Donald Trump is now the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee for President of the United States, and the question many people may be asking is, “has there ever been another presidential candidate like him?”
The answer to this question is yes.
Andrew Jackson served as the seventh President of the United States, and his arrogant and bellicose personality as well as his cultural and political influence over the American people of his time bear a striking similarity to Trump’s.
Before running for president, Jackson served as a colonel in the Tennessee militia and was later promoted to Major General during the War of 1812. In 1815, Jackson led a group of American soldiers opposing the vast British offensive in the Battle of New Orleans. This decisive victory was responsible for Jackson’s popularity and fame. His nickname, “Old Hickory,” was an apt description of his tough persona.
Jackson’s resounding victory over the British in the Battle of New Orleans resulted in the withdrawal of the British from their campaign against America and led to massive celebrations throughout the country. But the American people were not only celebrating the dramatic victory over the British in the Battle of New Orleans. The War of 1812 symbolized the resilience and independence of America. The American people were celebrating this symbolic meaning of victory.
Jackson’s military fame and popularity would remain for many years after his triumph in the War of 1812 and his image would soon become synonymous with American independence and resilience.
However, Jackson lacked the political expertise and credentials that would have qualified him to run for or become president. Jackson, unlike his presidential predecessors, had never served as Secretary of State or Vice President, and had limited political involvement other than on the local and state level. What gave Jackson such indisputable success while running for president was his military fame, name recognition, and popularity.
Similarly, Trump lacks the political experience and understanding that would qualify him to become the President of the United States. Yet Trump’s fame and popularity, like Jackson’s, has led him to success in the Republican primaries and caucuses and has allowed him to amass an alarmingly large following. But with Trump, his popularity and political success has not been a result of any military experience, much less triumphs; Trump’s political success results from his reality TV appearances and his alleged business accomplishments.
For both Trump and of Jackson, the main factor leading to each candidate’s initial political success was neither qualification, nor experience, but rather popularity and name recognition.
Jackson, throughout his life, was notorious for his bellicose personality, which inspired him to engage in numerous duels. Jackson typically engaged in these duels over what he proclaimed to be an affront to his own honor or the honor of his wife, Rachel.
Likewise, Trump, although not nearly audacious enough to engage his opponents in a physical duel, wastes no time in dueling in court or filing a lawsuit against anyone who seeks to malign his image, and claims he will pay the legal fees for any of his supporters who are arrested for assaulting protesters at his rallies.
Although Jackson despised others for defaming his image, he was happy to cast aspersions on his political opponents through personal attacks and derisive propaganda. During the contentious election of 1828, with the help of his supporters, still outraged by the repudiation of his nomination and the election of his opponent John Quincy Adams, Jackson began to denounce Adams, running to be elected for a second term as president, as corrupt and untrustworthy.
For the duration of his presidential campaign, Trump has employed similar tactics to Jackson, promoting propaganda about his political opponents, and attacking them and their families personally, without any substantive or coherent criticisms of their policies. Like Jackson, Trump has also supported and perpetuated various conspiracy theories about his opponents. In an interview with Fox News, Trump professed that Ted Cruz’s father, Rafael Cruz, was linked to the assassination of John F. Kennedy. During his campaign for President of the United States in 1828, Jackson, in a propagandistic attack, claimed that Adams, while serving as United States Minister to Russia in 1809, became a pimp for Tsar Alexander I.
As president, Jackson introduced the spoils system, allowing him to remove previously serving government officials and replace them with his own supporters, no matter their lack of qualifications. Jackson attempted to disguise this system as a measure to ensure a truly democratic government, but it was evident that Jackson was only appointing his followers, who he had promised government positions in exchange for their support.
When Trump has been asked about possible appointments to his cabinet, should he become president, his responses have been nebulous at best. In an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News, Trump said that, “I would use the greatest minds” and “I know the best negotiators”. But Trump’s definition of the “best negotiators” is based solely on his personal interactions and opinions, rather than actual qualifications—perhaps as much Old Hickory as his own new trickery.
