Any old time Asimov science fiction fans out there? I haven't read Asimov's Foundation series in over 30 years, but lately find myself thinking about similarities between Trump's sudden appearance/take over on all fronts, political and cultural, and his disruption and departure from our usual paths/truths, and the character of "The Mule" in Asimov's Foundation series.
Historian Hari Seldon's projection would appear every thousand (?) years or so, or at times when humanity was at a cross roads, and say something important about the progress and direction of humanity, etc. Things would then continue on a path of growth for humanity until in crisis or whatever again, and the next Seldon projection helped them understand what was going on and what to do. Even the discords were anticipated, understood, and solved, sometimes hundreds of years in advance.
But the "Mule" changed all that. His unexpected appearance and outlandish behaviors threw the entire plan for humanity's growth into chaos. No one had anticipated someone like the Mule.
Lately, I often feel like we are living in the Mule's universe. But I do remember that the good guys won in the end, and I'm hoping that's true for us too.