President-elect Donald Trump has been compared to many historical figures, but perhaps the closest comparison is to one rarely cited: Ulysses S. Grant, 18th president of the U.S.
After his inauguration in 1869, Grant wanted to appoint Alexander Stewart, the richest man in America at the time, to be secretary of the treasury, though this nomination was not successful. Stewart had achieved large federal contracts during the Civil War and bought Grant an estate during his campaign, and many viewed this pick as corrupt.
Elon Musk, the current richest man in the world, is estimated to have raised his net worth significantly through government contracts and credits. Musk pumped approximately $119 million into the 2024 Trump campaign and will co-chair the new Department of Government Efficiency during Trump’s second term. Grant picked Stewart and others who contributed to corruption in his cabinet as a result of choosing independently. Why is Trump picking Musk and proposing people like Matt Gaetz for his cabinet? He picked independently.
In 1875, Grant signed the Page Act, an immigration policy allowing federal agents to interrogate immigrants from “Oriental” countries to determine if they came involuntarily as a laborer or for “immoral purposes.” The legislation portrayed most immigrant Chinese women as “prostitutes” who were a threat to marital institutions and immigrant Chinese men as taking away the jobs of white working-class citizens.
In 2015, Trump said, regarding Mexican immigrants, “A lot of them come here, take the money, and go back into Mexico…” Nine years later, he considers the number of undocumented immigrants substantive of a national emergency and approves of using the military to deport undocumented immigrants.
After the Civil War, Grant incorrectly estimated southern states’ willingness to comply with non-discriminatory legislation and spent his first term terminating racist laws referred to as “Black Codes” that were legislated in Southern states. In 1975, Trump Management, Inc. settled an injunction in a discrimination lawsuit concerning anti-discrimination policies.
In an ironic turn of events, the Department of Justice (created under Grant’s watch) investigated Trump until he clinched the 2024 presidential election. Finally, a proper comparison?