ZWG
The answer to this question is yes.
Andrew Jackson served as the seventh President of the United States, and his arrogant and bellicose personality as well as his cultural and political influence over the American people of his time bear a striking similarity to Trump’s.
Before running for president, Jackson served as a colonel in the Tennessee militia and was later promoted to Major General during the War of 1812. In 1815, Jackson led a group of American soldiers opposing the vast British offensive in the Battle of New Orleans. This decisive victory was responsible for Jackson’s popularity and fame. His nickname, “Old Hickory,” was an apt description of his tough persona.
Jackson’s resounding victory over the British in the Battle of New Orleans resulted in the withdrawal of the British from their campaign against America and led to massive celebrations throughout the country. But the American people were not only celebrating the dramatic victory over the British in the Battle of New Orleans. The War of 1812 symbolized the resilience and independence of America. The American people were celebrating this symbolic meaning of victory.
Jackson’s military fame and popularity would remain for many years after his triumph in the War of 1812 and his image would soon become synonymous with American independence and resilience.
However, Jackson lacked the political expertise and credentials that would have qualified him to run for or become president. Jackson, unlike his presidential predecessors, had never served as Secretary of State or Vice President, and had limited political involvement other than on the local and state level. What gave Jackson such indisputable success while running for president was his military fame, name recognition, and popularity.
Similarly, Trump lacks the political experience and understanding that would qualify him to become the President of the United States. Yet Trump’s fame and popularity, like Jackson’s, has led him to success in the Republican primaries and caucuses and has allowed him to amass an alarmingly large following. But with Trump, his popularity and political success has not been a result of any military experience, much less triumphs; Trump’s political success results from his reality TV appearances and his alleged business accomplishments.
For both Trump and of Jackson, the main factor leading to each candidate’s initial political success was neither qualification, nor experience, but rather popularity and name recognition.
Jackson, throughout his life, was notorious for his bellicose personality, which inspired him to engage in numerous duels. Jackson typically engaged in these duels over what he proclaimed to be an affront to his own honor or the honor of his wife, Rachel.
Likewise, Trump, although not nearly audacious enough to engage his opponents in a physical duel, wastes no time in dueling in court or filing a lawsuit against anyone who seeks to malign his image, and claims he will pay the legal fees for any of his supporters who are arrested for assaulting protesters at his rallies.
Although Jackson despised others for defaming his image, he was happy to cast aspersions on his political opponents through personal attacks and derisive propaganda. During the contentious election of 1828, with the help of his supporters, still outraged by the repudiation of his nomination and the election of his opponent John Quincy Adams, Jackson began to denounce Adams, running to be elected for a second term as president, as corrupt and untrustworthy.
For the duration of his presidential campaign, Trump has employed similar tactics to Jackson, promoting propaganda about his political opponents, and attacking them and their families personally, without any substantive or coherent criticisms of their policies. Like Jackson, Trump has also supported and perpetuated various conspiracy theories about his opponents. In an interview with Fox News, Trump professed that Ted Cruz’s father, Rafael Cruz, was linked to the assassination of John F. Kennedy. During his campaign for President of the United States in 1828, Jackson, in a propagandistic attack, claimed that Adams, while serving as United States Minister to Russia in 1809, became a pimp for Tsar Alexander I.
As president, Jackson introduced the spoils system, allowing him to remove previously serving government officials and replace them with his own supporters, no matter their lack of qualifications. Jackson attempted to disguise this system as a measure to ensure a truly democratic government, but it was evident that Jackson was only appointing his followers, who he had promised government positions in exchange for their support.
When Trump has been asked about possible appointments to his cabinet, should he become president, his responses have been nebulous at best. In an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News, Trump said that, “I would use the greatest minds” and “I know the best negotiators”. But Trump’s definition of the “best negotiators” is based solely on his personal interactions and opinions, rather than actual qualifications—perhaps as much Old Hickory as his own new trickery.
ZWG