The Tiberius Trump Comparison

Historical comparisons are fun to do, especially when there are multiple parallels. In this short piece, I would like to expand on an idea I had a few weeks ago, when I compared Trump to Tiberius, second emperor of Rome.

Tiberius was an old man when he died. At 77, this was especially old for the ancient world. He became an increasingly unpopular emperor as his reign progressed and by the end the Roman population was more than glad to see the back of him: "Into the Tiber with Tiberius!"

Tiberius reign is infamous for the treason trials conducted by Sejanus, a soldier he appointed as his right-hand man and referred to at one point as the 'partner in my labours'. Anyone who dared to criticize the emperor was found guilty in a sham trial and put to death. Many senators died.

According to Suetonius, in the latter part of his reign, Tiberius secluded himself on Capri and indulged in sexual perversions. Child sex slaves were brought to the island and would be ordered to 'nibble on' Tiberius's genitals. I should point out that the Suetonius work from which this is extracted was written a century later. I should also point out that, rather like today, ascribing sexual perversions to a politician was a standard way of slandering them. However, it is widely believed that Tiberius did spend time on this island and even invited Caligula (the future emperor Gaius) there to school him on being a (presumably perverted and corrupt) emperor.

While Tiberius was hiding on Capri and indulging in what the powerful and rich most enjoy, that is, the children of the poor, his minion Sejanus conducted a brutal reign of terror in Rome. The public despised Sejanus. Tiberius, with the help of Caligula and Macro (Sejanus' second in command), engineered a way to have him removed, by seeming to appoint him as successor and then arresting him in the Senate. Sejanus was brutally murdered, as was all his family, including his infant children, and anyone associated with him.

Caligula couldn't wait for Tiberius to die naturally, and the legend goes that he employed Macro to smother him. Despite being extremely vain and unpredictable, Caligula was the only hope left to unify support for the Julio-Claudians and be accepted by the public as the next legitimate emperor. His prospects were helped by being young and by being the son of Germanicus, a much-loved hero of the Roman people. Caligula had a very short reign because he was so unstable. Whether the many legends about his reign are believed or not, the point is he was assassinated by a member of his own bodyguard after barely four years in power.

Now, to current times.

Trump is an old president (79), and we are all waiting for him to die before he can do any more long-term damage to global systems. At the start of his presidency, he effectively transformed the office into that of an emperor and began his reign. He appointed a right-hand man, Musk, as his 'first buddy'. Musk went about cutting government with such lack of thought that he quickly earned the public's wrath and was ousted, even leaving the White House with a black eye.

Trump is embroiled in a scandal which alleges that he visited Epstein's island, where child sex slaves were abused by the rich and powerful.

Trump has a successor, Vance, known for his vanity and a lack of intelligence. Vance is the only hope for Trumpism to continue after Trump dies. Elements of the Republican Party will already be looking on how to consolidate power after Trump dies and may wish to expediate that process, either to prevent Trump's idiocy destroying the party's prospects, or out of greed for power. It is rumoured that Vance has powerful backers within the right-wing elements of the tech industry.

There is not much honour for rivals in assassinating an old man, neither then nor now. That is why Tiberius ruled so long even though he was hated, and why Caligula ruled for only four years before being killed. Trump may die of old age or may be quietly strangled behind closed doors. Vance's reign will be unstable and massively unpopular, and he will likely be assassinated by his own party or a member of the public.

After the death of Caligula, Claudius became emperor, simply because he was the only member of the Julio-Claudians left alive. In comparison to his predecessors, he was moderate and reigned for 13 years. The Roman people were likely keen to have some stability with an emperor who still remembered and respected the Republic. Likewise, after Vance is removed, the American people will happily accept a relatively older Democrat leader to bring stability back to American politics. After Trump and Vance, they will happily take another Biden style leader.

To summarize the parallels:

Trump and Tiberius are both old, corrupt leaders. They both persecute, prosecute, and remove people they perceive as political enemies. They both have scandalous pasts which involved secret islands and child sex slaves. They both appointed ambitious psychopaths to carry out their policies because they themselves didn't want to feel the wrath of public opinion. When these minions became too unpopular, they were discarded. With Sejanus, he went from having statues of himself, being on Roman coins, even being touted as the next emperor, to being brutally murdered, thrown down the Gemonian stairs, and damned from Roman memory (his face was removed from coins, his statues torn down). For Musk, he was simply punched in the face and kicked out of the White House, his Tesla brand damaged beyond repair, his legacy in ruins. He is currently the most unpopular public figure in America, as a recent poll suggests.

Tiberius and Trump both have younger versions of themselves ready to continue their policies. Tiberius had Caligula, also known as the Emperor Gaius, to rule so violently and without precedent, that it apparently made even Tiberius's reign seem moderate. By the end of that short reign, the Roman Republic was long dead and buried and there was no realistic possibility of restoring it, even under Claudius, a confessed Republican. Trump has Vance, someone he personally didn't want as his Vice President, but nevertheless someone with the same twisted intellect and approach to American politics: corruption, bullying, verbal abuse, and violence.

Tiberius and Trump are both blamed for the fall of their countries' governmental systems and the practice of persecuting political rivals. Tiberius simply called it treason when people criticized him, even in public conversation. Trump decided that the role of president wasn't to execute the will of the other branches of government, but simply to sit in the White House issuing decrees, akin to the famous Führer directives.

Tiberius and Trump both have their reputations tarnished by the very worst crimes: the (alleged) enslaving and raping of children on faraway islands where the rich and powerful friends of the leader are invited to visit... while the Republic burns.

First published 12 August 2025.