“Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad” is an old proverb, often attributed to ancient Greek origins, meaning that when a person is destined for ruin, they will first be driven to act irrationally or with excessive pride, ultimately leading to their downfall. It suggests that when someone is about to experience significant negative consequences, they might become blinded by their own hubris or recklessness, making poor decisions that hasten their demise.
The phrase has been used in speeches by notable dignitaries through the years, and it appears in poems, plays, movies, and even television shows: The 1969 Star Trek original series episode “Whom Gods Destroy” depicts the psychotic descent of a formerly brilliant Star Fleet commander. Adolf Hitler used the phrase in his 1922 speech “Freedom or Slavery” at the Bürgerbräukeller Beer Hall in Munich, Germany.
Leaders who ignore the wisdom of experts and specifically the warnings of science often set themselves on a path to destruction. The unraveling may not happen immediately – such figures often command a fervent following that shields them, at least temporarily, from the consequences of their choices. However, as the proverb suggests, the seeds of downfall are often planted in the unchecked arrogance that precedes it.
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Donald Trump’s presidential tenure – now extending into a second term (will there be a third?) – appears to offer a chilling case study. Consider his administration’s approach to health care during his 2016-2020 presidency, one marked by erratic policy shifts, regulatory rollbacks, and ideological battles that often superseded evidence-based decision-making, exemplifying the kind of reckless governance that the proverb warns against.
For example, as the COVID-19 pandemic raged, there was a war on medical expertise and public health officials. Anthony Fauci, MD, and CDC career scientists found themselves battling not only a virus but also a White House that seemed determined to undermine their guidance. Mask mandates, social distancing, and vaccine rollouts were politicized, transforming public health into a battleground of misinformation and defiance. The consequences were measured in lives lost and a fractured national response that lagged behind other developed nations.
Leaders who ignore the wisdom of experts and specifically the warnings of science often set themselves on a path to destruction.
Trump’s disdain for scientific consensus extended beyond the pandemic. His administration championed policies that favored pharmaceutical price wars over patient access, marginalized LGBTQ+ individuals by attempting to roll back protections for transgender health care, and gutted environmental regulations that had direct consequences on public health. When the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) became a revolving door of political loyalists, many of whom lacked public health expertise, it was clear that ideology, not medical integrity, was steering the ship.
If Trump’s first administration’s health policies were reckless, his return to power has only amplified the dangers, emboldened by a sense of invincibility and a base that views any dissent, including from medical experts, as heresy. The proverb’s warning has never felt more apt: a leader – a “King” – so convinced of his own infallibility that he ignores science, silences opposition, and accelerates policies that threaten the very fabric of public health.
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His second term has begun with an aggressive purge of federal agencies, stripping the CDC, FDA, and HHS of key experts who had previously challenged his narratives. Public health funding has been slashed under the guise of “draining the swamp,” replaced with loyalists who prioritize political obedience over scientific rigor. The echoes of his first term’s failures – pandemic mismanagement, vaccine skepticism, and public health misinformation – have now become codified into executive orders and policy, with dire consequences.
One of the most immediate casualties has been reproductive health. Trump’s reinstated and expanded restrictions on abortion and contraception access, coupled with a conservative Supreme Court emboldened by past appointments, have left entire swaths of the country in a reproductive health crisis. In states with near-total abortion bans, physicians face legal jeopardy simply for providing medically necessary care, or prescribing abortion medication via telemedicine, while federal protections for contraceptive access are systematically dismantled.
Meanwhile, Trump’s administration’s renewed attacks on gender-affirming care have reached new levels of intrusion. Federal funding has been cut for hospitals that provide such services, and there is mounting pressure to criminalize physicians who treat transgender patients, branding their work as “ideological extremism.” This has not only put patients at risk but also created an exodus of medical professionals unwilling to practice under such oppressive constraints.
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Perhaps most ominously, Trump’s trade wars and isolationist policies have further destabilized the pharmaceutical supply chain, leading to shortages of essential drugs, including insulin, chemotherapy agents, and antibiotics. His continued hostility toward global health organizations has isolated the U.S. from cooperative medical research, making future pandemic preparedness an afterthought at best, a deliberate casualty at worst.
It is one thing for a leader to enact dangerous policies in the name of ideology; it is another to double down on them even as the evidence of harm becomes overwhelming. If “whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad,” then Trump’s second-term rampage against science, medicine, and public health suggests a leader either oblivious to the destruction he sows – or one who sees it as a mark of victory.
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History is rarely kind to those who govern with reckless arrogance. In Trump’s case, the real question is not whether his policies will cause lasting harm – they already have – but whether the institutions of medicine and public health will survive the onslaught long enough to recover? Will the lessons of science denial, medical censorship, and politicized healthcare decisions serve as cautionary tales, or will they be buried under the weight of revisionist history?
The damage inflicted by Trump during his presidency will be fully reckoned with in the years to come. But if the gods do indeed destroy those they first make mad, then perhaps the most damning legacy of Trump’s health policies will not be just his own political downfall, but the lasting harm they have inflicted on the very people he was elected to serve.
Perhaps most ominously, Trump’s trade wars and isolationist policies have further destabilized the pharmaceutical supply chain, leading to shortages of essential drugs, including insulin, chemotherapy agents, and antibiotics.
