re: #83 Anymouse 🌹

I might argue James Buchanan (the Civil War started on his watch) was significantly worse. Warren Harding ran the government like it was his personal piggy bank. Ronald Reagan’s administration funded an illegal war in Nicaragua by circumventing Congress selling weapons and aircraft parts to sanctioned Iran. (Reagan’s administration had the most indictments and convictions of any presidency.)

Trump was elected in a time of peace and prosperity. Buchanan was elected when the nation was facing an existential crisis. It’s unfair to compare the two men given the threats they actually faced. In fact, there is no doubt in my mind that if Trump faced any of the challenges of the previous occupants, he would have made each situation far worse than his predecessors.

I still recall my belief in the 1980’s that Japan was going to dominate the world economy; experts predicted they were the future; their stock market out-performed ours as did their manufacturing. Yet within a few years, they faded and we regained our standing.

Either we will emerge from this as a stronger nation or we be relegated to the dustbin of history.