Jay Weber Show transcript 11-22-24
I never have been one that is prone to hyperbole- or overselling or lionizing other people.
There are very few ‘legends’ that really walk among us or have the human or cultural impact that we think they do.
My instinct, when I hear other people or pundits overdo it, is to always think, calm down. You are getting carried away’.
And so this whole narrative that’s popped up around ‘Donald Trump is a founding father’... Makes me roll my eyes.
Come on. Let’s not get carried away. He was a far better-than-average president in his first term- as measured by other modern-day presidents. It’s still him, and Reagan, and probably Nixon…that rank as the top three in my lifetime. People forget Nixon was a very good president before his scandal crushed him…
And after 8 years of Reagan- we would all see his legacy: yes, he’s clearly worthy of Mount Rushmore…or having schools and airports named after him…as one of the greats. Ronald Reagan, his intellect, his skill, his mentality, the clear vision he had for this country and what it ‘was’ and ‘was not’ yeah-
Reagan was an echo back to the founding fathers.
And while trump seems to have that same strong sense of what America ‘is’ and ‘isn’t’.... Trump hasn’t proven greatness, yet. Yes, there’s a lot of optimism and hope surrounding his second presidency. ‘Yes, he’s already arrived at this moment in history-making ways.
He was politically dead. Rose from the ashes. Two attempts survived assassination attempts. This second time won by literally ‘re-aligning’ the electorate in major shift of sensibilities- in an echo of what Reagan did in 1980.
The compelling story for the history books is already ‘there’ when it comes to trump.
But let’s not get away with the ‘founding father’s stuff, until he genuinely earns the accolades. Let’s see if he can keep even-half- of his promises, given how difficult this job is and what sorts of powerful forces will be working against him- once ‘reality’ meets ‘vision’.
There’s a very strong chance he will close and control this border again. He’s done it once. Can he convince the chamber-of-commerce republicans and at least a few democrats to cooperate with baking his changes into the law? And solving this question permanently?
That would indicate ‘greatness’.
Reagan could work across the aisle to get all or most of what he wanted. Can trump?
Can Elon and Vivek-really? -usher in a new era of more responsible and responsive government? With less waste and fraud? And a federal workforce that isn’t just seen as a jobs program for the democrats?
God, i hope so.
Can trump and his cabinet members really return control of our federal agencies-especially the DOJ and FBI- ‘to the people’? Which is a huge task.
And a ‘founder’s task’.
These are the things we need to see happen before I’m willing to say: Trump is one of the goats…and he could have been a founding father.
Calm down.
This is something that Sylvester Stallone also said in one of Trump’s final rallies of the season.
He said…. Traaa..ss a ..mooa…llooo…a….flooundinn father…
Which apparently meant Trump’s a modern-day founding father.
Okay, calm down.
I still love Stallone. I didn’t care much about the Rocky movies, but as a teenager when ‘first blood’ came out? Mind blowing. And it’s still a great movie.
I’m not willing to wheedle all over my shoes and glorify Donald trump as a founding father-
But I am willing to admit he’s standing at the doorway of greatness-if he can deliver a strong second term-
And I am willing to admit that he’s got the mentality of a modern-era founder- in that his entire political effort has been to restore America to a former glory. Get back to traditional American -and human-values. Usher in new growth and prosperity. Plant the seeds of a new patriotism and pride in the country.
And if he and JD Vance can plant the seeds of a new run of American success and global dominance- i’ll agree to any label you want to put onto him.
But it’s yet to be seen.
I quote Douglass McKinnon occasionally. He’s a former white house and pentagon official who now writes an occasional column for ‘the hill’ one of the dc insider publications.
He has-never-struck me as a fawning trump fan, or embellisher…and he writes this week:
Why the MAGA movement is the 1776 revolution of our time
Trump and MAGA embody the spirit of the Founding Fathers, men who stood up for America
And so, Douglass McKinnon concludes don’t tread on the Maga movement-
And yes-there are echoes of the founding movement- in this Maga movement-
And yes- there are echoes of the founders- in Trump.
And that I will agree to. I think McKinnon does as good a job of explaining it, as anyone I’ve seen.
Because-the initial reaction to the statement-really is - the eye roll:
You know, Donald trump is like George Washington.
Shut up…. that’s like saying Jordan love is like Tom Brady.
Okay, calm down. Not yet, he’s not. He’s got to show us more, first.
But are there echoes? Sure. Shared talents?
Sure.
So, let’s hope Trump achieves true historical greatness here- over the next four years.
photo credit: Getty Images
audio version of the segment here > Is Donald Trump the next George Washington?