Name: Thoby Dwi Pramudito
NIM: B016048
Populism, Then and Now: A Comparative Study of Donald Trump & Andrew
Jackson
1. Introduction
As of 2019, Donald Trump is the current sitting president of the United States. His
presidency has been characterized as ‘populism’ - which can be quite hard to define,
but can be generally agreed upon as the set between “a virtuous & homogenous
people” who are pitted against ‘a set of elite people & homogenous others’ (Vedi,
2018). This elite & the ‘other’ are then demonized as the enemy which will deprive
the former, the ‘virtuous’ ordinary people, of their identity, culture, values - or even
worse, replaced & attacked. However, according to Kuzminski (2008), the Western
world (European, North American, Australian) has a tradition of populism throughout
history - in fact, the US has a history of it. William C. Fox in his video Andrew
Jackson: How the President becomes King (2017), says that if one wants to
understand populism in the United States, one has to learn about Andrew Jackson &
Jacksonian Era.
This paper is going to explore the Jacksonian Era and its correlation with today’s
populist presidency of Donald Trump.
2. Body
Andrew Jackson was the 7th president of the United States, and the first president
which were not part of the Founding Fathers of America. He was an American war
hero, leading America to victories in the war of New Orleans (part of the War of
1812). After America suffered embarrassing defeats - even experiencing the burning
down of Washington DC, he led his troops in New Orleans to win, and being part of
the people that ensures the survival of the United States. From here, his reputation
started. People who loved him, really loved him.
Even before presidency, he was able to get away with scandals that would sank any
other politicians at the time - he married a woman named Rachel Donelson while she
was still married to another man. He once started an open shoot-out and killed a man
named Dickinson. He once killed a man in 1806. During the First Seminole War
(1815), he exercised virtual usurpation of President James Monroe into his benefit of
winning the war, even if it led to some questionable acts. Considering how he
survived all of these scandals, Andrew Jackson essentially appears to be invulnerable
to the public.
Perhaps these people who loved him, who later on elected him into presidency, saw
what to him what they wished to be - he was a wealthy slave owner who owned a
slave plantation called the Hermitage. He was a bold man who dared to fight for what
he believed in, and able to withstand & thrive under conflict. According to the book
American Lion (2008), Andrew Jackson took the Jeffersonian concept of America -
centered around rural areas, and the people as the core of the country (not, for
example, the Electoral College). While the consensus of the Founding Fathers would
be the power will lies in the legislative, which are many and represents each state - the
directly elected Congress & Senate - rather than the electoral college-elected
President (which, originally, merely an executor of the will of the legislative),
Andrew Jackson believed that liberty & strong government is not incompatible.
The individual welfare and rights are depending on the unity of the United States, that
freedom required security. He believed that if temporary measure of autocracy is
required to preserve liberty, he will not hesitate. He saw that the executive part of the
US government at the time has been corrupted by the small group of ‘elites’ - the
electoral college, and groups of land-owning white man, as well as the other branches
of the government, especially the Second Bank of the United States, which he blamed
for the Panic of 1819 (the point being from the corruption during the presidency of
James Monroe). The power should be given to the people, which also becomes the
driving force to suffrage to all white man. During his inauguration, the White House
was flooded by his fanatic fans, from begging for federal jobs to celebrating their hero
- he commanded fanatic fans, who are absolutely loyal to him, despite his
controversies.
During his presidency, he made several controversial act - from his diatribe against
the Second Bank of the United States, him vetoing more bills than the previous 6
president combined (and the first one to did it not under constitutionality, but from
political views), to his ignoring of the Supreme Court’s ruling for the Indian Removal
Act, which causes the tragedy known as the Trail of Tears.
