TRUMP AND TRUMAN

Presidents Trump and Truman have more in common than the first four letters of their names. This information is from “PRESIDENTIAL ANECDOTES” by Paul F. Boller, Jr.

Truman was the Vice President under Franklin Roosevelt, and became President upon Roosevelt’s death. Then he ran on his own in 1948.

Neither Truman nor Trump was expected to win the election. Truman’s opponent, Thomas Dewey was so favored that the Chicago Tribune published their paper early for the morning after the election printing, “DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN.” Thus the photo was shown as Truman held the paper with its iconic headline.

Labor leader John L. Lewis said he wouldn’t appoint Truman dogcatcher. On election night, Truman started out leading, when one news commentator said, “He cannot win – his early lead will fold up.”

Second, both were not hesitant to criticize their opponents. Truman would have used Twitter as much as Trump, but had to rely on writing letters instead of tweets. In response to one politician’s criticism, he wrote, “The campaign in your state … was carried on in a manner as low as anything I’ve ever seen.”

When Paul Hume, a music critic for the Washington Post roasted Truman’s daughter Margaret after one of her piano recitals, Truman wrote that if he ever met him he’d need a new nose, and “a guttersnipe is a gentleman compared to you.”

Third, despite the negative press and much criticism, Truman made some excellent foreign affairs decisions, such as supporting the Marshall Plan to aid Europe after the War, the Truman Doctrine to contain Russian expansion, and NATO.

Both were friends and supporters of the Jewish people. Truman recognized Israel as a sovereign nation, and Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel by moving the US embassy there.

Domestically, Truman proposed the “Fair Deal” – “a series of measures extending the New Deal and guaranteeing civil rights for America’s black citizens.”

We can now see the good that President Truman accomplished, but it may be some time before we can determine if President Trump will receive any accolades for his decisions. Either way, both Presidents will be remembered for their perseverance though challenging times.

As with every election, we need to remember that “God controls the course of world events; he removes Presidents and sets up other Presidents.” [Daniel 2:21 – paraphrased]

COPYRIGHT 2018 BY CARL E GUSTAFSON