Napoleon v. Trump
- Bryan Artiles
- May 28
- 6 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
A Humble Comparison of Historical Hubris
As we leave behind Trump’s first 100 days of his second term and the media is doing a pulse check on how they think his presidency is progressing, there was another historical figure who had a critical 100 days in 1815. The pulse check on how his administration was progressing would be performed upon the fields of Belgium in June of 1815. Donald Trump Jr. and Napoleon Buonaparte…yes I hate to admit it but there are some valid comparisons:
One was an emperor, the other thinks he’s one.
One conquered most of Europe, the other conquered square blocks of New York City.
Both men acquired national celebrity status prior to ascending to national office.
Both are bullies. Both have earthquaking ambition. Both are demagogues.
One was a great general, perhaps the greatest general of all. The other, hasn’t touched military service. During a cabinet meeting in January 2019, Trump said that he would have made a great general. He will certainly puff up and pose as a great military leader at the upcoming ridiculous parade this coming June.
If Trump got wind of this comparison it would inflate an already immense hubris to unconscionable heights. Of course he would have done things better. You know Trump would say something like, “I would have taken Russia, Moscow didn’t need to burn, I would have made a great deal with Tsar Alexander. We would’ve been great friends.”
Now let’s dive into some of the parallels, and they are more stark than you would think.
Power Grabs
Not the only thing Trump likes to grab.
America and France were in similar places in these respective time periods. Both populations could be mercurial and unpredictable. Both countries were deeply divided and restive, ripe for a demagogue to stir the pot and foment a takeover.
In France, Napoleon first came power in November, 1799 through a coup d’etat. Returning to France after a disastrous expedition to Egypt where he had to leave his army behind, his future was far from certain during these revolutionary times. But the Directory, a 5-person council that led the government fell from power leaving a vacuum, which Napoleon simply stepped in to fill. Napoleon said of his ascendancy to power, “I found the crown of France lying on the ground and I simply picked it up with my sword.”
Trump could say something similar in 2016. He was an unlikely candidate and a surprise win, both in the Republican primary and in the national election. Millions voted for Trump simply as an anti-Hillary vote or just sat out the election altogether. All of a sudden after a wild election year Trump found himself sitting in the oval office.
However Trump’s 2016 win was attained through legit democratic rules. He crossed over into Napoleonesque coup territory in January of 2021 when he instigated a large group of fanatic supporters to storm the capital in order to prevent Congress from certifying the election. Nothing much was accomplished except a giant mess and the nation proceeded with Biden’s inauguration as president.
(Self) Crowning Achievements
On December 2, 1804 in the Notre Dame Cathedral Napoleon stood in full regalia ready to accept the crown from the pope as Emperor of France. He brazenly took the crown from the pope’s hands and crowned himself.
In many ways Donald Trump has performed this figurative act of crowning oneself as emperor of America and the world for that matter. He has crowned himself as the greatest president of all time, a great economist, the great enforcer of immigration laws, the savior of America, and so on, and so on. He has even crowned himself as the great purveyor of the arts after placing himself at the head of the board of the Kennedy Center.
A year later in 1805 Napoleon achieved his greatest victory on the battlefield at Austerlitz. He defeated the combined armies of the empires of Austria and Russia, opening the way to his domination of the continent. If one must equate a military battlefield victory to Trump this would have to be the killing of ISIS leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in 2019. By taking out their galvanizing leader it severely weakened ISIS’ power and they dwindled to a desert shadow in the Levant.
Trump’s greatest political achievement would have to be winning the election of 2024. There are some accomplishments we can point to in 2017-2021 but nothing as resounding as what he was able to pull off in ’24, winning every battleground state and the first time a Republican won the popular vote in twenty years. Let’s face it, the guy knows how to campaign. Actual governing? Eh, the jury will take awhile on that one. This speaks to the dithering weakness of his Democratic opponents but also to his unwavering persistence and grind-it-out ability that an American election campaign demands. Not to mention, he did survive an assassination attempt.
