Posted on 07/04/2018 12:04:34 PM PDT by Dansong
When the spittle settles and the political pugilists return to their ideological corners to rest from the wearisome battle of debating the presidency of one Donald J. Trump, each side is likely to mutter this maxim with regard to America’s new president: There’s never been anybody quite like him.
Of course, the statement is patently false.
In fact, President Trump is so strikingly similar to a president who served over a century ago that the lack of acknowledgement just might disturb the temperamental ghost of one Theodore Roosevelt Jr.
Consider the similarities between the two.
Both presidents were born in New York City to wealthy families and were raised by ambitious fathers and doting mothers. Both had remarkably similar ethnic backgrounds: Dutch/German on their father’s side and Scottish on their mother’s.
Both Teddy Roosevelt and Donald Trump had brothers who drank themselves to death and both men abstained from alcohol, buttressing a penchant for hard work and giving each a tangible advantage in booze-soaked Washington.
Both became famous by publishing a book. Trump wrote “The Art of the Deal” in 1987 while Teddy wrote “The Naval War of 1812″ in 1882. Both betrayed their social set and fortunes to enter the grimy world of politics.
Both presidents had arresting older daughters who captivated the American public. Both Alice Roosevelt and Ivanka Trump were also quick to enter the political arena on their dads’ behalf.
Both men espoused a fierce nationalism while campaigning. “We must dare to be great; and we must realize that greatness is the fruit of toil and sacrifice,” said Teddy, a century before the first MAGA cap appeared on Donald’s head.
Teddy also shared Trump’s sentiments on immigration. “Every immigrant that comes here should be required within five years to learn English or leave the country,” said the man who inspired the teddy bear.
Both had colossal egos. “Trump loves Trump,” remarked a Trump employee, while Alice Roosevelt once observed that Teddy “wanted to be the corpse at every funeral and the bride at every wedding.”
In inventing the “bully pulpit,” Roosevelt became the first president to speak directly and purposefully to the masses, while Trump’s use of the “bully tweet” is doing much the same today. Both men had love/hate relationships with the press and didn’t think it was beneath them to sue journalists.
Both were elected as Republicans but quickly embraced left-leaning causes. Roosevelt’s aggressive trust-busting horrified his conservative peers just as Trump’s use of tariffs has shocked the “Never-Trumpers” on the right.
Cartoonists had a field day with Teddy’s “Chicklet teeth” and iconic glasses — just as they do today with Donald’s patented hair and elongated ties.
In 1905, Roosevelt shocked the world by personally negotiating an end to the Russo-Japanese War. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. In 2018, Trump shocked the world by personally negotiating a deal to denuclearize North Korea. If the deal sticks, he, too, could be awarded the Nobel Prize.
Yes, there are differences. At 42, Teddy was the youngest person to assume the presidency while at age 71, Donald is the oldest. Roosevelt was the quintessential intellectual while Trump remains the less complex entrepreneur. Teddy’s adversaries rarely underestimated the formidable man, while Trump’s enemies make a habit of it.
Still, their similarities are undeniable, and the prudent observer would do well to note them, especially since Roosevelt’s temperament played a large part in his political collapse. In 1904, Roosevelt famously — and needlessly — blurted out that he wouldn’t run for reelection, a decision he immediately regretted and eventually disavowed. He never recovered.
Will President Trump better manage his own spontaneity or will his tweeting thumbs eventually get him into trouble?
Much remains to be seen. And the view from ringside should only improve as partisans continue to roar, adore and abhor our opinion-inducing president, while, unbeknownst to many, history tiptoes past the spectacle and whispers to all who would listen: There’s nothing new under the sun.
Daniel F. Harrington (danielfharrington@yahoo.com), a monthly columnist, is president of Chartwell Wealth Management, in Rumford.
That’s not a compliment.
Teddy Roosevelt was proto-globalist. His policies led to the “multiculturalism” that is currently eroding the American nation.
‘
Trump is not a progressive.
TR was.
There hasn’t been anybody like Trump.
No, he was a nationalist. As for being a "progressive", that word has meant different things at different times. Back then it meant a belief in the natural progress of civilization, and developing America from a wilderness to a civilized country in particular. Marxists later appropriated the term to mean anyone who aids in the "inevitable progress" of mankind toward communism, regardless of whether they are actually communists themselves. Leftists have taken that definition and run with it, but it's hardly what Teddy espoused.
Trump is nothing like TR. take a look at Lincoln and Jackson then you will get the right idea
Both men unconditionally loved the United States of America!
