George Wallace and Donald Trump

This New York Times article, written by Clyde Haberman, points out the striking parallels between George Wallace's and Donald Trump's political rhetoric. George Wallace was an Alabama Governor in the late 1950's to the 1980's who was initially a part of the Democratic party before becoming an American Independent party member and he ran for President three times and for Governor four times. Wallace, similarly to Trump, was able to tap into and stoke the fears of his constituents in order to make political gains which Dan T. Carter, a Wallace biographer, wrote about during the 2016 Presidential elections and is quoted in this article as saying "What both sides share is the demagogue's  instinctive ability to tap into the fear and anger that regularly erupts in American politics." (Haberman, New York Times)

Also, both men were known for their theatrics. For example, being an ardent supporter for segregation in June of 1963 George Wallace "in an exercise that was more stagecraft than true resistance, he made a futile "stand in the schoolhouse door" to keep two black students from enrolling in the University of Alabama." (Haberman, The New York Times) An obvious example of Trump being theatrical is the fact that he had his show "The Apprentice" where he coined the phrase "Your Fired!", which he continues to use today just not to his cabinet members' faces.

The populist conservative ideals both men ran their campaigns on won them support from the same regions in America. As we have learned in our class, America has a pattern throughout history to target minority groups and make them out to be monsters in the imaginations of the public. Today, Trump actively discriminates against immigrant groups, not only to serve his, as well as other Republicans, agendas and also because he sadly does believe the United States should not be a place of equal opportunity for people of all ethnic backgrounds. Lastly, on a personal note, I try to always see the best in people, but President Trump makes it extremely difficult.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/01/us/george-wallace-tapped-into-racial-fear-decades-later-its-force-remains-potent.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fus&action=click&contentCollection=us&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=42&pgtype=sectionfront