One is a political export, the other is a cultural offload, but both share one big beautiful thing: service to self

Photo: (left) Reuters and (right) sussexcommunityevent/X

Both Meghan Markle and Donald Trump were recently abroad, just a week apart. Ms Markle attended the Balenciaga show on 4 October and, nine days later, Mr Trump was in Israel to address the Knesset and then in Egypt to co-chair the international ‘Summit of Peace’ with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Ms Markle’s surprise appearance at the Balenciaga show, which marked her Paris Fashion Week debut, was a calculated move to boost her personal celebrity and brand as a jam maker and seller. Her president was in the Middle East to bask in the glory of his accepted “peace plan” and the rousing ovation he received in both countries. In the constellation of the conspicuously successful, these two stand out for actions that were primarily motivated by personal gain, fame, or ego, rather than the stated purpose of diplomacy or supporting a friend’s career.

While their respective performances abroad were clear, it was what happened back home that needed no decoder. Not long after she was back on home turf, it was revealed in The Cut by Pierpaolo Piccioli, the current creative director of Balenciaga, that Ms Markle had “reached out and said she’d love to come to the show”. She never was in the original guest list. Concurrently, it was also reported that Ms Markle was seen with the new Vogue editorial director Chloe Malle when the duchess was in New York to receive a humanitarian award that was described as “dubiously given”. Rumours have since appeared that she was working her way to a Vogue cover after establishing herself as a legit fashion heavyweight, following her virginal-white appearance at the Balenciaga show where her performance inferred that she was invited. That alone is worthy of any cover.

These two stand out for their actions that were primarily motivated by personal gain, fame, or ego, rather than the stated purpose of diplomacy or supporting a friend’s career

The mechanism behind Trump’s diplomatic spectacle proved just as self-serving. Much has been debated over whether his peace deal was truly one that will engender real peace or the rushed job it was to secure the Nobel Peace Prize, which eventually went to opposition leader Maria Corina Machado of Venezuela, whose coastal water has been repeatedly bombed by the Trump administration to target alleged drug-trafficking networks. The ego’s mission statement was in full display when Mr Trump received a rousing ovation at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament. The rock star reception provided a personal moment of validation that was a primary goal of his diplomatic engagement. But more telling of his Me agenda was upon his return. Instead of going back to hammering out the finer details of his vague peace plan, Mr Trump Truth-Socialised his consternation with the cover of Time magazine that had featured him with a photo that the president found disagreeable. Even icons need a good photo editor.

That both global stars’ glossy gravitas was also somehow linked to magazine covers is the annual report of their self-obsession. The approach is near-identical: whether pursuing a Vogue feature or railing against a Time photo, they seek not to sustain the institution, but to extract immediate, personal validation from it. In this sense, they are two sides of a tarnished American penny: a political export and a cultural offload. Many of us outside the U.S., especially in Asia, still revere impeccable statesmanship that look for long-term vision, quiet dignity, and a profound respect for tradition. American political and cultural exports are now simply, crap: a reckless, self-serving spectacle dressed up as governance and grace. The loss of American prestige, once measured in alliances and investments, is now confirmed simply by looking at two similar templates that you shouldn’t.