April 12, 2026
On April 11, 2026, the pope denounced Donald Trump and his "delusion of omnipotence". He said, "Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!"
On April 11, 1767, Ben Franklin expressed a related thought. For Franklin, the "delusion of omnipotence" arose from people that try to wield near limitless power while being averse to acquiring the knowledge to use the power responsibly. I cannot think of a better example of this than Trump. With the might of the American Government and Military at his disposal, it can be argued that he has access to more power than any individual in the history of the world. At the same time, since he is blinded by "the idolatry of self", he doesn't feel it necessary to understand the complicated details of the issues he is faced with. Franklin recognized that this is a recipe for disaster of historic proportions.