Comparison with Trump Presidency
Compared to Andrew Jackson, Donald Trump has many commonalities. He came
from wealthy background, yet speaks (or at least claims to speak) for the ordinary
people (in his mind, ordinary conservative people in the Midwest fighting against the
intellectual ‘globalist’ and ‘liberals’). The small group of ‘elites’ represents the city,
those who supported ‘open borders’ / more lax immigration system, which they
believe will take jobs away from Americans, those who, from the framing of the 2nd
Amendment rights, ‘wants to take our guns away yet themselves has guns’, the
stand-up comedians which constantly insults conservatives (Flanagan, 2017). Both
speaks from the gut, willing to say things most people don’t want to say. He speaks of
individual rights & liberty, while his party, the Republican party, houses people who
are more willing to give more states rights in the State vs. Federal balance of power,
but willing to enact more aggressive laws towards sanctuary cities and crack
immigration.
Charisma on Command (2018) has done an analysis of Trump’s rhetoric style &
media manipulation, and how he uses the media to make himself appeared
invulnerable to criticism and present himself as a strongman. He relished on conflict,
like Andrew Jackson. He was also once said that he could shoot a man in Times
Square and wouldn’t lose any voters (RealClearPolitics, 2016), although he didn’t
prove it. At times where the United States were heavily criticized for Iraq &
Afghanistan war, as well as many other heinous act, Donald Trump acts as an
unapologetic American.
His acts during his presidency were also many times, controversial - from nearly
launching a military parade in which the Secretary of Defence at the time, James
Mattis, had to bury under Pentagon red tape, declared government shutdown for the
denial of the funding of border wall between the United States and Mexico,
outrageous social media commentary by which, had these were a serious threats or
statements, could cause war & clashes of civilizations. He also once banned travel
from seven Muslim-majority countries, pulled out from Paris Accord, continuing &
ramping up the detention of unauthorized migrants, many of them were children -
which causes many people to draw the parallel to the internments of
Japanese-Americans during WW2, and more. Donald Trump’s diatribe is also quite
similar - with other branches of government - from the controversy regarding the
nomination of Judge Kavanaugh to the ongoing debate of the border wall. Like
Andrew Jackson, he also commanded fanatic, extremely devoted fans.
However, there are some differences, in which, for example, Andrew Jackson extends
power to all white man, while Trump tries to restrict some power from some people
(for example, by banning transgenders to serve in the military).
Conclusion
Throughout US history, there are several populist US presidents, with Andrew
Jackson often referred to as the first one. According to the parallels, although there are
some differences, depending on the situation which can be met, both Andrew Jackson
and Donald Trump follows the same pattern of populism - a virtuous & homogenous
people (the non-land-owning white men; Americans in general (conservative
Americans & Americans in the Midwest) vs ‘a set of elites & demonized others’
(other branches of the government for both, Natives & the enemies of the US on
Andrew Jackson’s presidency, immigrants for Trump), willingness to ignore the other
branches of the government, strongman tendencies, blunt-speaking from the gut,
devoted, fanatic fans, preference of a strong executive government (even if they say
otherwise), and appearance of invulnerability which are used as an appeal.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Fox, W. C. [username: The Exploration with William C. Fox]. (2017) Andrew Jackson:
How The President Became the King. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4BMa5TswkE
Hafiz, V. R. (2016). Islamic Populism in Indonesia & Middle East. Cambridge; United
Kingdom. ISBN 978-1-107-12360-1. Pp. 20 - 23.
Kuzminski, A. (2008). Fixing the System: A History of Populism, Ancient & Modern.
New York: Continuum.
Meacham, J. (2008). American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House. New York,
NY: Random House. eISBN 978-1-58836-822-5.
RealClearPolitics (2016). Trump: “I could Stand in The Middle of Fifth Avenue and
Shoot Somebody and I Wouldn’t Lose Any Voters”. Retrieved from
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2016/01/23/trump_I_could_stand_in_the_mi
ddle_of_fifth_avenue_and_shoot_somebody_and_I_wouldnt_lose_any_voters.html
Username: Charisma On Command (2018, July 2nd). How Trump Manipulates The
Media. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IctC0Quf8zc
Flanagan, C. (2017, May). How Late-Night Comedy Fueled the Rise of Trump. The
Atlantic. Retrieved from
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/05/how-late-night-comedy-aliena
ted-conservatives-made-liberals-smug-and-fueled-the-rise-of-trump/521472/
