… During the presidential campaign, the more I read, the more interested I became in reading about Donald Trump’s plans. After doing a fair amount of research, a thought came to mind that I haven’t been able to shake. Trump’s rise, his stances, plans, personality, and promises to the nation remind me of a combination of Herbert Hoover’s and Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidencies during the Great Depression.
I found Trump to be a good speaker, more personable than his competitor Hillary Clinton. It seemed like Trump engaged his audiences more than Clinton. He talked to the people, while she talked at them. It reminded me of FDR, known for creating the modern style of the presidency, one where the president was more personally connected with the people. Although Trump has not spent time in government, his speeches addressed his audiences, informed them about the current state of the economy, and then proposed what he would do to fix it.
When I visited Trump’s website, the first thing that caught my eye was his promised “100-day action plan to Make America Great Again.” I thought of FDR’s first hundred days. Both FDR and Trump seen to be promising to rescue the American economy and save the nation.
Both also promise to create jobs. FDR’s WPA program employed 3.3 million people to rebuild the American infrastructure. Trump says he wants to create 13 million jobs (claiming that for each 1% in added GDP growth, the economy will add 1.2 million jobs), lower business taxes locally so labor won’t have to be outsourced to other nations, and work on rebuilding the American infrastructure. Like FDR, Trump wants to be the American president who rebuilt the American economy and infrastructure. FDR and Trump do have differences. FDR was a liberal Democrat while Trump might be described as a conservative Republican…. So Trump seems like a mix of both Herbert Hoover and FDR….
It seemed like the people who voted for Trump were the ones who wanted jobs given back to the American people instead of having them outsourced or given to illegal immigrants willing to accept low wages. Those who voted for Clinton seemed to be more caught up with controversial political issues about race and sexuality. Because of Trump’s background in business, I do believe he has the potential to turn the American economy around and relieve the nation of some debt. He’s shown that he can build a major corporation and be self-sustaining (also shown through his self-funded campaign.) Although there is plenty of controversy that surrounds him, Trump’s stances and history in business do provide examples that could suggest a successful career as president, especially related to rebuilding the economy and infrastructure of America.
History on the Bridge 