The Daily Beast points out that Trump loves to compare himself to the ultimate showman, P.T. Barnum. But Trump's politics bear no comparison to those of Barnum, who served two terms in the Connecticut legislature and one as the mayor of Bridgeport.
Contrary to Trump, Barnum was not a reactionary, but an individual who supported Abraham Lincoln's nomination as a presidential candidate and welcomed an end to slavery. He in fact joined the Connecticut legislature so that he could ratify the Thirteenth Amendment banning slavery. Later Barnum was also a supporter of the largely unpopular cause of female suffrage.
As the writer of the article states:
Clearly–Donald Trump take note–biography is not destiny; previous jobs don’t determine political positions; and egotism need not trump humanism. P.T. Barnum was as self-absorbed and self-aggrandizing as Donald Trump, with an ego as monumental as any of Trump’s towers. But Barnum the pol trumped Trump as a statesman, championing equality and mutual respect.
For the full text of the article, please click here.
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