Trump’s Ego Projects and the Problem of Self‑Made Legacy
James Quillian, Economist, Political Analyst, Natural Law

People keep calling these things “ego projects,” but the comparison to earlier presidents shows why they stand out. Washington, Lincoln, and the others never built monuments to themselves. They didn’t name buildings after themselves, and they didn’t stage big personal displays. Whatever honor they received came later, from people who appreciated them after they were gone. That’s how respect usually works.

A lot of folks assume that what impresses them will impress everyone else. It doesn’t work that way. Trump may think a prize fight on the White House lawn is a grand gesture, but most people see it differently. The same goes for his habit of talking about beautiful women. Most men notice beauty, but they also know it’s bad manners to harp on it in public. People don’t see the world the same way he does, and that’s the part that gets missed.

What looks like an “ego project” is really someone projecting their own tastes onto the whole country. It’s normal for people to assume others see things the way they do. In this case, only one person does. Everyone else sees something else entirely.