli states that rulers of a polarized nation must first try to “avoid being hated by everybody.” If that is not possible, they must “avoid the hatred of the most powerful group around” (61). President Trump has truly taken that advice to heart. Throughout his term he has closely allied himself with the Republican party, appeasing them by promoting Republicans to positions of power. Trump has allied himself with the most powerful group, one that consists of a majority of white men who are culturally and socially powerful. He’s also shown undying support for the military, as technically the president has extensive power over the military. All of these groups hold significant power in the U.S., and all of them are majority Republican. 

Trump has not only started to corral independent media, he has also done precisely what Machiavelli says about controlling a state. Per Machiavelli’s instructions, Trump has eliminated everyone loyal to previous rulers in order to assure his complete domination. Machiavelli points out that when an old “prince and his family line is extinguished… [the people] are slower to take up arms and a [new] prince can win them over with greater ease” (16). Trump has taken this idea and elevated it to the modern day,  purging the administration of former president Biden's career civil servants. Somewhat unbelievably, Trump has succeeded in firing, eliminating and casting out thousands of civil servants–including inspector generals and career prosecutors–in his first week or so of office. These civil servants are his opposition; they would likely oppose Trump's plan to radically restructure the government and his carefully chosen illegal actions. These employees have been working across multiple administrations. Not only did he fire his opposition, he also rescinded 78 of former president Biden’s executive orders. Trump also succeeded in firing Democrats from the EEOC and NLRB, key positions of power in the government. Machiavelli would have given him a standing ovation, yelling encore from the sidelines.

After the collision of a helicopter and plane in D.C., the Trump administration was forced to deal with tragedy early on in its second term.  I wouldn’t be surprised if someone told me Machiavelli had been in the press conference with President Trump, whispering in his ear. Trump's approach to this tragedy models Machiavelli’s ideas perfectly. The author of The Prince gushes about the usefulness of scapegoats, using the example of Cesare Borgia. Machiavelli describes how Borgia promoted a minister to successfully corral the population so that, when the public’s fear inevitably turned into hate, he could place all the blame on the man. Borgia, by violently destroying his minister, mitigated any ill-will towards his rule. Trump models Machiavelli’s “Borgian” teachings perfectly. By blaming the collision, which was caused by the helicopter pilots’ use of night vision goggles, on  D.E.I hiring requirements and immigrants, President Trump shifted the blame from his own administration to the Democratic Party. Thus far, Trump’s actions reflect key ideas and themes expressed throughout The Prince. In fact, it’s almost as though Machiavelli has been serving as Trump’s personal political advisor throughout the beginning of his presidency. However, looking at the bigger picture, Machiavelli would likely have some choice words for President Trump concerning his aggressive and provocative nature, his refusal to reconcile divisive issues, and his impulsive and reckless actions. He very clearly cautions the usage of fear due to its tendency to turn into hatred. Machiavelli states that a prince must be cautious that “too much distrust does not render him insufferable” and that a prince must make himself feared in a way that “avoids hatred” (52-53). Trump constantly prompts fear in Americans by announcing his plan to override a Constitutional Amendment that dictates a president may only be elected for two four-year terms. His strategy to compel fear and distrust has notably not avoided hatred, significantly weakening Trump's public image. The “battering ram” of Trump’s actions gets things done–in the short term. In the long term, if this continues, the fear will morph even further into hatred. Machiavelli would advise caution, therefore, encouraging Trump to take actions that promote his popularity and erase liberal hatred.