A conservative writer has written an open letter trying to explain the difference between real respect and simple fear to Donald Trump. The columnist, Mona Charen from The Bulwark, said the former president has spent years talking about how much he wants to be respected, but she argues he does not truly understand what respect actually means.
She pointed to comments Trump made earlier this month in the Oval Office, where he spoke again about people respecting him. According to Charen, Trump seems to believe that when people flatter him, praise him loudly, or flatter him because of his power, that means he has earned their respect. She says this belief is deeply wrong.
Charen listed several ideas she believes Trump holds that she sees as false, including his views on tariffs, his claims about the 2020 election, and his attitude toward allies. But she said the most shocking idea of all is his belief that people respect him when they flatter him or bow to his ego. She bluntly stated that this is not respect at all. Instead, she argued, people often feel contempt, both for being forced to praise him and for the way he treats them.
She explained that presidents naturally have enormous power simply because of the office they hold. That power gives them influence over politicians, business leaders, foreign governments, and even ordinary citizens. But she argued that Trump wastes this influence by using it to demand praise instead of showing dignity or leadership. When people praise him under pressure, she said, they are only doing it to protect themselves or gain favor, not because they truly admire him.
According to Charen, those people do not believe a word of the praise they give. Inside, she said, they resent him for putting them in a position where they must flatter him instead of being treated with basic respect. In her view, this behavior makes him look smaller, not stronger.
She also criticized what she described as Trump’s constant hunger for attention. She said this need is so obvious that nearly everyone can see it except Trump himself. As an example, she pointed to his desire to rename buildings or attach his name to places already associated with American history. She argued that you cannot borrow respect earned by someone else simply by adding your name next to theirs.
She specifically mentioned John F. Kennedy, saying that Trump cannot claim the admiration Kennedy earned by placing his own name beside a memorial created to honor Kennedy’s legacy. Even if the names appear together in stone, she said, people will never feel the same respect in their hearts. In fact, she argued, many feel anger at what they see as an attempt to take credit for someone else’s honor.
Charen went on to mock what she described as Trump’s exaggerated displays of power and masculinity. She listed examples such as grandiose ideas about renaming geographic locations, talking loosely about absorbing other countries against their will, threatening allies, and using aggressive symbolism in the Oval Office. In her view, truly strong nations and leaders do not need to bully others or constantly show off their power to feel important.
She also criticized claims Trump has made about ending wars and chasing prestigious awards, saying that in several cases there were no wars to end, and in others the conflicts were unresolved or mostly handled without him. She argued that boasting about achievements that are not real only invites ridicule, not admiration. To her, these actions make him a figure of mockery rather than respect on the world stage.
In the end, Charen concluded that Trump’s greatest fear has already become reality. She argued that no American president has done more to reduce how the United States is viewed globally. According to her, the country is now less respected than at any other time in modern history, largely because of Trump’s behavior and ego-driven leadership.
She finished by saying that while Trump may never accept this truth, it is clear to most of the world. Whether or not he can see it, she argued, the damage to America’s reputation is widely recognized and deeply felt.
