Manhattan tycoon with a personality larger than life explodes onto the American political scene with a populist message that the system is unfair to the little guy, and that the wealthy corporations and their beholding politicians are in control of America. He draws all the oxygen from his adversaries’ campaigns. He confuses the media, mystifies the establishment and seems to be an inexorable force. And he claims to be the only way out for America’s dismal position on the world stage. This big-mouthed; self-aggrandizing, chest-thumping person is of course Teddy Roosevelt. We often fail to remember that Theodore Roosevelt was the dissident of his time. He angered most of the Republican Party because he wouldn’t abide by the rules. Teddy Roosevelt opposed the status quo. He would not be held or …show more content…
Both their messages challenge the turmoil of the working class. Roosevelt called for the end to trusts that were a centerpiece of the Republican fundraising machine. Trump has questioned the donor class with ideas of tax increases that challenge the party’s ideology in a way that appeals to the middle-class voter. The American voter recognizes that the status quo is broken and that America must try something different. The popularity of Donald Trump comes from the same brashness that Theodore Roosevelt acknowledged in his day. Right or wrong, the American voter can see that something different is required to change our broken political system. So is Donald Trump the heir apparent to the Teddy Roosevelt legacy of “damn the torpedo’s and full speed ahead”? Or, as the OP suggests, is Donald Trump just a lightning rod for racist xenophobes? The same question could have been raised over 100 years ago, but would it have made a difference? Only time will tell what the electorate is thinking, but one thing is for certain, it’s going to be an interesting