General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe historical figure I think Trump most resembles
is Kaiser Wilhelm II.
Kaiser Bill was a bellicose ignoramus who needed constantly to be flattered. Fond of flashy uniforms, he let it be known that whenever he participated in war games, his side had to win. His son (who after the war joined the Nazi Party) was entrusted with an important military command for which he had no credentials, and botched big time. And Wilhelm was prone to setting Europe on edge with his unpredictable outbursts, including press interviews in which he antagonized foreigners (especially the British) and embarrassed his own countrymen.
He also yearned to be an absolute monarch. Visiting an exhibition of "African art" which included a display of shrunken heads mounted on poles, he remarked, "If only I could see the Reichstag deputies done up like that."
Arrogant, bigoted, and placed where he was by an accident of history (his father, the rightful heir to the throne and a moderate who admired the British limited monarchy, died after only a month in office), Kaiser Bill was the Donald Trump of German pre-war politics.
And we all know how that ended.
Ponietz
(2,971 posts)Perverse and sadistic, another accident of history.
highplainsdem
(48,978 posts)dalton99a
(81,488 posts)Ponietz
(2,971 posts)Thank you, I missed that.
pansypoo53219
(20,977 posts)thucythucy
(8,052 posts)Another person who was chronically sleep deprived was--you guessed it--Adolf Hitler. William Shirer mentions this in his "Berlin Diary," along with a note saying in effect, "I guess the rest of the world has to suffer for his sleepless nights."
byronius
(7,394 posts)Stallion
(6,474 posts)uponit7771
(90,339 posts)... while he screwed up a good portion of Europe.
Europe was pissed
thucythucy
(8,052 posts)The world had lots of other reasons to be pissed at Germany post WWII.
uponit7771
(90,339 posts)Hekate
(90,686 posts)Squinch
(50,949 posts)MFM008
(19,808 posts)Circa 1527 on.
The raging obese meglomaniac years.
thucythucy
(8,052 posts)"O my heart and O my heart
my heart it is so sore
since I must from my love depart
and know no cause wherefore."
Also, Henry didn't sell his country out to a foreign power.
Come to think of it, neither did Kaiser Bill.
I guess this makes them one up on Trump.