this post was submitted on 14 Jan 2025
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chapotraphouse
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There's something slightly different from simple "failing upwards" going on here. It's the combination of wealth and complete lack of introspection or uncertainty or nuance.
Americans are particularly receptive to someone who fully embodies all their values, of being rich and inhumane and unapologetic and even proudly ignorant. For someone to exhibit all of these to a full extent, they need to be brought up in a kind of contemptuous, misanthropic opulence that perfectly conditions them to never entertain any critique of themselves. Then they must be some combination of capable and lucky in order to succeed and not be weeded out. These criteria combined amount to one in millions, and the result is the perfect sociopath.
So he didn't exactly fail upwards, he ended up just as wealthy as he started. He did manage to convert wealth and notoriety into power though.