For many of us who grew up in the Arab world during the 1980s, one of the sweetest childhood memories is watching the animated series World Stories (Hikayat Alamiyah). Among the most memorable episodes was Don Quixote de la Mancha, based on the iconic 17th century novel by Miguel de Cervantes. The story is beloved for its mix of humour and idealism, a tale of an aging dreamer pursuing romance, honour and justice in a world that had long moved on from such ideals. But beneath its charm, Don Quixote offers a sharp critique of society’s obsession with false nobility and inherited status, a problem still relevant today.
Fast forward to the 21st century, and we find a surprising parallel in the form of another “Don” Donald J. Trump, the 45th and now 47th President of the United States of America. Though separated by centuries and cultures, Don Quixote and Donald Trump share traits that highlight larger societal trends. Both are senior men driven by grand delusions. Don Quixote jousted with windmills, mistaking them for giants. Trump, similarly, has waged rhetorical wars against wind turbines, diversity, migrants and multilateralism, conjuring threats that serve his narrative but bear little resemblance to reality.
Both figures also clung to images of nobility. Don Quixote called himself a “Hidalgo", from a minor nobleman class, while Trump surrounded himself with gold-plated opulence and dynastic branding, projecting power through spectacle rather than substance. Trump, in a far grimmer analogy, has aligned himself with the Zionist regime in Israel, and with diminishing respect, the European Union, which increasingly appears more burdened burro than strategic partner.
From these two characters, one fictional, one all too real, emerge two sobering lessons.
First, fighting imaginary enemies is a costly illusion.
Trump’s brand of leadership, like Quixote’s adventures, thrives on the creation of imaginary foes. Whether it’s Muslims, Mexicans, the media, China, Canada, trade partners or renewable energy, his narratives depend on division and distortion. But unlike Cervantes’ satire, the consequences here are real. The obsession with dominance; economic, racial, or religious, has cost humanity millions of lives since the dawn of colonisation, from the 16th century through the global catastrophes of WWI and WWII. Today, we remain trapped in these cycles of manufactured fear and violence, watching new victims fall daily to this supremacist delusion, often under the guise of fighting “uncivilised” others.
Second, we must know when to wake up from our delusions.
Don Quixote eventually confronts his own madness, admits his foolishness, and dies a wiser, more grounded man. Trump, however, appears determined to double down. He continues to bully allies and adversaries alike, belittling victims, pressuring the media, undermining global trade and threatening world peace. He dreams not of chivalry, but of control. And unlike Quixote, Trump’s fantasy is not just personal, it’s systemic, fuelled by trillions of dollars, social media echo chambers and reactionary political movements that risk dragging our world backward.
In the end, Cervantes gave us Don Quixote as a mirror to our own illusions. Today, Trump offers another. Both are tragicomic reminders that unchecked dreams, when detached from justice, empathy and reality, can become dangerous. As world citizens, thinkers and voters, we must ask ourselves: Are we following visionaries, or merely old wanna-be nobles lost in delusions of greatness?
Khalid Alsafi al Huraibi, The writer is an innovator and an insights storyteller
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