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Ben Franklin & Trump: Bringing Business Smarts & Pride in Workmanship to Government
5/8/2016 | Pocono Pundit

Posted on 05/08/2016 2:51:54 PM PDT by poconopundit

My FRiends, congratulations to Mr. Trump on his pending Republican nomination!  And what better way to celebrate than to compare Trump with the so-called "First American" and Founding Father, Ben Franklin.

On Google Images, I ran across an amusing New York Magazine portrait of Trump wearing an 18th century hair style.  Then, shortly thereafter I found the splendid painting of Ben Franklin by David Martin.  I said: "Hey, wouldn't it be fun to GIMP those images together?" so Trump and Old Ben could sit together at the same table and shoot the breeze.

For the story, I searched Wikipedia and Wikiquote, and cataloged a few parallels between the lives of Franklin and Trump.

Was Trump inspired by the life of Ben Franklin?  I have no idea.  But it's intriguing that the famous sculpture of Franklin in Washington DC stands in front of the Old Post Office, the iconic building the Trump Organization is renovating and turning into its luxury hotel.

Masters of Many Trades

Both Trump and Franklin are known for their diverse accomplishments in many fields.

Franklin was a leading author, entrepreneur, scientist, inventor, and statesman.  As an inventor, he is known for the lightning rod, bifocals, and the Franklin stove.

As deputy postmaster of the British North America postal service, Franklin reorganized the service's accounting system, then improved speed of delivery between Philadelphia, New York and Boston.  By 1761, efficiencies led to the first profits for the colonial post office.  Later on, the Constitutional Congress appointed him as the first postmaster of the US Post Office, the 18th century's equivalent of the internet.

Trump, likewise, has succeeded in many business ventures: hotels, apartments, beauty pageants, wine, golf courses, and television/mass media.

Media pundits are fond of telling us how "inexperienced" Trump is in politics, but if government is about making deals, then imagine the challenge of getting the approvals and financing needed to build skyscrapers in New York City!  That's a monumental political challenge.

Truth is: the pace of business change is probably ten times faster than it is in government.  Business is a juggling act, for it requires: hiring the right people, keeping them motivated, putting a lid on costs, financing growth, covering your risks, and moving to new opportunities as you milk yesterday's cash cows.

Business competence like that is mostly alien territory for politicians groomed to give speeches and negotiate 1,500 page laws like the ObamaCare bill.  So if Trump gets elected, expect a culture clash as the slow, bloated federal government is prodded by an entrepreneur who knows the value of flexible strategies, customer responsiveness, quick action, and lean operations.

And consider this: there's no bigger organization in America than the US federal government which employs 4.1 million people.  The second biggest, Walmart, by comparison, employs 1.2 million US workers [2010].



Parallels between Franklin's and Trump's Lives

Besides the similarities already mentioned, here are some other interesting parallels I found:

  • Keeping Pride in Check -- When you're a guy with as many accomplishments as Trump or Franklin, it's hard to be humble!  Nevertheless, both men are quite conscious that people resent braggers.  In the September 2015 Presidential Debate, Trump introduced himself this way:

      I'm Donald Trump. I wrote The Art of the Deal. I say — not in a braggadocious way — I've made billions and billions of dollars dealing with people all over the world, and I want to put whatever that talent is to work for this country so we have great trade deals, we make our country rich again, we make it great again.

    In his Autobiography, Franklin also talked about conquering his Pride:

      There is perhaps no other natural Passion so hard to subdue as Pride.  Disguise it, struggle with it, beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as much as one pleases, it is still alive, and will every now and then peep out and show itself.  For even if I could conceive that I had completely overcome it, I should probably be proud of my Humility.

  • Authors of Self-Improvement Books -- Franklin practically invented the category of self-improvement books.  In 1758, he wrote and printed an the essay entitled "The Way of Wealth" where he discussed frugality and the work ethic. He began writing his Autobiography in 1771, first printed after his death.  A couple centuries later, Trump wrote his own autobiographical business book entitled The Art of the Deal, and it has become one of most successful business books ever sold.

  • Media Mavens -- Both man became masters of the mass media of their time.  Through the power of his publishing, printing, and postmaster work, Franklin was widely influential.  He published a magazine, the Pennsylvania Gazette and Poor Richard's Almanack.

    Trump, of course, become his endless courting of the press and book writing, become the most widely known real estate developer of his generation.  He then gained national celebrity status when his Apprentice TV show ran for 15 seasons on NBC. And today he continues to break new mass media ground in social media, his rallies, and constant media coverage.

  • Temperance is one of Frankin's 13 Virtues ("Eat not to Dullness. Drink not to Elevation").  And Trump doesn't drink alcohol -- despite owning the biggest winery on the East Coast.

  • Cleanliness -- Franklin's 10th virtue is cleanliness ("Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, clothes or habituation").  Trump says, "I’m a very clean person.  I like cleanliness.  I think you’re better off going to [McDonald's] than someplace else where you have no idea where the food is coming from."

  • Reluctant Politicians -- Both Franklin and Trump had made their mark in other fields, and both felt compelled to get involved in politics to stop government corruption and prevent it from dragging the nation down.

    Franklin deeply cared about improving the moral virtue in American life.  He had lived two decades in London where he made many friends and acquaintances, but he nonetheless knew that British control over the Colonies was too oppressive so he contributed to the Revolution through his publishing/printing activities and writing.

