Why Trump feasts on scandal

He is the anti-hero president

President Trump
(Image credit: REUTERS/Yuri Gripas)

There's a certain kind of compelling anti-hero who has long populated fiction, one whose lack of social or moral constraint makes him an interesting character. Unlike the rest of us, who are kept in line by fear of the law or social opprobrium, or just a sense of right and wrong, these characters do whatever they want. They cheat, they steal, they hurt those around them, and it's the fact that they get away with it (at least for a while) that makes them fascinating. Whether it's a mafioso making his own rules or a sociopath killing anyone who displeases him, these portrayals can help us understand the structures that keep society operating in a reasonable fashion; they also offer us the chance to fantasize a bit about what it would be like to live without constraint.

While we sometimes see fictionalized portrayals of anti-hero politicians, in the real world we expect them to be just the opposite: Not just regular people possessed of the standard combination of virtues and vices, but better and more upstanding than the rest of us. We may not ask for proof a candidate has lived a life without sin before we'll vote for him or her, but pretty darn close. There's an entire profession, "opposition research," devoted to figuring out what politicians have done wrong either professionally or personally and how it can be used against them.

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Paul Waldman

Paul Waldman is a senior writer with The American Prospect magazine and a blogger for The Washington Post. His writing has appeared in dozens of newspapers, magazines, and web sites, and he is the author or co-author of four books on media and politics.