From Clown to Caudillo: Trump 1.0 vs. Trump 2.0

And the World Leaders He Now Resembles

When Donald Trump first entered the White House in 2017, political observers weren’t sure whether to laugh, cry, or Google "What is the 25th Amendment." He seemed more like a tacky late-stage reality or game show host than a world leader. A punchline in a red tie, who didn’t realize he was the joke. And now, as he reenters power—or reshapes it in his image during a second term or a fever dream of vengeance—the punchline has morphed into a boot stomping on democracy’s face. Repeatedly. Forever. Not funny anymore.

To understand this metamorphosis, we need to compare the leaders Trump was most like in Term 1.0 to those he’s echoing in Term 2.0. Because we’re not dealing with the same political animal. This isn’t “Oops, we accidentally conjured fascism, so sorry!” It’s an evolution from chaos goblin to authoritarian cosplay with policy written in the blood of innocents.

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Trump 1.0 (2016–2020): The Populist Clown King

In his first term, Trump didn’t run the government so much as set it on fire while live-tweeting the blaze IN ALL CAPS or With randomized Capitalization Except he’d Spell it Capitolization. His leadership style wasn’t ideological. It was instinctual, performative, and blatantly, clinically, tragically, dangerously, stupidly narcissistic. Think more ringmaster than strongman—though the fascist notes were always playing somewhere in the background like Muzak in the Elevator to Hell.

World Leaders Trump 1.0 Most Resembled:

Silvio Berlusconi (Italy)

• Billionaire playboy prime minister

• Legal scandals galore

• Media-savvy, crude, self-obsessed

• Used office as personal stage, not policy platform

Trump 1.0 was Berlusconi on bath salts, with a chimpanzee pet that might or might not eat your face.

Jair Bolsonaro (Brazil)

• “Tropical Trump”

• Denied COVID, mocked science, weaponized nationalism

• Embraced violence rhetorically, if not always practically

Bolsonaro was Trump’s spiritual twin—but Trump preferred lawsuits to militias... back then.

Rodrigo Duterte (Philippines)

• Swore like an acne-scarfaced sailor, threatened, bragged about killing people

• Raw, vulgar populism—rooted in real terror

Trump had the language, not the death squads… then.

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Trump 2.0 (2025–): The Calculated Authoritarian

Trump today isn’t the buffoonish outsider anymore. He’s the architect—or at least the brand name—of an increasingly coordinated authoritarian movement, powered by Christian nationalism, white supremacism, global oligarch money, and endless narcissistic grievance so potent it could fuel a small country if you just harnessed the hot air from CPAC (or Trump’s CPAP).

He’s learned from the failures of his first term: fire fewer people, hire better enablers, flood the system before it can push back. Cool plan, Stalin.

World Leaders Trump 2.0 Now Resembles:

Benito Mussolini (Italy) — Yes, Really.

• Turned democracy into dictatorship using legal mechanisms

• Glorified violence, nationalism, and militarized masculinity

• Cult of personality: “Il Duce” was always right

• Used scapegoats (Jews, socialists, intellectuals) to fuel mass paranoia

• Merged church and state, press and propaganda

Trump isn’t Mussolini yet. But he’s reading from the same damn script—and Project 2025 is the rehearsal schedule. His Mussolini Moment is not years, not months, but days away.

Juan Perón (Argentina)

• Created a self-centered political movement (Peronism = MAGA)

• Mobilized the working class against "the elites"

• Suppressed dissent, favored loyalty over competence

• Weaponized charisma and national myth

Perón gave his followers bread and circuses. Trump gives them lies and hats.

Viktor Orbán (Hungary)

• Dismantled democratic institutions slowly, through laws

• Rewrote the constitution

• Took over the courts, media, education

• Made illiberal democracy seem palatable—at first

Orbán is the playbook. Trump 2.0 wants to make it American-made.

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