Is Trump Caesar in disguise?

How to spin a political campaign

Where else would I start my research for a new series about Rome’s ambitions in Britain in the 1stC BCE than Julius Caesar’s own account, Commentarii de Bello Gallico?

We’re lucky to have this record of Caesar’s campaign in Gaul, but can we believe it?

He sent a stream of accounts of his and his legions’ exploits of a ruthless campaign to be posted in the Forum back in Rome, to be read out in the Senate, and to generally secure the popular vote among the people.

It made him rich and set him on a course of absolute control in Rome. His allies were duped and by the time he crossed the Rubicon, he mistakenly believed Rome and a potential empire were his and his alone.

Well, that was the plan but we know how that worked out.

Ring any bells?

When I started this series over a year ago, to be published next year, I had barely scratched the surface of the seemingly parallel attempts by Caesar in Disguise, Donald J Trump.

But I didn’t believe what Caesar said and I don’t believe anything Trump says. Except that he will ‘finish it’ if the white Christians vote for him just this once.

What the heck does that mean? Does it mean if he crosses his Rubicon, he will have such power that those poor Americans will never have to vote again because they will have white supremacists in power for ever and a day?

Heaven forfend.

But then, that was what Caesar was aiming for too. Absolute power and sod the wishes of the people or their precious Republic. And that was always his aim from 58BC when he began his campaign in Gaul until right-thinking people got other ideas and the Ides of March happened in 44BCE.

Let’s get to the point. The similarity here is the spin that both men rely/relied upon to make a point. I try not to be political, so I’ll focus on Caesar.

He claimed to be fighting for Rome when he reported that his legions had massacred thousands of Gauls, including women and children, to protect the Republic’s stability. This ignited the ire of a few in the Senate, especially Cato, who accused him of genocidal war crimes and wanted to throw the book at him.

So he calmed down and sent thousands of slaves, money and valuables to Rome to show what a good egg he was.

Then he all but wiped out the Veneti tribe in Gaul and several of their allies by executing their leaders and suggesting that the Britons had supported them. Next, he would cross the Channel and show those barbaric Brits some good, honest Roman steel.

That’s where my new series will start.

How did he achieve this through old-fashioned public relations and the assistance of several ‘reliable’ authors. Writers, to be exact.

Enter Aulus Hirtius, a gay Roman who definitely wrote the eighth book of De Bello Gallico and probably contributed to the earlier volumes. In my stories he is assisted by a Gaul who had been educated by Cicero’s servant Tiro and is not the type to meekly agree to make the facts fit Caesar’s ambition.

The hero in my next series writes the truth – but will it be heard?

I’ve been a frontline journalist (politics, among other things) and I’ve run a PR company in my chequered past. Currently, I advise a small island government on their media relations.

People like Trump and Caesar ‘spin’ the facts. But that I will not do. Modern politicians the world over do this.

The trick is not to be duped.

I’ll be honest with you, I don’t yet know exactly how my story will pan out over three books (I’m midway through the second).

But one thing’s for sure, we should always back those that have the good of the community front and centre, not those with their own self-interest at heart.

I’ll keep you posted.

Meanwhile, here are the books I’ve written to date and where to purchase:

Sea of Flames – a young merchant pledges his ship and his quirky crew in an attempt to avenge his father’s cruel execution at the hands of a drunk Mark Antony. Buy it here.

Libertas – a small, idyllic community is swamped when Caesar comes to Spain to fight the final battle in his civil war, a year before his assassination. Buy it here.

Vipers of Rome – An honest, ageing centurion is sucked into a spy ring to combat a threat of piracy and foils an assassination attempt on Caesar Octavian. Buy it here.