Posted on 06/04/2017 9:57:31 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
The Roman Emperor Claudius, who reigned from 41 to 54 AD, was never supposed to be emperor. He came to office at age 50, an old man in Roman times. Claudius succeeded the charismatic, youthful heartthrob Caligula—son of the beloved Germanicus and the “little boot” who turned out to be a narcissist monster before being assassinated in office.
Claudius was an unusual emperor, the first to be born outside Italy, in Roman Gaul. Under the Augustan Principate, new Caesars—who claimed direct lineage from the “divine” Augustus—were usually rubber-stamped by the toadyish Senate. However, the outsider Claudius (who had no political training and was prevented by his uncle Tiberius from entering the cursus honorum), was brought into power by the Roman Praetorian Guard, who wanted a change from the status quo apparat of the Augustan dynasty.
The Roman aristocracy—most claiming some sort of descent from Julius Caesar and his grandnephew Octavian (Caesar Augustus)—had long written Claudius off as a hopeless dolt. Claudius limped, the result of a childhood disease or genetic impairment. His mother Antonia, ashamed of his habits and appearance, called the youthful Claudius “a monster of man.” He was likely almost deaf and purportedly stuttered.
That lifelong disparagement of his appearance and mannerisms probably saved Claudius’s life in the dynastic struggles during the last years of the Emperor Augustus and the subsequent reigns of the emperors Tiberius and Caligula.
The stereotyped impression of Claudius was that of a simpleton not to be taken seriously—and so no one did. Claudius himself claimed that he feigned acting differently in part so that he would not be targeted by enemies before he assumed power, and to unnerve them afterwards....
fascinating comparison.
I still see Trump as a latter day Andrew Jackson. He’s a fox who knows how to play a game and gosh he’s gonna get the job done one way or another.
Meanwhile, the left is following in little boots direction, he fought Neptune, their fighting climate change.
I see him more like Lincoln for a lot of reasons:
1. Jackson was a pol. He was a senator before being president, so (a little) more of an insider than Trump. Lincoln, though a Whig, only held briefly a House seat and hadn’t won and election in a decade. More of an outsider.
2. Jackson was surrounded by loyalists and he put other loyalists in almost every spot he could in government (one exception, John Calhoun). Lincoln, however, was surrounded by enemies who wanted his job and who thought themselves smarter than him, especially William Seward and Edwin Stanton.
3. Jackson pretty much had a united nation behind him. There was NO opposing party in 1928. We literally had a one party system then. Lincoln, however, not only faced Democrats, but TWO other political parties, a completely divided geographic nation, and backstabbers in the form of “Copperheads” in the North.
I see President Trump more like a Reagan 2.0.
Hey, LS, O/T, but we’re starting to see some signs that maybe Huma was turned.. and with her Weiner. Have you heard any rustlings about this?
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Let’s hope he remains a bit more resolute than Lincoln (although I wonder when he talks of making deals with Palestinians)
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I haven’t heard, but I wouldn’t.
Think about this, while I “knew” Trump’s Paris decision one week out, I barely got confirmation. So I couldn’t really say anything. But think of how incredibly tight the lid was on “whether DT would or wouldn’t pull out of Paris”, right? So when they want to prevent leaks, they can.
So . . . if they indeed turned Huma, I don’t think ANYONE will hear about it.
Nice little comparison piece.
But Claudius was murdered and in stepped Nero.
Let’s hope history neither repeats nor rhymes.
Fascinating!
I had the impression that VDH was not a Trump fan - at least during the primaries...
I’m starting to wonder if that wasn’t maybe a key negotiating item on his trip to SA: Force Huma to flip. She wouldn’t dare disobey her Kingdom.
And like Jackson, he may have to defy the courts, including the jerks at the top.
I can compare Washington DC and its Ruling Elites to any capital city and its corrupt, effete, and treacherous ruling elites throughout human history.
I cannot compare Trump to anyone. There has never been a ruler quite like him. Ever.
Nice try, VDH.
I would compare him to Augustus.
He loved Rome, and did right by it.
Great read is The Twelve Caesars. I really found Augustus to be a strong leader for Rome in reading that.
One or two differences between Jackson and Trump, though, are important.
Jackson was owned by the Democrat Party. His Indian removal policy was a direct result of Southern planters who had paid for Jackson’s election (and also apparently bribed him). These first Democrats coveted the good rich lands of the Choctaw and Cherokee farmers who had already done the “heavy lifting” preparing these lands.
Trump is owned by no man or group.
Second, though Trump is an “outsider” so to speak. He had spent a lot more time with the slimey “elites” than had Jackson. Although Trump may be surprised now about how slimey these people really are, at least he went to school with them and worked with them in his business career. That gives him some insights into the enemy that Jackson could not have had going in.
May God Bless President Trump and our Republic
BTW, Victor Davis Hanson continues to be one of the most informed and insightful observers of our world today. This article in the Hoover Institute publication is just the most recent example.
You’d think neverTrumpers like hanson would be so ashamed of themselves that they’d slink off and hide somewhere or better yet commit seppuku
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