Let me share a fear I have. Our newly elected Trump administration is about to launch the Greek myth, King Midas, to its American audience. If you remember the “Midas touch,” it was not awe-inspiring. Instead, it was a myth that illustrated the dangers of greed and narrow-mindedness.

I write this post as a reflection on former President Biden’s farewell speech to America on January 15, 2025 (reference). He said:

“I want to warn the country of things that give me a great concern. The dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a very few ultra-wealthy people. Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power, and influence that threatens our #democracy.”

These are sobering words coming from our outgoing President.

This emerging oligarchy, under the leadership of President Trump, sees itself as solving all of our ills. They believe everything they touch will turn to gold. In his inauguration address, our new President, Donald Trump said:

America will be respected again and admired again, by people of religion, faith, and goodwill. We will be prosperous, we will be proud, we will be strong and we will win like never before. We will not be conquered, we will not be intimidated, we will not be broken, and we will not fail. From this day on the United States of America will be a free, sovereign and independent nation (reference).

He also said:

I stand before you now as proof that you should never believe that something is impossible to do. In America, the impossible is what we do best (reference).

These remarks, along with others in his address, illuminate Donald Trump’s worldview of American exceptionalism. He believes that America can do nothing wrong and that “everything he will touch will turn to gold.” He has surrounded himself with billionaires who have knelt before him to do his bidding.

Recall that in the King Midas myth, the King is granted his wish that everything he touches turns to gold. After being granted his wish, King Midas “extended his arm touching a small table that immediately turned into gold. Midas jumped with happiness (reference)!” This practice continued unhindered as he touched other palace items. His happiness grew as well as his exhaustion at seeing this plethora of wonderful gold. The belief that anything he would touch would turn to gold does not stop. It continues until he touches a grape. Then he touches bread and water. All of these turn to gold. However, he cannot enjoy the sweet taste of the grape or the savory bread. His life begins to turn one dimensional, dull, and disappointing.

King Midas sensed fear in his heart. His daughter came into the room and he unconsciously goes to hug her. She turns into a gold statue. Now, his golden loved ones are no longer present to him for love and conversation. He has turned them into inanimate objects. His fear grows, he asks for forgiveness from the gods, and begs them to remove the curse. His wish is granted and things he touches no longer turn to gold.

At the end of the myth, the King is restored. He is glad that he can hug his family without them turning to gold. His heart softens, his awareness broadens, and he learns to share his wealth with his people.

I wonder whether Donald Trump’s desire to turn everything he touches into gold will continue for 4 years. Will he come to appreciate the complexity of the living and nonliving world? Will he understand the interconnectivity of all things? Can he grasp the richness of the Earth’s diversity? In this moment, he sees himself as a savior that will turn everything he touches into gold. He will turn our declining and failing country into a beacon of exceptionalism. The Midas touch at work. But most discerning people know it’s more nuanced than President Trump sees it. First, our country is not declining and failing. It’s a false premise. Many indicators show that the country has recovered from the COVID pandemic. We have experienced strong economic growth since 2020 (see the graph below).

With respect to his emerging oligarchy, we only have to look at all the billionaires. They came to Mar-a-Lago to pay homage to President Trump, a wannabee King. A line of private jets belonging to Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Sergey Brin, and others land at Palm Beach International Airport to talk to Trump. This scene has unfolded since the election and continued through the inauguration. Flight records show this information (reference). Elon Musk, who donated 250 million dollars to the Trump campaign, has cozied up to Trump and secured a position in the administration.

The collective net worth of Trump’s top appointees is reportedly estimated to exceed $460 billion. This includes Elon Musk’s $400 billion net worth. But without Musk, Trump’s 2025 cabinet and top appointees exceed the wealth of previous Presidential cabinets. This includes Trump’s 2016 cabinet, which was the previous record holder. It was worth $3.2 billion. President Biden’s cabinet collectively was worth $118 million. Trump is surrounding himself with wealthy Americans, an oligarchy by any definition. (Reference)

Along with Trump’s desire to be granted the Midas touch by the gods, he has built an oligarchy of wealthy minions who simply want to further their sequestration of wealth. They will gladly grab the gold that awaits their businesses as Trump touches the fossil fuel industry, TikTok, cryptocurrency, and many more businesses and initiatives.

But at some point America’s middle and undeserved classes will wake up to an ever widening wealth gap. We must keep in mind that wealth brings power and influence. However, it usually does not serve the Earth’s well being and long-term sustainability. If the curse of the Midas touch gets out of hand, what will happen to inflation? What about the price of eggs, mortgage rates, the price of gas, and other commodities? Will Trump oligarchy come to its senses? Will Trump see that he’s lost touch with the very people who elected him to a second term? Unlike King Midas, who realized his mistakes, and asked the gods to remove the curse. I worry that Donald Trump is too fond of gold.