By Geoffrey Rowan
Maybe, but not that Clinton. Donald Trump has an 18th-century doppelganger in George Clinton, a former New York governor and vice president. The engineered hair and jowly profile hint at the sameness of the two, but there are many other similarities.
In the French-Indian War (1754-1763), Clinton served as a privateer — a legal pirate.
In his time, Trump served as a bankrupt — a legal pirate.
Clinton was a member of the Democratic Republican Party.
Trump is a former Democrat, now a Republican who other Republicans wish was a Democrat.
In his detailed and engaging biography of Founding Father and modern Broadway star Alexander Hamilton, author Ron Chernow describes Clinton as a louche impediment to Hamilton’s nation-building efforts.
“Hamilton’s besetting fear was that American democracy would be spoiled by demagogues who would mouth populist shibboleths to conceal their despotism,” Chernow writes of Clinton.
“(Trump) is a demagogue, who seems to appeal to the lowest common denominator,” said Stephen Hawking, the brilliant English theoretical physicist and mathematician who Trump would likely mock for being paralyzed by ALS.
“(Hamilton) had come to believe that Clinton pandered to popular prejudice ‘especially when a new election approaches,’” says Chernow. He quotes Theodore Roosevelt, who said Clinton knew how to capitalize on the “cold, suspicious temper of small country freeholders” with their “narrow jealousies.”
“Something bad is happening,” says Trump, pandering to the prejudices of New Hampshire voters by casting suspicions on Muslims and mosques.
“Something really dangerous is going on,” he said, capitalizing on the cold, suspicious temper of small country freeholders” with their “narrow jealousies.”
“(Hamilton) found (Clinton) rude and petulant,” says Chernow.
“You know, it really doesn’t matter what the media write as long as you’ve got a young, and beautiful, piece of ass,” says Trump.
In Clinton’s case, “for all his aura of republican simplicity, Clinton was not the salt of the earth. He owned eight slaves and put together fortune in office.”
In Trump’s case, for all his’ says-what-he-means plain talk,’ he has proved adept at using the campaign to enrich himself and his interests. That includes paying more than $6 million from campaign funds to things that benefit him – fees for rallies and strategy sessions at Trump Tower in Manhattan, traveling on his private jet, staying in his Palm Beach resort, and buying Trump-branded water and wine at political events.
“… During most of his time in office, this pooh-bah of the people sported the pretentious title “His Excellency George Clinton, Esquire, the Governor General and Commander in Chief of all the militias, and Admiral of the Navy of the state of New York.”
Says Trump, “My fingers are long and beautiful, as, it has been well documented, are various other parts of my body.” “I think the only difference between me and the other candidates is that I’m more honest and my women are more beautiful.”
Trump says he will build a wall to keep Mexicans out of the U.S.
Clinton was a wall that kept Vermont out of the U.S. at that time.
There are other similarities. Clinton’s grandfather was a supporter of William of Orange. Trump is orange. But there are also differences. Clinton was astute, and a war hero.
If there is some psychic inter-generational connection between Clinton and Trump, perhaps we can divine the road ahead in this year’s presidential race by looking to the past. Clinton challenged James Madison for the presidency in 1808, but he was outmaneuvered by Madison supporters at the nominating meeting. With divisions in the Republican Party over Trump, perhaps being outmaneuvered at the nominating convention will be another fate they share.