How Does Donald Trump Compare with Lincoln, Others?

Donald Trump has claimed, “I can be more presidential than any president ever, except for the possible exception of Abraham Lincoln when he’s wearing the hat.” So let’s compare Trump with some accomplished Republican Presidents starting with Abraham Lincoln.

Abraham Lincoln (1861 to 1865)

  • Self-Educated, avid reader
  • First Republican President
    Successfully ended the Civil War
  • Restored the Union in whole
  • Passed the 13th Amendment making slavery unconstitutional

Donald Trump by comparison

  • Cheated on his SAT’s, does not read
  • Has not fully withdrawn US Troops from the Middle East including Iraq and Afghanistan
  • Has fueled racial division between Blue and Red states

Ulysses S. Grant (1869 to 1877)

  • As a Commanding General, he led the Union Armies to victory over the Confederacy

Donald Trump by comparison

  • Sought medical deferments from military service during the Vietnam War (for bone spurs)

Theodore Roosevelt (1901 to 1909)

  • He was a conservationist, setting aside 125 million acres for national forests
  • He pursued a strong policy of enforcing anti-trust laws and supported labor unions
  • He won the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize mediating the Russian-Japanese war.
  • He strongly supported the first federal law to provide for inspection of meats and drugs

Donald Trump by comparison

  • Has sold off Federal Lands to private developers, including national forests and wetlands
  • Is against Unions
  • Has not won the Noble Peace Prize
  • Has sought to remove or reduce some FDA regulations on foods and medicines

Dwight Eisenhower (1953 to 1961)

  • In World War II, he served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe.
  • He was the first Commander of NATO
  • He signed the Civil Rights Act of 1957 and sent Army troops to enforce federal court orders which integrated schools in Little Rock, Arkansas
  • He created the Interstate Highway System
  • He promoted the establishment of strong science education via the National Defense Education Act

Donald Trump by comparison

  • Trump says, Americans Who Died in War Are ‘Losers’ and ‘Suckers’
  • He’s called Black Lives Matter a symbol of hate
  • Started construction of the border wall, which Mexico has not and will not pay for
  • His Covid-19 response has extended his administration’s longstanding practice of undermining scientific expertise for political purposes

Ronald Reagan (1981 to 1989)

  • He was the Governor of California 1967 to 1975
  • He was largely credited with the demise of Soviet communism during the 1980s
  • He called for the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, to tear down the Berlin Wall
  • Annualized real economic growth of 3.5%

Donald Trump by comparison

  • Regarding North Korea, Trump said he believed Vladimir Putin over U.S. Intelligence
  • Annualized real economic growth 1.9%

George H.W. Bush (1989 to 1993)

  • When Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990, Bush organized a military coalition of 30 countries, defeated Iraq and liberated Kuwait liberation
  • He signed into law the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990

Donald Trump by comparison

  • Has yet to fulfil his campaign promise to end, “endless wars,” he’s deployed thousands more troops to the Middle East including Iraq and Afghanistan
  • He mocked a reporter, Serge Kovaleski, who has arthrogryposis, a congenital condition affecting his joints.
  • Has sought to deregulate environmental protections

More presidential than any president ever?

Sources: CNN, FOX News, BBC News, The Atlantic, Wikipedia

 

 

Image Sources

  • President Trump: Shutterstock