Ng: ‘A Man for All Seasons’ Resonates Anew for Trump Supporters Following New York Indictment

The passion of Sir Thomas More (played by the great Paul Scofield) unfolds like a religious parable crossed with a legal thriller, told with a Shakespearean sense of tragic grandeur. Frequently described as a “conservative” movie — a label that has been used to both praise and denigrate it — the 1966 Oscar winner for best picture is resonating anew for conservatives following the indictment of former President Donald Trump.

Is Trump our modern version of the martyred Sir Thomas More? Some pro-Trump influencers have made the connection. In the days leading to his arraignment in New York, they tweeted scenes from the movie, including More’s climactic trial in which he stands indicted for high treason after holding steadfast to his Catholic faith and refusing to acknowledge King Henry VIII’s divorce and role as head of the Church of England. In an earlier scene also making the social media rounds, More warns against abusing the law to persecute one’s political enemies.

“Yes, I give the devil benefit of the law — for my own safety’s sake,” he says, in what is the movie’s most-quoted line.

In A Man for All Seasons, subjects loyal to the king try to take down More by any means necessary. They first accuse him of accepting a bribe in the form of a silver chalice, knowing full well that the accusation is false. When that inevitably fails, they concoct a host of other legal amaneuvers designed to take him down, all with the help of turncoats once loyal to More.
Likewise Trump, whose presidency was marked by one deep-state kill shot after another — sometimes abetted by his own former confidants.
What makes More so revered by Christians today — he was made a saint by Pope John Paul II in 2000 — was his refusal to renounce his beliefs despite enormous political pressure. In another often-quoted line, he explains, “When statesmen forsake their own private conscience for the sake of their public duties, they lead their country by a short route to chaos.”
Trump’s supporters see that same spirit in the former president, whose personal mantra “Never give up” is being put to the test, like More’s, in a judicial system hostile to him.
Trump is no one’s idea of a saint. But each new political prosecution brings him closer to political martyrdom. And for his supporters, that may be close enough.

“Silence betokens consent” or at least the St. Chancellor was reputed to have said.

Does that mean the silence of Ron DeSantis on whether he supports Donald Trump betokens the governor’s support of Trump?

But of course, like King Henry 8 and his lackeys such as Thomas Cromwell, silence wasn’t enough. Eventually, they had to chop off More’s head. Conformity was the only satisfactory outcome. Or oblivion for More.

We are confident that you aren’t so thick that it’s necessary to spell out the parallels as to whether MAGA demands conformity from DeSantis. Or absent that conformity, the governor’s oblivion.

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