Trump Quotes by H. W. Brands

25 Trump quotes by H. W. Brands

H. W. Brands’ 25 remarks on Trump place the former president within a broader historical framework. The selection highlights his scholarly take while staying concise enough for a quick read.

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When a president doesn't know the policy, it doesn't make for a very effective leader.

H. W. Brands

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On style points alone, Donald Trump makes GWB look magnificently presidential.

H. W. Brands

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I cannot think of a president or administration that has taken seriously the 100 days.

H. W. Brands

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Reagan conspired in the underestimation of his own ability.

H. W. Brands

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The Reagan Revolution has had no second act.

H. W. Brands

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Most presidents have not considered 100 days a significant milepost.

H. W. Brands

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In some ways, I would be absolutely fascinated if Trump gets elected.

H. W. Brands

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When a president was elected with foreign policy experience, it was usually less about his foreign policy experience than other things.

H. W. Brands

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George W. Bush has shown himself to be a decent guy, not exploiting his former office to make top dollars giving speeches.

H. W. Brands

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It wasn't the smiling Trump that people elected. It was the frowning, glowering, angry Donald Trump that people elected.

H. W. Brands

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The shelf life of a seventh-year State of the Union address is about five minutes. Presidents can propose stuff. They're probably not…

H. W. Brands

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Reagan has been deified by the Republican Party, which is odd. The Reagan that modern Republicans revere is not the real Reagan.

H. W. Brands

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When you look at the development of the American presidency, you see that the presidents who have had the greatest impact are…

H. W. Brands

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President Obama ran a campaign in 2008 that was entirely expected from a non-incumbent. You promise, and you imply that if you…

H. W. Brands

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You might say presidents are drafting the first chapter of their memoirs in these seventh-year State of the Union addresses. They're trying…

H. W. Brands

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Previous candidates who get elected are almost always sobered by the office and the responsibility they take on. Donald Trump shows no…

H. W. Brands

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Reagan is the subject of ongoing political debate, and a lot of liberals don't want to take Reagan any more seriously than…

H. W. Brands

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President Trump is doing what he can to act decisively. And if there's one thing most people have in mind in distinguishing…

H. W. Brands

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There is a certain kind of sobering, civilizing effect that being president imposes on people. There is a certain kind of dignity…

H. W. Brands

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Reagan refused to demonize his foes. Instead he charmed them, with a few exceptions, including Tip O'Neill, the Democratic Speaker of the…

H. W. Brands

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He used humor more effectively than any president since Abraham Lincoln. Reagan was not an especially warm person, but he appeared to…

H. W. Brands

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The president of the United States from the 1940s until 2017 was considered the leader of the free world - probably the…

H. W. Brands

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I'm more inclined to say the presidency has changed Trump rather than Trump changed the presidency. He has moderated or reversed himself…

H. W. Brands

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You can always find people, ordinary people, who will support your particular view, so it becomes a politics of personality, especially at…

H. W. Brands

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To me, the puzzle of Ronald Reagan is how a comparatively ordinary man, someone with not extraordinary talent, accomplished such extraordinary results.…

H. W. Brands

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Other authors on Trump

More by H. W. Brands

I certainly don't think that the heirs of the American Revolution were a particularly noble class.

H. W. Brands

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The Republican Party has moved substantially to the right of where Reagan was.

H. W. Brands

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Reagan gave essentially the same speech from the beginning to the end of his political career, which was always, 'The American people are great,…

H. W. Brands

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Presidents are evaluated not by what they did by the stroke of their own pen; it's what they persuade Congress to do.

H. W. Brands

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In the business arena, the standard rules of morality don't apply. What we're really looking for is efficiency. It doesn't do anyone any good…

H. W. Brands

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There is a certain kind of sobering, civilizing effect that being president imposes on people. There is a certain kind of dignity with which…

H. W. Brands

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The Founders were anything but demigods to themselves and their contemporaries, who recognized full well that the experiment in self-government had only begun.

H. W. Brands

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The American political system is based on the president taking the initiative and Congress responding. With President Trump, it's been the opposite.

H. W. Brands

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The president was not the most important political player in the 19th century. Besides Jefferson at the beginning, Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln, the…

H. W. Brands