American Psycho’s Patrick Bateman is one of my favorite fictional characters, and not because he’s a hero by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, he’s the greatest villain of them all because he’s the wolf in sheep’s clothing we see day in and day out in our normal lives. But in 2020, there is something even more telling about Patrick Bateman that should, in theory, tell us all we need to know about a select group of cultists—er, supporters.
One of Patrick Bateman’s most defining characteristics (in my eyes) is his obsession with Donald Trump. Set in the Wall Street boom of the 1980s, American Psycho focuses its energy on the warped views of a Wall Street prince named Patrick Bateman and his insatiable lust for blood and to rid the world of “vermin.” His vermin? Anyone who isn’t an elite straight white male. And even then, the elite white straight men in his way are not safe.
But let’s focus on Bateman’s obsession with Donald Trump and why it’s amazing that anyone can be surprised by the monstrous ways of the gold toilet President. Donald Trump, in the ’80s, was a figure of wealth, a man whose image (despite reality) was one of having it all figured out and knowing exactly what business moves to make to secure his own wealth and success. American Psycho is hardly the only time he’s referenced as the epitome of sleazy wealth—Back to the Future II’s Biff comes to mind—and yet, so many ignored what has been known about Donald Trump for decades.
For Patrick Bateman, those were the only things he cared about, as well. He didn’t care about how the world around him was benefitting. He didn’t care who he hurt to maintain a level of success that came across as if he had his life put together. He only cared about the dollar sign and the power it gave him.
That is why, in my opinion, Bateman turned to murdering. It was all about the power that he could obtain from people. The women in his life who needed his money whether it was his girlfriend or the women he picked up to pay? They all wanted him for his cash, and he killed them to show his dominance. The homeless men asking for help on the street that he wanted to dominate? He lorded his wealth over them before leaving them lifeless because that’s what he gleaned from the lessons of Donald Trump.
Trump stands for the ideas of every man for himself. He is a champion for those who don’t care to help others because how are those “others” helping them? Trump is and has always been a man who praises those who got rich no matter who they hurt along the way. Winning is the only thing that matters to him.
This is true now and this was true in 1991 when the book American Psycho was released, and it was true over and over again throughout Trump’s life. Instead of recognizing the lies that he sells and all the warning signs we were given throughout the years, the supporter’s of Trump’s cult-like behavior now have more power than ever. And, like Patrick Bateman, they feed off of it.
They don’t care about their neighbors, despite “preaching” at us about their Christian ideals. They don’t care about what Trump says or who he hurts, just like Patrick Bateman didn’t care whose life he took. What Trump and his loyal army care about is themselves, and everyone should have known a long time ago that Trump was a monster. Yet society fed him—gave him a show called The Apprentice, put his name in our households over and over again, and he just kept taking that power, forever free from the consequences of his actions. Again, like Patrick Bateman.
So, am I surprised by the caliber of people who still support Donald Trump? No. And maybe that’s because I’m fascinated by American Psycho and have taken in all forms of media surrounding it, but unlike all those in the MAGA Cult, I took the lessons given to me and realized that those who seek power and will destroy those who stand in their way are not people who will look out for anyone else once they’ve obtained that power.
Patrick Bateman and Donald Trump are one and the same, and it’s best if we start calling out this monstrous behavior for what it is: the work of a madman.
(image: Lionsgate Films)
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