Forced Economic Systems
In 1806 Napoleon realized he couldn't defeat Britain by force of arms alone. His navy had been toasted twice by the British in the Battles of the Nile and Trafalgar, and his land forces couldn’t get ahold of the redcoats. So he tried the only tool he had left to attack his hated islandic foe - the economy. Enter the Continental System. Napoleon’s strategy was to blockade Britain from doing business with the continent of Europe. With every new country that bent the knee to Napoleon a new country was added to the roster of not doing business with the crown. Britain would go bankrupt, or so he thought. The system didn’t work and Napoleon was forced into attacking countries that didn’t adhere to this system. It’s one of the main reasons for his failed invasion of Russia.
Trump is trying to forge his own hyper American-centric economic system around global tariffs and force it upon the whole world. How Napoleonic to declare a trade war on the entire world! Trying to enforce his economic system was a critical factor that led to Napoleon’s downfall. Will this enforced system lead to Trump’s downfall? Time will only tell. But history has proven that the arrogance in thinking one can singlehandedly manipulate economic factors and monetary systems like pottery clay is a fool’s errand that has destroyed even the most brilliant of leaders.
Downfall & Exile
Napoleon’s first downfall came following his invasion of Russia in 1812 as the armies of Europe united against him. In 1814 he was deposed and exiled to the small Mediterranean island of Elba.
Trump’s first downfall was 2020: It kicked off with his impeachment trial in Congress for attempting to coerce Ukraine’s president Zelensky into digging up dirt on his political rival, Joe Biden.
The mishandling of the Covid crisis was Trump’s invasion of Russia. Trump actually did much to counter Covid, such as initializing the vaccine through Operation Warp Speed – like Napoleon’s 1812 win at the massive battle in Russia at Borodino. However, Trump’s administration was chaos piled on top of more chaos and the electorate had enough. Losing the election of 2020 and the January 6th capital riot was his downfall and the equivalent of Napoleon’s capitulation at Fountainbleau.
The years of Biden’s presidency and Trump’s numerous civil and criminal trials was an exile of sorts for all of MAGA. When in Elba, Napoleon still retained noble title. He was granted land, staff, and a guard. At Mar-a-Lago, Trump still retained a veil of title and authority in his little Florida island fiefdom within Palm Beach. He definitely held sway over the minds of Republicans as Napoleon did over fellow Frenchmen.
Each of them at these points of their lives could have lived out their days in relative peace and luxury. But they were addicted to the game. They came back.
Don’t Call it a Comeback
In March of 1815, a restless Napoleon landed in the south of France and set off toward Paris. King Louis XVIII sent men to arrest Napoleon, instead they embraced him. The king fled Paris as fast as the Democrats lost their grip on power in 2024. This was the beginning of Napoleon’s famous “100 Days” culminating with the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815, where British, Dutch, and Prussian armies defeated France. He was again deposed and this time exiled as a prisoner of war to the South Atlantic island of St. Helena where he remained the rest of his days.
Trump’s re-election in 2024 was similar to Napoleon’s return to France. Trump had been impeached twice, lied thousands of times, and participated in rather dubious behavior such as the hush money payments to a porn star over a former affair. However his supporters and undecided voters chose to focus on what they thought he could provide economically as president, dismissing his numerous transgressions. They made a conscious choice to jump back on Trump’s gold-encrusted bandwagon. Same as the men sent to stop Napoleon from entering Paris. They chose to focus on his past glories, neglecting to acknowledge the wreckage left by his numerous wars.
So that leads us to the ultimate question - what will be Donald Trump’s Waterloo? Is it inevitable or avoidable? The answer could be in the tariff wars and the reaction of the global economy. Or will it be the Ukraine-Russia War? It could be the acceptance of a $400 million 747 jet from Qatar. Remains to be seen, although this much is clear, between Napoleon and Trump - the more they try to assert control and dominate the world, the quicker they move towards losing it all.
