It is a rare day when I can write a blog-post that has the potential to piss-off every one of my readers.
Today is one of those days.
Trump is more like FDR than Hitler
FDR was a disrupter. He liked stirring the pot and twisting peoples noses. For example, he appointed Joe Kennedy, Sr. as ambassador to the Untied Kingdom. Kennedy was a very low-brow Irishman who hated the English and whose fortune was based on running illegal booze during the prohibition. The royal family wouldn't have hired Joe Kennedy to walk the family dog.
FDR exploited new communication technology. FDR gave masterful, fireside chats to connect directly to the voters as-a-real-person. Trump has been equally agile in using internet-based social media.
FDR's policies were constantly embroiled in legal challenges.
FDR was a meddler and experimenter.
FDR gleefully appointed people who were tasked with goals that worked at cross-purposes of other people he had launched.
FDR struggled to have constancy-of-purpose, seeming to chase after every gum-wrapper blowing down the street.
FDR was POTUS during times of unprecedented change and stress.
The national debt exploded under FDR.
The reason this comparison will piss-off so many
The liberals are scandalized by this comparison because the constant rewriting of history made FDR an unblemished saint in their eyes. Until Obama came along, there was no other politician who could be considered even close to him in greatness. To say Donald J. Trump is a lot like FDR is heresy and burning at the stake is too good for somebody who dares to think that.
Liberals are also horrified that Trump might be only the second president (after FDR) to serve more than two terms.
The conservatives are scandalized by this comparison because FDR's policies resulted in enormous growth in government and wholesale losses in personal freedoms.
According to my dad. His dad (my grandad) asked him when he returned from WWII. "What are you doing back home? Why aren't you fighting Joe Stalin and his communists?" FDR loved Uncle Joe.
ReplyDeleteTrump is not FDR. He is LIKE FDR in SOME ways. He's also LIKE Hitler in SOME ways.
ReplyDeleteFDR broke tradition by being elected for a third term. Trump would be breaking the law.
Which is something you don't seem to care about when it's your tribe doing the law-breaking.
Care to actually point out real things that Trump is doing that is Hitler?
DeleteBe prepared for the rest of us to point out how quote YOUR SIDE did the same or worse.
Something about throwing the first stone at the woman caught in adultery when the man involved isn't included.
Michael
"Which is something you don't seem to care about when it's your tribe doing the law-breaking."
DeleteI truly hope you're looking in the mirror when you say that...
Anyone who compares Trump to Hitler clearly failed history class in high school...
Trump's not going to run for a third term. Look at him. He's tired. Melania won't allow Donnie to run again any more than my wife will let me buy another gun! That, and the fact that the Constitution PROHIBITS Trump from running for a 3rd. He's trolling you, and you're falling for it.
I see Trump as more of a TEDDY Roosevelt. Like Teddy, Trump is a bull in a china shop. He's exactly what I voted for!
Well, I was interested In Gary's Hitler reference. But no followup. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteI think FDRs commerce secretary stated that after all the years of spending, they had the same amount of unemployment as1933, and tremendous debt to boot. Well done!!
My first thought wouldn't have been FDR, probably would have been Ted Roosevelt or Andrew Jackson. I see a lot of similarities to Jackson, where he was an outsider who broke into the establishment structure of the Virginia planters as a common-man populist.
ReplyDeleteThe Trump administration isn't stuffed with people trousering Moscow Gold. Nor has Trump dispatched American citizens of Japanese descent into concentration camps while encouraging theft of their property. Not has he yet defaulted on US federal debt.
ReplyDeleteHe's got a long way to go to reach the fascist/Bolshevik standards of FDR.
I think what frustrates the Left is before they have time to mobilize against a Trump position - action, Trump has already committed an equally egregious action and they don't have time to adjust their rhetoric.
ReplyDelete"I just packed up my 'LEAVE OUR CRIMINALS ALONE' signs and now you make us prove why the Left is holding the country hostage with government shutdown'. We need down time with our families and stoke up the heat "
For a 'seasoned citizen', Trump doesn't waste much time sitting back. Always on the move adjusting the pieces on the board. The American Public is so used to POTUS doing rituals instead of actively pursuing legislation. The next POTUS has a lot to live up to.
I actually think your FDR comparison is more insightful than most will give you credit for, though maybe not for the reasons you intended.