The ‘spittle’ won’t settle as long as Hillary hangs on.
The implication that Trump supporters partake in the spittle is just one of this hit piece’s smuggled premises.
In a way, it pains me to write this:
Caveat: TRs writings were seminal in this immigrant’s development of my own view of Americanism and Patriotism - when I secured my military commission following my swearing in as a citizen, I drove to TR’s gravesite in Oyster Bay and rendered him a salute as my personal thanks.
BUT - POTUSVSG* is LIGHT YEARS ahead of TR in terms of being able to handle the job.
TR’s hubris and ego caused him to needlessly split the GOP in 1910-12 (if he had waited as he was told he could have had the nomination again in 1916) and caused the election of Wilson, a monumental catastrophe for the USA - and by extension, the world.
Roosevelt’s political career, reputation, and his party were ruined by his impetuosity. By the time he had regained his prestige and started readying for another run in 1920, it was too late, and fate intervened (he died in January 1919 at age 60).
MAGA!!!!!!!!!!!
*POTUS Very Stable Genius (a Genius nickname, isn’t it?)
Actually lots of differences.
Teddy never ran a business. He was a creature of charities, associations, and government. Trump has run many businesses.
Trump came from a successful blue collar family. His Dad became wealthy as a successful builder of homes. That’s much different from the very large family wealth that the Roosevelts had.
Also Trump didn’t inherit wealth. His Dad once loaned him a million dollars so he could start his New York tycoon business. That’s very different.
Roosevelt was a rugged outdoorsman, Trump’s a golfer.
And as others have mentioned, their politics was often in opposite directions.
Is there a person who ever became President who didn’t have an “ego”. But very few had the accomplishments Trump has. So they say he has a large ego because he explains the things he’s accomplished. Trump is guilty of hyperbole, but he’s not a unaccomplished narcissist like Obama.
To write the narrative, the author hand selected his facts to fit. He found a few matches, which is fine, but I think the parallels to Washington, Franklin, and Lincoln are closer.
“Trump is nothing like TR...”
The point of my piece is they are very much alike in ways that transcend politics, i.e., family, sobriety, love of country, leadership style,demeanor, etc.
Trump is nothing like TR. take a look at Lincoln and Jackson then you will get the right idea
“The implication that Trump supporters partake in the spittle is just one of this hit piece’s smuggled premises.”
Actually, I’m proud that Trump supporters aren’t afraid to go head to head with the left. Spittle included. Wasn’t intended as an insult but an apt description of the battle.
Your “smuggled premises” phrase is excellent - original?
Roosevelt no doubt was an American nationalist. However he imagined a world benefitting from exposure to and the adoption of American ideals and practices. He avidly embraced an American imperialism that included possessing and transforming the spoils of the Spanish- American world. The governing and limiting protocol that defined American foreign policy had been the Monroe doctrine. He made it clear that America now had a global perspective when he sent the US Navy’s “white fleet” on a global tour. Not only was the Monroe doctrine being ignored but so was Washington’s famous warning to avoid foreign entanglements. Americans were being conditioned to believe that it was their destiny to go far beyond their borders in all things. Teddy Roosevelt was critically important for preparing America for its entry into WWI. As Churchill said the world (and America) was never quite the same again. Roosevelt lived to see his son die in that war. One of many who have perished rightly or wrongly in those entanglements that so concerned Washington.
And again I think that Trump is much more like Lincoln than TR
Tar is a progressive even by today’s standards. His so called love of America is open to debate. He certainly lived his family position and power
Trump like Lincoln was a self made man. Lincoln loved this country in ways that most people will ever understand
Roosevelt’s foreign policy was about bringing America into the ranks of the leading world powers and being treated as such. I don’t consider that “globalism” as it’s used today, meaning a world without borders and unfettered “migration”.
Globalism as it is practiced today and embraced by ~25% of the American population is the greatest single threat to the American nation, its sovereignty and culture. Yet it did not happen suddenly. There was long journey, process and events that made that sort of thinking palatable and desirable to many Americans. Teddy Roosevelt may not have wanted his policies to make today’s globalism a threat to the America he knew and loved but in fact his policies more than any other President before him started the political and intellectual process that has led to globalism as we know it today.
BINGO!!! If not for TR's ego, Socialism may not have gotten nearly the foothold it got in this country. "For want of a nail, a shoe was lost . . . ."
Bravo for having the courage to admit this is your work product. While I don’t necessarily agree with all your conclusions, it is a well written piece. Trump is a fighter and I’d like to think that he walks softly (around friends) and carries a big stick to wack his enemies.
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