Jackson and Trump: How Two Populist Presidents Compare - New York Times

Jackson and Trump: How Two Populist Presidents Compare
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By PETER BAKER
MARCH 15, 2017
President Trump on Wednesday is visiting the Hermitage, Andrew Jackson’s estate near Nashville, as it begins the celebration of his 250th birthday.
Mr. Trump’s advisers have likened him to Mr. Jackson, the first populist to win the White House. The president has hung Old Hickory’s portrait in the Oval Office and called him “an amazing figure in American history.”
So how alike are the nation’s seventh and 45th presidents?
Physical stature
Mr. Trump, who relishes junk food like Doritos and disdains physical exercise, stands at 6-foot-3 and weighs 236 pounds, according to a letter from his doctor last year, qualifying him as overweight with a body mass index of 29.5. Some think he is overstating his height (his driver’s license lists him at 6-foot-2) and understating his weight (one writer estimated by 30 pounds).
Jackson, who survived diseases like smallpox, malaria, dysentery, rheumatism and dropsy and endured physical disability most of his adult life after being shot in the chest during a duel, was just shy of Mr. Trump in stature, standing 6-foot-1. But Jackson was far thinner, with estimates between 145 pounds and 154 pounds, putting his body mass index at 20 or lower.

Military service
At age 13, an unruly Mr. Trump was packed off by his frustrated parents to New York Military Academy, but he never served in the armed forces, receiving five deferments from the draft during the Vietnam War, four for education and one for bone spurs in his heels.
At age 13, Jackson fought with irregulars in the American Revolution and was captured by the British. Over the years, he rose to major general, won the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812, fought various Indian tribes and effectively conquered Florida.
Political experience
Mr. Trump is the first American elected president without having served in any political office or as a general. He won an Electoral College victory over Hillary Clinton despite drawing only 46 percent of the popular vote. Although a Republican, he often fights his own party orthodoxy on issues like trade and infrastructure spending.
Jackson was the first American elected president who was not part of the Eastern elite although he had served in the House and Senate. In 1824, he won the popular vote but failed to muster a majority in the Electoral College, throwing the race to the House, which chose John Quincy Adams. Four years later, Jackson ousted Adams with 56 percent of the vote, and later won a second term with 54 percent.

Philosophy
Mr. Trump, a wealthy real estate developer known for his bombast, styled himself as a man of the people, beating the dominant political dynasty of his day to win the presidency. He is fighting what his chief strategist calls “the administrative state” and signed orders to build a wall along the Mexican border and temporarily ban visitors from six predominantly Muslim countries. Critics accuse him of having an authoritarian streak, but he thrills supporters with his forthright, bare-knuckles style.
Jackson, a wealthy slaveholding plantation owner known for his bombast, styled himself as a man of the people, beating the dominant political dynasty of his day to win the presidency. He battled the Bank of the United States and signed a law that forced the Cherokee nation out of its land in what was called the Trail of Tears. Critics called him the American Bonaparte for what they saw as his dictatorial streak, but he was popular with everyday Americans who saw him as their champion.

Courting conflict
Mr. Trump relishes fights and made his name in part with a reality television show that pitted contestants against one another, some of whom he dismissed with his classic line, “You’re fired.” He has feuded for years with various figures, including Rosie O’Donnell, whom he has called “a pig,” “a real loser” and “a mentally sick woman.”
Jackson relished fights and made a name for himself as a frequent dueler against those he contended had slighted him. He fought between five and 100 duels, according to historians. In one, he killed a man who had insulted him as “a worthless scoundrel, a poltroon and a coward.” A poltroon was not a good thing to be called.

Battles with courts
After his travel ban was blocked in court, Mr. Trump said, “The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!”
After the chief justice of the Supreme Court ruled in a case involving the seizure of Cherokee land in Georgia, Jackson was said to have replied, “John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it.”

The hair
Mr. Trump’s combed-over hair has generated endless commentary. His doctor reported that Mr. Trump takes a prostate-related drug to promote hair growth.
Jackson’s wavy hair in portraits like the one on the $20 bill has long made him stand him out in the presidential pantheon.

Bottom line
Some Jackson biographers find the parallels striking, not necessarily in the details but in the larger picture. “What Mr. Trump borrows from Jackson is not an issue, but a way of thinking about the world,” said Steve Inskeep, the host of NPR’s “Morning Edition” and author of “Jacksonland.” But Jon Meacham, author of “American Lion,” said there is “an essential difference,” noting that Jackson had political experience and could be self-aware. “We simply don’t know yet whether Trump possesses the kind of disciplinethat Jackson brought to the presidency,” he wrote.
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