Henry & Donald: It’s Reigning Similarities

June 5, 2017

Dear Jane,

As of late, I have been working tirelessly on an essay relating to none other than King Henry VIII and President Donald Trump. I had a feeling that you would be rather interested in my article as you had your own strong opinions on King Henry VIII in your lifetime. I am sure what I have written could be edited further, but I fear I had better show it to you directly as the world changes by the day and news becomes old and tired ever so quickly. Before I begin, however, I wish to tell the people of England how very sorry I am that they have seen such horrid violence and acts of terror in their cities these past few weeks. It is not fair and I hope we can find a way to bring an end to these mournful days. 

Now Jane, you, of course, know the quotation which I have copied below, as you wrote it in one of your earliest pieces of writing, "The History of England." So, for my dear readers, the following passage is Miss Jane Austen's clever (and in my opinion, spot on) portrayal of Henry VIII.

"...The Crimes & Cruelties of this Prince, were too numerous to be mentioned, (as this history I trust has fully shewn;) & nothing can be said in his vindication, but that his abolishing Religious Houses & leaving them to the ruinous depredations of time has been of infinite use to the landscape of England in general, which probably was a principal motive for his doing it, since otherwise why should a Man who was of no Religion himself be at so much trouble to abolish one which had for ages been established in the Kingdom...."

And without further ado...my essay. Enjoy, readers, and grab a cup of tea for this is a rather long (though thoroughly intriguing) entry!

Yours Faithfully,

Amanda

Henry & Donald:

It’s Reigning Similarities

By: Amanda Forke

Let me preface this essay with a little background information on my current life situation. Currently, I am a receptionist for an insurance company and the office I work in isn't terribly busy. That being said, I have the great [dis]pleasure of literally watching the news ALL DAY LONG because the TV is right next to my desk. I do count myself amongst the lucky, however, because while some floors have to watch FOX News, I at least get to watch CNN. Anyway, my day consists of occasionally greeting guests, intermittently answering the phone, watching the nonstop news cycle and devotedly reading the "This Day in History" page on history.com. Riveting, I know. Anyway, between the constant news cycle (which has done nothing for my stress levels) and history.com, my inner British history nerd popped out for tea and gossip and the unashamedly biased essay that follows is the outcome.

I digress. Now, ever since the 2016 Presidential Election and the subsequent Inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States, I haven't been able to shake the feeling that we’ve seen all of this particular corruption and political intrigue before. You may be saying to yourself, "Of course we have...it's called American History." You are, of course, correct, but it seems more familiar than just some run of the mill Presidential History. No, this particular President and his administration echo the reign of none other than King Henry VIII. Skeptical? Let's take a moment and travel back to sixteenth century, England...

Wives & Mistresses

First of all, King Henry VIII is notorious for his many wives, though I'd argue, so is Donald Trump. Okay, has Trump had six wives? No. Has he beheaded any of them? Again, the answer is, no (thankfully). BUT, he has had three of them and we have no way of knowing if First Lady, Melania Trump, is the last. (Or if she even wants to be…here, I reference the infamous hand swat that was felt around the world.)

Is it not uncanny that both men left their first wives for women with whom they were pursuing shockingly public relationships with? King Henry VIII was first married to Catherine of Aragon before becoming infatuated with and marrying his publicly recognized (yet ill-fated) mistress, Anne Boleyn. Donald Trump was married to Ivana Zelnickova only to have a very public dalliance with Marla Maples and later marry her. After their rather scandalous marriages, neither Anne nor Marla was around for very long, though both provided their husbands with a single daughter. (We have yet to see if Tiffany Trump will be as impressive as Queen Elizabeth I…) Unfortunately for Anne, she was "cut off" in a way that Marla was not. Marla received a hefty settlement while Anne lost her head...literally. 

Personality

BBC History reports that King Henry VIII had an "increasing desire to appear all-powerful,” and I think it’s fair to say that the same can be said for Donald Trump. Henry displayed his power by divorcing/executing his wives, breaking with Rome when he didn't agree with the Pope, dissolving Monasteries/keeping the subsequent wealth for the Crown and insisting on military campaigns that ultimately caused great strife and financial hardship in England. As for President Trump, though he is still in the early days of his Presidency, he has already begun to display his might by signing countless executive orders, initiating numerous abrupt staff changes, showing blatant disrespect for our allies, boasting military action of he doesn’t have all the details, tweeting potentially dangerous messages to unstable adversaries... honestly, the list goes on and on.

Another similarity between Donald and Henry is that both men require constant validation in their role as leaders. For Henry, he desired legitimacy in the form of a male heir in order to prove that his legacy was secure, and that his (current) marriage was blessed in the eyes of God. Donald seeks validation by constantly trying to prove that his election victory was legitimate by saying he had the largest inauguration audience in history. He thinks that by using “alternative facts,” creating voting fraud committees and boasting that he only lost the popular vote because of fraudulent immigrant voters; he will be seen by all as the rightful President of the United States. Both men could have used a reality check, in my humble opinion.  

Counsel

Although, I have no experience in the matter, I can only surmise that being a trusted advisor to the King (or President) is both the most thrilling and the most dangerous role in the world. With volatile leaders such as Donald and Henry, it's no wonder that a single misstep could signal the end of the road for even the most beloved staff member. Now, the list of dismissed advisors and friends is quite long for both, so I shall only focus on the famous four: Cardinal Wolsey, Thomas Cromwell, Steve Bannon and Jared Kushner.