    Likewise, though Trump has become a very rich man, he sensed a moral obligation to make America great again.  Besides, he probably feels the long term prospects for his Trump Organization would decline if American society continues to stagnate.

Franklin's 13 Virtues

Franklin sought to cultivate his character by a plan of 13 virtues, which he developed at age 20 (in 1726) and continued to practice it in some form for the rest of his life.  And apparently he tried to tackle these virtues one at a time.  He wrote in his Autobiography: "I hope, therefore, that some of my descendants may follow the example and reap the benefit [of these virtues]."



Trump's Business Principles

Trump's business self-improvement tips are contained in the "Trump Cards" chapter of his Art of the Deal book.

Below is a snapshot of those business success principles.  And, for a slightly analysis of it, see my FR article entitled Trump: From Art of the Deal and Art of the Campaign.





TOPICS: Politics
KEYWORDS: 2016election; benjaminfranklin; boston; business; election2016; massachusetts; newyork; pennsylvania; philadelphia; trump
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To: poconopundit

Also both men were also a ladies men =)


21 posted on 05/08/2016 5:32:17 PM PDT by Patriot Babe
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To: poconopundit
Poco thanks for putting this together. I'm going out on a limb here because I'm not a Franklin historian but another thing that's similar (and wouldn't necessarily be appreciated here) is that neither of them are/were particularly loyal to a philosophy other than 'do whatever works.'

They basically cobble together solutions based on the legos available at the time to solve a problem at the time - whether it's stitching together a deal or inventing something ... relatively free of dogma - basically, pure do-ers ... even though Franklin often had a lot to say (most of it was about doing - how to live, not really philosphy of this or that.)

A good example is probably Franklin's Postal Service ... which at the time was an excellent thing for the country ... yet really the government, at least philisophically, had no place doing it.

So there is a danger with these guys (both of whom I totally support) ... but right now, we have intense, white hot debate and anger between the left and the right -> all it is ... is a distraction ... while in Ben and Trump's world - the real world - the country is slipping away.

So I think there has never been a better time to say 'hey, conservatism is great, correct, right, sound' ... but dogmatic adherence to it is getting us no where.

Franklin I'm sure would have agreed that 'the perfect is the enemy of the good.' And I'd argue that at the moment, in terms of actually getting anything done which mostly amounts to stopping the assault on our nation from within and without, it's hard to say any of the pure conservatives are even 'good' -> what has dogmatic intellectual Capital C Conservatism won?

So ... these guys are total do-ers ... and in doing so ... I think you accept when you hire them ... it's on their terms, and they will probably horrify in a few places, but they will leave 100 blessings and 3 horrifications ... which is much better than 0 horrifications, 2 blessings ... and a dead country.

Alan Watts - thumbs up ... every few months I'll pull up some of his stuff on youtube ... Happy Week! Thanks again for putting it together for us!

22 posted on 05/08/2016 5:40:38 PM PDT by tinyowl (A equals A)
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To: poconopundit

I HAD THIS EXACT THOUGHT some time back.

You beat me to the editorial.

Well done.


23 posted on 05/08/2016 5:45:00 PM PDT by Lazamataz (Whatever the question, Donald Trump is the answer.)
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To: poconopundit

Well done.
Shared with a link back to here.


24 posted on 05/08/2016 6:46:56 PM PDT by kanawa
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To: poconopundit
I love this post. I just read perhaps my sixth biography of Franklin, whom I revere. I have dog-eared many pages in the book, Stealing God's Thunder, for the parallels with today's political situation and the person of Trump.
25 posted on 05/08/2016 9:15:37 PM PDT by Albion Wilde (In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. --George Orwell)
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To: poconopundit

Donald Trump looks like Tom Berenger.


26 posted on 05/08/2016 9:59:53 PM PDT by NTHockey (Rules of engagement #1: Take no prisoners. And to the NSA trolls, FU)
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To: HarleyLady27

I am looking forward to voting (with great relish and enthusiasm) in the California primary!!

Go Trump!


27 posted on 05/08/2016 10:06:51 PM PDT by thecodont
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To: poconopundit
 

Thanks for the article.  It is very good.

I might add:

"Business competence like that is mostly alien territory for politicians groomed to give speeches and negotiate 1,500 page laws like the ObamaCare bill."  -

- And spending other people hard earned money.

28 posted on 05/09/2016 12:39:08 AM PDT by OneHun
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To: tinyowl
You are so right, tinyowl, about the pragmatism of these guys and not trying to find the "perfect" candidate at such a dangerous tipping point when the dependent class and globalists are very close to stealing the country.

I've always thought Trump was a much lower risk than one of these people labeled as a big C conservative who has never held a significant management position in their lives.

Steve Jobs was not universally loved, but his skills allowed him to create the most highly valued business in the world against the smartest of the smart competitors in the tech world.

Let's hope with Trump's success in office, we can break the "career politician" cycle and start seeing more capable chief executives from the business world emerge as candidates for high political office.


29 posted on 05/10/2016 6:22:14 AM PDT by poconopundit (When the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic government. Franklin, Const. Conv.)
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To: poconopundit
Benjamin Franklin has been added to the list.
This is an ongoing list of historical, popular, and Biblical people, as well as fictional characters, animals, and other things that Donald Trump has been compared favorably to on FR:

30 posted on 02/23/2017 3:25:42 PM PST by EveningStar
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