ReplyDeleteFDR and Trump both mastered direct communication in a way that bypassed traditional gatekeepers — FDR with radio, Trump with social media. Both created a sense of intimacy with “the people” that made institutional criticism feel almost like an attack on the listener personally. That’s powerful — and dangerous — because it binds loyalty not to a policy or a party, but to a personality.
Where the comparison grows even more interesting is how each man used disruption. FDR disrupted a system that had failed millions and replaced it with programs — some flawed, some essential — that ultimately expanded the middle class and stabilized democracy. Trump’s disruption, on the other hand, seems less about reconstruction than about demolition. It rallies resentment and mistrust, not toward a common goal, but toward any institution that limits him.
So yes, both were disruptors. Both unsettled elites. Both used the latest communication tools to reshape politics.
But disruption isn’t inherently good or bad — it depends entirely on what’s being built in its wake. FDR’s experiments, for all their controversy, were anchored in a belief that government could be a tool for public good. Trump’s seem driven by a belief that only one man can define what “good” is.
That’s where the parallel becomes less flattering — and far more consequential.
I agree with your paragraph about direct communication bypassing gate keepers.
DeleteRegarding the next paragraph, my perception is that the bureaucracy overshot its equilibrium state due to a lack of natural predators. Mindlessly chopping it back is akin to mindlessly throwing clutter into the dumpster so you can see the other side of the room.
Regarding your third major point, I try (not always successfully) to avoid injecting speculation about other people's motives. It is safer to stick with observable, objective facts and to let the readers check the "facts" and make their own deductions about motives.
Fair points, ERJ— and I appreciate your thoughtful tone.
DeleteYou’re right about bureaucracies developing their own kind of self-preserving inertia. I’ve seen it myself in both government and corporate settings — the “predator-prey” balance you describe gets out of sync, and reform becomes essential.
My concern isn’t so much about guessing Trump’s motives as it is about observing the results of how he’s framed that reform. When the message shifts from “let’s fix what’s broken” to “only I can fix it,” the corrective force that could prune back excess instead becomes something that uproots the very accountability meant to keep any leader — right or left — in check.
That’s not a claim about motive, just an observation of how power tends to behave when it’s personified rather than institutionalized. We’ve seen it in many eras and ideologies. The pendulum swings from bureaucracy to strongman, each feeding off the other’s excesses.
Ideally, the real equilibrium is somewhere between the two.
I would agree with your analysis. Both were populist and went direct to the people. Both like to make a deal and make outrageous proposals. Both liked women.
ReplyDeleteWhile there are some similarities there as many or more differences. One of the biggest is FDR was a career politician. Trump had nothing to do with politics till a decade ago. Trump understands how business works. FDR knew how to use government and bureaucracy to get what he wanted.
ReplyDeleteNice troll there, ERJ.....Well done
ReplyDeleteWell B, I know you and I have seen things differently before, but I didn’t read Joe’s post as trolling — more as a thought experiment about how power, communication, and loyalty interact across eras. Those patterns repeat themselves no matter the party, which is why they’re worth examining.
DeleteWhether we like or dislike the figures involved, the bigger question is always how power behaves when it’s challenged — and whether institutions are strong enough to hold it accountable.
I realize that the post had the potential to provoke people from all corners of the spectrum and admitted as much.
DeleteI appreciate how mature and thoughtful everybody has been. Even Gary's post was a great post except for the "gig" near the end. But, when you are one of the top 25 bloggers in southeastern Eaton County you are a public figure and you have to accept that not all visibility will be flattering.
Absolutely, ERJ — and thank you for fostering such a civil and refreshing conversation.
DeleteMy “never Trump” stance is no secret, yet I genuinely applaud your post because it captures the essence of the discussion. Thought experiments like this are bound to provoke, and the real value comes from how people engage with ideas rather than how loudly they react. I appreciate that this thread has remained mostly thoughtful, even amid disagreement. It’s a reminder that civil debate about leadership, disruption, and power dynamics is still possible — more than we can say for many online spaces these days.
All true, also...LOL
ReplyDeleteI know Roosevelt was considered the devil by conservatives but did he earn the violent psychotic hatred that so many people have for trump. My parents, born in 1917 never said anything about the politics of the time and the 1 grandparent I knew only talked about irish politics.
