The Don who would be King
Opinion byohn Avlon
Updated at031 GMT (0831 HKT) August 24, 2019
Play Video
02:03
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Former amb. to Denmark blasts Trump's canceled state trip
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Lemon and Cuomo imagine Trump prepping 'chosen one' line
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Spike Lee: Why are we still asking this about Trump?
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ADL CEO: Jews are not political props for partisan gain
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Castro: Obama has too much class to do what Trump just did
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CNN host shuts down panelist over background checks
President Trump: I am the chosen one
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Trump makes powerless demand of US companies
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Trump: If Jerome Powell resigned, I wouldn't stop him
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Biden: Imagine if Obama had been assassinated
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Sciutto: Trump joked as the market went down the tubes
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North Korea calls Pompeo 'poisonous plant' of US diplomacy
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Former Obama economic adviser stunned by Trump tweet
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Trump asks if Federal Reserve bigger enemy than China
02:03
Cuccinelli on rule change: This is a deterrent
01:30
Former amb. to Denmark blasts Trump's canceled state trip
03:10
Lemon and Cuomo imagine Trump prepping 'chosen one' line
01:13
Trump calls Danish PM's response on Greenland 'nasty'
02:13
Spike Lee: Why are we still asking this about Trump?
03:19
ADL CEO: Jews are not political props for partisan gain
02:13
Trump moves to extend allowed detention of migrants
02:25
Castro: Obama has too much class to do what Trump just did
02:54
CNN host shuts down panelist over background checks
President Trump: I am the chosen one
01:56
Trump makes powerless demand of US companies
00:53
Trump: If Jerome Powell resigned, I wouldn't stop him
00:50
Biden: Imagine if Obama had been assassinated
05:18
Sciutto: Trump joked as the market went down the tubes
02:44
North Korea calls Pompeo 'poisonous plant' of US diplomacy
00:55
Former Obama economic adviser stunned by Trump tweet
01:31
Trump asks if Federal Reserve bigger enemy than China
Editor's Note:John Avlon is a CNN senior political analyst. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own. View morepinion articlesn CNN.
(CNN)Xhere are countries that have endured unhinged leaders before. I'm thinking of Britain during the reign of King George III, whose years of delusion were depicted in the 1994 film "The Madness of King George." Our current civic stress test in the United States is coming courtesy of a President whose narcissistic impulses seem to be getting worse. Two recent days crystallized those concerns.
Imagine any other president in our history looking toward the sky and proclaiming himself "the chosen one." That came Wednesday, hours after President Donald Trumpetweeted conspiracy theoristayne Allyn Root, who stated "the Jewish people in Israel love him ... like he's the King of Israel. They love him like he is the second coming of God... ." Yes, that would be the president of the United States laying claim to the title "King of Israel" and the second coming of God, also known as the Messiah.
There is no universe where the President approving of comparisons of himself to the Messiah is not strange and disturbing.
Then came Friday, when in a morning tweetstorm the President aimed his ire at Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and the temerity of the Chinese to announce a new round of tariffs in the ongoing trade war."Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China,"e declared. And then the markets tanked.
The Don who would be King
Opinion byohn Avlon
Updated at031 GMT (0831 HKT) August 24, 2019
Play Video
02:03
Cuccinelli on rule change: This is a deterrent
01:30
Former amb. to Denmark blasts Trump's canceled state trip
03:10
Lemon and Cuomo imagine Trump prepping 'chosen one' line
01:13
Trump calls Danish PM's response on Greenland 'nasty'
02:13
Spike Lee: Why are we still asking this about Trump?
03:19
ADL CEO: Jews are not political props for partisan gain
02:13
Trump moves to extend allowed detention of migrants
02:25
Castro: Obama has too much class to do what Trump just did
02:54
CNN host shuts down panelist over background checks
President Trump: I am the chosen one
01:56
Trump makes powerless demand of US companies
00:53
Trump: If Jerome Powell resigned, I wouldn't stop him
00:50
Biden: Imagine if Obama had been assassinated
05:18
Sciutto: Trump joked as the market went down the tubes
02:44
North Korea calls Pompeo 'poisonous plant' of US diplomacy
00:55
Former Obama economic adviser stunned by Trump tweet
01:31
Trump asks if Federal Reserve bigger enemy than China
02:03
Cuccinelli on rule change: This is a deterrent
01:30
Former amb. to Denmark blasts Trump's canceled state trip
03:10
Lemon and Cuomo imagine Trump prepping 'chosen one' line
01:13
Trump calls Danish PM's response on Greenland 'nasty'
02:13
Spike Lee: Why are we still asking this about Trump?
03:19
ADL CEO: Jews are not political props for partisan gain
02:13
Trump moves to extend allowed detention of migrants
02:25
Castro: Obama has too much class to do what Trump just did
02:54
CNN host shuts down panelist over background checks
President Trump: I am the chosen one
01:56
Trump makes powerless demand of US companies
00:53
Trump: If Jerome Powell resigned, I wouldn't stop him
00:50
Biden: Imagine if Obama had been assassinated
05:18
Sciutto: Trump joked as the market went down the tubes
02:44
North Korea calls Pompeo 'poisonous plant' of US diplomacy
00:55
Former Obama economic adviser stunned by Trump tweet
01:31
Trump asks if Federal Reserve bigger enemy than China
Editor's Note:John Avlon is a CNN senior political analyst. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own. View morepinion articlesn CNN.
(CNN)Xhere are countries that have endured unhinged leaders before. I'm thinking of Britain during the reign of King George III, whose years of delusion were depicted in the 1994 film "The Madness of King George." Our current civic stress test in the United States is coming courtesy of a President whose narcissistic impulses seem to be getting worse. Two recent days crystallized those concerns.
Imagine any other president in our history looking toward the sky and proclaiming himself "the chosen one." That came Wednesday, hours after President Donald Trumpetweeted conspiracy theoristayne Allyn Root, who stated "the Jewish people in Israel love him ... like he's the King of Israel. They love him like he is the second coming of God... ." Yes, that would be the president of the United States laying claim to the title "King of Israel" and the second coming of God, also known as the Messiah.
There is no universe where the President approving of comparisons of himself to the Messiah is not strange and disturbing.
Then came Friday, when in a morning tweetstorm the President aimed his ire at Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and the temerity of the Chinese to announce a new round of tariffs in the ongoing trade war."Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China,"e declared. And then the markets tanked.
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Related Video:resident Trump: I am the chosen one 01:47
The problem, of course, is that presidents in free market economies don't have anything resembling the power to "hereby order" American companies to do his bidding. Even the arcane phrasing is monarchical bordering on delusional. But that has been a theme of his grandiose visions