In the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election, whether the victory of Donald Trump is considered a great triumph or a terrible tragedy appears to depend not only on political allegiances and policy preferences, but also on race, religion, gender, educational level, sexual orientation and zip code.
In 2016, America stands deeply divided much like it did during the 1960s and early 1970s. Sadly, the 'generation gap' of the 1960s now appears to have metastasized into a 'systemic demographic gap'. In such times of profound disorientation and fear, catharsis--the purification and purgation of emotions through art--serves as a way to restore conceptual order. It gives a way to cope.
In 1966, Barbara Garson, a young political activist in California, wrote Macbird, a drama-satire sketch that superimposed the plot of Macbeth onto the transferal of power to President Johnson following the Kennedy Assassination. Transformed into a full-length play, MacBird opened at the Village Gate in New York City on February 22, 1967, and closed after 386 performances.
In 2016, MacTrump attempts to make a much similar superimposition of the electoral process and its result on the universal narratives of Shakespeare's plays. Bits and pieces of various Shakespeare plays are loosely spliced into real events up to November 8, 2016. From that day onward, the Witches 'prophesy' stands as good of a chance of being 'right' as any method of modern forecasting.
Act 1 Setting: the Annual Banquet of the Media Barons
King O'bamach takes revenge on MacTrump, leader of the Birthers, for questioning the legitimacy of his claim to the Throne. O'bamach ridicules the possibility of a MacTrump Imperial White Palace.
MacTrump seethes and retaliates by declaring his claim to the Throne. He promises to destroy the legacy of King O'bamach and to rid the realm of Southern gypsies. He ruthlessly defeats all Pach-i-Derm challengers, including the clan's heir apparent Jeb McBush, Little Marco of the Florid-Lands, and the feared Inquisitor Ted de La Cruz.
Dem O'Crats prepare for battle.
Act 2 Setting: The Battlefield
Princess Hillary survives the unruliness of the rebellious Highland Berns whose grievances and anger reveal the deep divisions within the Realm. She gains command of the Dem O'Crat army and vows to defeat MacTrump and his House.
Princess Hillary brings into battle the Priestess of Abedin, her spiritual guide, and heeds the advice of Queen Michelle to follow the High Road.
MacTrump unifies the angry Basket of Deplorables behind him with his message that only he can "Make the Realm Great Again". Together with his strongest allies, The Grand Wizard, the Dixie-Die-Hards, King Coal, and the Rusts-of-the-Belt, he charges at the Ivory Towers of the Elites. They overwhelm the forces of the Liberal Media by unleashing the Twitter floods of the ALT-Right hordes. Crazed villagers burn effigies of "Gun-Grabbing Crooked Hillary" while screaming "Lock Her Up. Lock her Up".
Bonnie Prince Willie, Princess Hillary's husband, travels to all quarters of the Realm asking subjects to lend him their ears. He warns villagers that a MacTrump victory would cause a return of the Dark Ages. Princess Hillary gains the support of the Sisters of Saint Femina, the Latin Clans, the Descendants of Africa, the Sages of the Ivory Tower, the Beltway Bandits, and the Gender Fluid Tribes.
The Dem O'Crats feel certain of victory. But days before the decisive battle of The Vote the Priestess of Abedin is disgraced by her husband, the perverse Carlos D'Anger. His memoirs implicate Princess Hillary in High Treason and this unsettles the Electoral Masses. With her forces in disarray and facing a MacTrump army greater and fiercer than all had imagined, Princess Hillary suffers a tragic defeat. Once again, security proves to be a mortal's worse foe.
Act 3 Setting: The ruins of the Dem O'Crats Palace.
King O'bamach's realm lies in ruin. His great Policy Edifices have all been ransacked. The heads of Dem O'Crats who have not fallen in line with MacTrump's rule are prominently displayed on pikes. The once powerful clans of Clinton and Bush have fallen.
Alone for the last time in the Oval Court, King O'bamach contemplates the Electorate's verdict that something is 'rotten in the state of Dim-mark.' With great ambivalence about his future role in the Realm, he utters: "To be, or not to be, that is the question. Whether 'tis Nobler in the mind to suffer The Slings and Arrows of outrageous Fortune, Or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles..."
Bonnie Prince Willie despairs over the knowledge that he might have contributed to the demise of Princess Hillary and to the fall of the Dem O'Crats. Sexual misconduct had nearly cost him the Realm. And now Carlos D'Anger's sexual misconduct had dealt a fatal blow to Princess Hillary's claim to the Throne. Contemplating the mementos of the fateful day in which he himself had officiated at the wedding of the Priestess of Abedin to Carlos D'Anger, he falls on his sword.
After being locked up in the Tower of Lawsuits, Princess Hillary, like Joan of Arc before her, is burnt at the stake, slowly, so she can "feel the burn."
Meantime, at MacTrump's Towers, all of the Lords and Ladies of Pach-i-Derm who had refused to back MacTrump during the Troubles now claim that their donkey heads were the result of being bewitched. They beg for forgiveness and a place at Court. They plead with MacTrump to consider 'mercy' as a quality befitting a man of his power.
The second in command, the Duke of Pence, addresses the assembled Pach-i-Derms who rejoice after eight years of House arrest: "Now is the winter of our discontent, Made glorious summer by this son of New York."
Act 4 Setting: King MacTrump's Towers
Queen Melania, the Slav(e)nian, appears in a different outfit in every scene. Her tongue has been cut out to prevent more accidental parroting of the deposed Queen Michelle.
MacTrump received the three Witches of The Media Polls and asks them to prophesy his rule. They summon horrible apparitions:
"Lady Ivanka MacTrump and the Princes will closely counsel King MacTrump. The walls of the Imperial Palace will echo with the words "You're Fired!" Even the Knights of Cabinet will tremble.
MacTrump will grow weaker and weaker as the congenital malady of Narcissus affects his body, spirit and mind. His heirs flatter him into dividing his riches between them. The Towers of MacTrump will begin to fall.
Prince Barron the Yawner, once thought 'deficient' like Roman Emperor Claudius, will not be able to withstand the many indignities heaped upon his mother, Queen Melania the Slav(e)nian. He challenges his father to a duel of The Deal and the son wins.
In the confusing aftermath, the Duke of Pence makes his move. The moment that he has been waiting for since he accepted the nomination has arrived. With the support of Pach-i-Derms and Dem O'Crats Nobles, he condemns MacTrump to the dreaded 'Death by Impeachment'.
The Duke of Pence shall be declared King of the Realm and the 'Lord Protector of Personal-Wealth'. He sends the entire MacTrump clan into exile.
The Furies of Climate Change, not having received their tribute due, unleash floods, fires, droughts, cyclones and extinctions. With the 'Healing Order of the Affordable Care' now exiled, epidemics kill millions. A Calamitous Century will dawn."
MacTrump dismisses the prophecies of the Witches as a ruse of the dreaded Liberal Media. He laughs and rejoices in the thought that the Furies of Climate Change would drown the coastal strongholds of the Dem O'Crats leaving behind only the heartland of the Pach-i-Derms. He orders his Knight of the Strategy, Bannon of Demagoggerich, to banish the Witches.
Act V: Setting: Night-time in the forest
Planning their revenge, a warren of Elizabeths joins the banished Witches who now stir their brew for the Dem O'Crats. They vow to obtain the prized 'eye of Newt' to 'make the charm cool and good'.
The last utterances heard are: 'a charm of powerful trouble. Like a hell-broth boil and bubble'.
The End