The Self-Made-Up Man: What Motivates Strongmen

It's an old story: Pathetically insecure and cowardly men like Donald Trump are the ones who pretend to be tough guys.

Dec 26, 2025

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When I saw Donald Trump hanging a medal on Sylvester Stallone as a Kennedy Center honoree, another image immediately came to mind. In November 2019, Trump tweeted an image of his head Photoshopped on the body of Stallone as Rocky Balboa.

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A guest post by

Robert S. McElvaine

Author, historian, feminist, believer in democracy—placing current developments in historical context. Author of 11books. Current book project: “An Agreed-Upon Fiction—The creation of the ‘Inferior’ Sex: Hoe It Misshaped History & the Present.”