Hero of Our Time
Donald Trump on Newspaper Front Pages

On 8 November 2016, Donald Trump – to some, surprisingly – was elected President of the United States. For example, Newsweek had already printed a special issue announcing to the public and to history that the United States had elected its first female president, Hillary Clinton.

Trump’s first presidential term was highly unusual. In 2020, he lost the election but stirred resistance against the transfer of power. During his term, he faced impeachment and criminal conviction. He did not start any major wars, yet he insisted that he would return and make America great again. During the 2024 election campaign, he survived an assassination attempt, and in November he successfully won re-election.

Donald Trump is a textbook example of a populist, yet he departs from standard definitions because he is unpredictable. He evokes countless associations, but over decades it will become clear that during his rule he became a measure of political phenomena that are unfinished, ongoing, or yet to come. He is a unit of measurement for the future.

The Museum of Press holds dozens of newspaper issues that document Trump’s rise, falls, criminal proceedings, assassination attempt, political comeback, and the revolution he ignited. These include Slovenian, American, and other newspapers — the first rough drafts of history.

The exhibition will be accompanied by talks illuminating Trump’s persona, the era of populism, and an entirely new, unsettling geopolitical constellation.