ReplyDeleteI think Trump enrages the Left because he 'stole' the Presidency from Hilary and then from Kamala, plus he has survived every attempt to smear him, jail him, and eventually assassinate him to get re-elected. The hate is mixed with the realization Trump now has no illusions abut the depth of the Deep State and the measures needed to oppose and remove it. The Schumer Shut Down is playing directly into his hands, I'm expecting LOTS of federal termination letters will be sent out on the 31st since healthcare for illegals and concealing the true cost of the ACA is more important to the Dems than having a funded government.
DeleteIt has also been useful in seeing who has full blown TDS infections. Sone people really cannot get passed the individual and look at policy and action. The ballroom is just the latest example. These people are DEMONSTRATING that they are certifiably nuts, b/c they cannot control themselves in the presence of this man. Any other politician can commit most egregious acts and get a pass, but if Trump were to cure cancer.... its a mental illness that assumes control of their actions. They are unfit.
DeleteRick, I think the real frustration across the political spectrum comes from a sense that working families are getting squeezed while powerful interests skate free — and both parties have contributed to that. Where we sometimes lose the thread is when the debate turns to scapegoats instead of systems.
DeleteFor instance, when people talk about “healthcare for illegals,” what they’re often reacting to is the feeling that the system prioritizes others over them — but the actual data on federal spending tells a more complex story. The biggest cost drivers in healthcare aren’t immigrants; they’re administrative waste, hospital monopolies, and pharmaceutical pricing.
I don’t expect agreement across every point, but I think we’d get further if we focused on fixing those systemic failures instead of assuming that struggling groups are the ones gaming the system.
Anonymous, I think it’s easy to overpersonalize any presidency — whether that’s adoration or hatred — and in doing so, we lose track of what actually happened in policy terms.
If we set personalities aside and look at record, there were real funding cuts proposed during the Trump years that affected NIH and cancer research programs, along with CDC prevention efforts. That doesn’t make him evil, but it complicates the “he’d cure cancer” narrative.
Personally, I think the healthiest conversations happen when we separate the man from the machinery — measuring presidents not by how people feel about them, but by the outcomes their policies produced.
While Trump and FDR have similarities, mostly in style, I believe they are fundamentally different. FDR was committed to the concentration of power to the federal government, and to the creation of the Deep State, aka Fourth Branch, of election-proof administrators. Whether it was his personal ideology or it came from his close advisors, he was also a socialist. Like many socialists, FDR had no concept of earning a living as he was born into great wealth. Trump has expressed his opposite views, although he's moving awfully slowly in pruning the federal government compared to his promises. Trump is unmatched in the persuasion game. It's like the Democrats and media are a bunch of cats, and he has the world's biggest laser pointer.
ReplyDeleteI actually agree with you on Trump’s gift for persuasion — it’s a talent few political figures in our lifetime have matched.
DeleteBut I wouldn’t limit his influence to Democrats and the media. His real mastery has been reshaping how his own allies, appointees, and even long-standing institutions respond to him. That’s persuasion at a level far deeper than messaging — it’s behavioral.
When persuasion becomes that powerful, it can build loyalty that lasts beyond the facts of any single issue. That’s what makes his movement so durable — and also why it deserves serious study, not just applause or scorn.
I agree that Trump's abilities are not used merely for cornering and mocking Democrats, but also for masterful exercise of leadership. He has a team of powerful personalities - RFK, Tulsi, Vance - who would not easily work for an ordinary boss. And yet, for all his skill, the work of draining the swamp and prosecuting the conspirators in the coup of 2020 is going at a snail's pace. That is my biggest disappointment with his performance so far. As for understanding how he persuades, Scott Adams has done many analyses of his method on his daily podcast and wrote the book "Win Bigly" about Trump's ability during the first term.
DeleteThat’s an interesting point about leadership — getting strong-willed personalities like RFK Jr. and Tulsi to align under one banner is no small feat.
DeleteWhere I probably see things a little differently is in what you describe as the “coup of 2020.” From my perspective, the persuasive ecosystem around Trump — media allies, social networks, influencers, and loyal appointees — created a perception that the election was stolen long before any credible evidence was presented or tested.
To me, that’s part of what makes Trump’s persuasion so fascinating and worth studying. The same techniques that build unity and loyalty can also reshape how millions interpret reality itself. That kind of influence can be stabilizing or destabilizing depending on how it’s used — and that’s why understanding it matters more than cheering or condemning it.
Executive Order 6102: Issued on April 5, 1933
ReplyDeleteMay dogs piss on the grave of FDR