DJT a Lot Like FDR

Charismatic New York scion who harnessed populist fervor and wielded executive power to extend his influence beyond traditional presidential terms, Donald J. Trump (DJT) fits the mold Democrats decry. Yet it also captures one of their own, Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR).

More troubling, for partisans on both sides, is that DJT’s policies often mimic FDR’s, risking the same dire consequences: economic instability, environmental degradation, and unchecked presidential power.

Ignoring these parallels blinds us to the perils of populism, whatever its partisan guise.

FDR’s “First Hundred Days” marked the last time the U.S. embraced sweeping policy experimentation over incremental reform. Programs like the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) imposed rigid price-fixing, paralyzing small businesses, killing 500,000 jobs by 1935, and stifling a nascent rebound in output. DJT’s tariff gambits echo this recklessness. The Congressional Budget Office warns these could raise consumer prices 1 to 2 percent, costing families $1,000 annually and risking disruption akin to FDR’s missteps.

Economic folly wasn’t their only parallel; both pursued aggressive immigration policies with dubious outcomes. FDR’s Mexican Repatriation program forcibly expelled 500,000 people, including citizens, costing millions without addressing unemployment’s roots. DJT’s 2025 deportation plan, targeting 1-2 million immigrants at $400 billion per ICE projections, promises similar futility, disrupting communities while failing to fix employment mismatches.

Trade policy offers another parallel. FDR inherited Hoover’s Smoot-Hawley Act, which deepened the Depression by choking trade. Although granted authority in 1934 for bilateral deals, FDR did little to reverse protectionism. DJT’s tariffs, leveraging the same authority, threaten economic isolation, with economists projecting a 0.5 percent GDP drop for every 10 percent hike in tariffs.

Both prioritized populist optics over mutually beneficial cooperation.

FDR’s rural electrification entrenched coal dependency, with 80% of rural grids coal-powered by 1950, stalling green innovation in batteries, solar, and wind. DJT’s deregulation, boosting coal 5% in 2018, similarly favors short-term gains over long-term considerations, echoing FDR’s trade-offs.

FDR’s government reforms mirrored DJT’s rhetoric. Promising to cut spending and streamline the executive—the equivalent of “draining the swamp”—FDR saw deficits soar and bureaucracy balloon before trade restrictions provoked conflict with Japan, then Asia’s largest economic and military power. DJT’s pledges faltered as spending rose 20 percent in his first term, and reorganization efforts, like Schedule F and DOGE, stalled.

While both leaders’ promises outstripped results their populist appeal cemented their influence. FDR’s birthday balls, held nationwide from 1934 into the 1940s, raised millions for polio research, casting him as a hero and stoking voter sympathy due to his long personal struggle against polio. Attended by celebrities and common folk, they built a cult of personality. DJT’s rallies and 2024 assassination survival paint him as an indomitable savior, deflecting policy scrutiny.

Both wielded charisma to mask flaws, yet their most dangerous similarity lies in their authoritarian impulses.

FDR’s alphabet agencies, like the National Labor Relations Board and Securities and Exchange Commission, expanded federal overreach without commensurate gain for laborers or investors. He weaponized the IRS against critics like Huey Long and used Fireside Chats, reaching 80% of radio-owning households, to control the narrative. DJT’s 300-plus executive orders also erode constitutional checks, while his X posts, amplified to millions, control the narrative. Critics labeled FDR a dictator; DJT faces similar charges. Both centralized power, threatening the freedoms Americans have traditionally held dear.

Despite these parallels, historians who laud FDR deprecate DJT, while MAGA supporters vilify FDR. Such tribalism obscures reality. FDR’s crisis leadership steadied a nation at the pit of the Depression; DJT’s pre-COVID economy grew robustly. Yet their populist authoritarianism—marked by risky experiments, environmental harm, and centralized power—threatens Americans’ freedom. Their policies, from tariffs to deportations, burden small businesses and families, undermining free markets. Jettisoning partisan blind spots is essential to confront unchecked populism’s risks to liberty and prosperity.