          Cardinal Wolsey was notorious for being Henry’s right hand man…and getting properly paid for it (in the form of wealth, position and land). Unfortunately for Wolsey, when he could not convince the Pope to grant his King a marriage annulment, his fall from grace was swift and brutal. Enter Thomas Cromwell. Once the secretary to Cardinal Wolsey, Cromwell found a way to excel where his mentor failed. When Wolsey failed to get Henry his annulment, Cromwell made it possible for Henry to get the divorce he desired as well as a grand, new title as well: Supreme Head of the Church of England. Due to his great failure, Wolsey was gradually relieved of his aforementioned wealth, position and lands and was later accused of treason (which was not at all uncommon for those who displeased the King). He had the good fortune of dying from an illness rather than execution

          As for Cromwell, he enjoyed a few years of glory beside the King before being removed, but, his downfall came eventually as well. Where Wolsey failed to get rid of the King’s first wife, Cromwell failed to find Henry an appropriate fourth.  When Anne of Cleves, the King’s intended, arrived at court to begin life with her new husband, Henry found her thoroughly unattractive and blamed Cromwell for the failed alliance. As a result, Cromwell was accused of; you guessed it, treason, and was executed.

          I cannot boast to know as much about Donald’s minions as I do Henry’s, but I recognized enough similarities between Steve Bannon and Jared Kushner to see that they are 2017’s versions of Cardinal Wolsey and Thomas Cromwell. Two articles from the New York Times, one by Jeremy W. Peters & Maggie Haberman and the other by Maggie Haberman, Jeremy W. Peters & Peter Baker, do a superb job of laying out the facts.

          Much like Wolsey, Steve Bannon promised his egocentric leader victories on everything his heart desired. From healthcare/tax/immigration reform to the mighty wall-building, Bannon felt quite sure he would be able to easily deliver on his famed campaign promises but, oh, how wrong he was. It didn’t take Trump long to lose interest and faith in his once trusted advisor when Bannon’s initiatives saw their first setbacks. Before we knew it, Bannon was abruptly removed from the National Security Council and the steady rise of Jared Kushner began.

          With his artful ambitions, cunningness and marriage to Donald’s eldest daughter, Jared’s meteoric rise to Senior Advisor to the President was inevitable. Before long, Jared had Donald’s ear and began to sow seeds of doubt about Bannon to his father-in-law. (Sounds very Tudor-esque already, doesn’t it?) News of infighting within the White House (specifically between Bannon and Kushner) found its way to the public before long. It’s well known that Kushner and Bannon have opposite views on most political topics and both seem to be battling their hardest to influence the President. At least from where I sit at my desk, watching CNN, it seems as though Bannon was indeed traded in for Kushner. There is a twist, however. You see, Bannon wasn’t banished like Wolsey was, meaning he can still have a comeback (…like by convincing Trump to withdraw from the Paris Accord…fighting harder for the travel ban…), especially as Kushner gets further entangled in the infamous Russia Probe. OR, Trump could tire of both men; after all, there is no shortage of minions in the Trump White House to fill either of their places. I would urge caution for all those employed for President Donald Trump as you really could be here today, gone tomorrow. (I’ll refer the reader to Mike Dubke, James Comey, Sally Yates and Michael Flynn for their opinions on the matter. Also, I’d watch out if I were you, Sean Spicer, because it’s not looking great for you.)

          To conclude, both Donald and Henry are fickle leaders; they display erratic behavior, have trouble trusting those closest to them, abruptly rid themselves of those who displease them, are severely insecure in their roles and implement drastic policy changes based on their own feelings. The similarities between these demagogues are astonishing. Are they carbon copies of one another? Of course not. But if the history of King Henry VIII has taught us anything, it’s that volatile leaders are dangerous and must never be underestimated. They have a way of getting what they want by not accepting anything less, even if what they want is wrong for their people. When the personal whims, fancies and vendettas of a leader have more governing clout than the needs of those who follow them, the people have a responsibility to challenge their leader’s every move. Unfortunately, those living under King Henry had no power and were forced to accept the hand they were dealt and suffer the consequences. In this day and age, Americans have the privilege of free speech and we must utilize this privilege tirelessly if we wish to remain in control of our futures.

A Chart for your Consideration:

	Donald	Henry
Erratic Behavior	· Bizarre tweeting       · Invites and meets with dictators & adversaries at the WH      · Offends our closest allies	· Constant extra marital affairs      · Banished/Executed life-long friends      · Insisted on poorly planned/budgeted military campaigns
Dismissed  Friends/Advisors/ Employees	· Mike Dubke      ('resigned')      · Michael Flynn       ('resigned')      · Sally Yates      · James Comey      · Preet Bharara	· Cardinal Thomas Wolsey      · Thomas Cromwell      · Thomas More      · Four of his six wives      · His two daughters: Mary I & Elizabeth I
Drastic Policy Changes	· Withdrew from Paris Accord in order to make good on campaign promise- not because it’s better for our country.	· Broke with the Pope & the Roman Catholic Church because they wouldn’t grant him a divorce when he decided he wanted to marry someone else.