--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Donald Trump will be a tragedy, a sad…" description: "\"Donald Trump will be a tragedy, a sad joke in American history.\" — Jonathan Chait" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/954/jonathan-chait-14941_american-history_donald-trump-will-be-a-tragedy-a-sad-jok_2210885.png" --- # Donald Trump will be a tragedy, a sad joke in American… ![“Donald Trump will be a tragedy, a sad joke in American history.” quote by Jonathan Chait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/954/jonathan-chait-14941_american-history_donald-trump-will-be-a-tragedy-a-sad-jok_2210885.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/954/jonathan-chait-14941_american-history_donald-trump-will-be-a-tragedy-a-sad-jok_2210885.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/954/jonathan-chait-14941_american-history_donald-trump-will-be-a-tragedy-a-sad-jok_2210885.png) > “Donald Trump will be a tragedy, a sad joke in American history.” [Jonathan Chait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-chait/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Donald Trump's legacy is likely to be remembered as a negative, comedic episode in U.S. history. **In simple terms:** Trump will be seen as a tragic joke. Key Takeaway Recognize the impact of leadership. Themes politics legacy history Mood critical analytical Type commentary political When to use this quote - political analysis - historical study Key Concepts public perception media narrative Questions to Reflect On - How might future generations view current leaders? - What factors shape a political figure's legacy? A Different Perspective Historical judgments can shift over time. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-history/) [Donald trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/donald-trump/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Joke American](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joke-american-4894408/) [Jokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jokes/) [Sad Joke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sad-joke-4379045/) [Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy/) [Tragedy Sad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy-sad-4894407/) [Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trump/) [Trump Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trump-tragedy-4894406/) ## Related quotes > [I've had people tell me that I should just be sad and not joke around on Twitter, but they don't understand that joking and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perfume-genius/i-ve-had-people-tell-me-that-i-should-just-be-sad-and-not-joke-around/) [Perfume Genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perfume-genius/) > [Republicans fighting back against changes Obama made means those changes are important, as with most of the major progress in American history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-chait/republicans-fighting-back-against-changes-obama-made-means-those/) [Jonathan Chait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-chait/) > [What's four years in our long American history? 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Obama isn'€™t the first president to abuse executive power -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harsanyi/modern-democrats-aren-t-the-first-political-party-to-abuse-power-far/) [David Harsanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harsanyi/) > [Throughout American history many of our social gains and much of our progress toward democracy were made possible by the active intervention of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-washington/throughout-american-history-many-of-our-social-gains-and-much-of-our/) [Harold Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-washington/) > [“dark say: berthenia belle never forget the tongue hid name”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathleen-margaret/dark-say-berthenia-belle-never-forget-the-tongue-hid-name/) [Cathleen Margaret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathleen-margaret/) > [“Thanks in part to the rapid mechanization of cotton production in the early 1940s, which ultimately threw millions of farm laborers out of work,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-t-patterson/thanks-in-part-to-the-rapid-mechanization-of-cotton-production-in-the/) [James T. 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This debut establishes him as one of our finest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-rash/john-lane-has-long-been-recognized-as-one-of-the-south-s-finest-poets/) [Ron Rash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-rash/) > [“In December of 2007 human bones including skulls, which have been radiocarbon dated back to between 1304 and 1424, were found in a museum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/captain-hank-bracker-seawater-one/in-december-of-2007-human-bones-including-skulls-which-have-been/) [Captain Hank Bracker, "Seawater One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/captain-hank-bracker-seawater-one/) > [Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-prescott/don-t-fire-until-you-see-the-whites-of-their-eyes/) [William H. Prescott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-prescott/) > [Adam Clayton Powell's entire political career has to be looked at in the entire context of the American history and the history of, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/adam-clayton-powell-s-entire-political-career-has-to-be-looked-at-in/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) ## More by Jonathan Chait > [In public, Barack Obama's giving the simple version of his beliefs for the mass public. In private, he can discuss it at a really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-chait/in-public-barack-obama-s-giving-the-simple-version-of-his-beliefs-for/) [Jonathan Chait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-chait/) > [We're not going to be living in a world of abundant coal power in a hundred years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-chait/we-re-not-going-to-be-living-in-a-world-of-abundant-coal-power-in-a/) [Jonathan Chait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-chait/) > [Because many people remembered a time when the Republican Party was not so extreme, and hadn't full grasped how much it had changed, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-chait/because-many-people-remembered-a-time-when-the-republican-party-was/) [Jonathan Chait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-chait/) > [On Obamacare, every day that goes by I have more evidence that I wish I could put in my book, on how difficult it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-chait/on-obamacare-every-day-that-goes-by-i-have-more-evidence-that-i-wish/) [Jonathan Chait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-chait/) > [In some ways, Trump is just going to continue the trend: by continuing the norm-smashing behaviour that Republicans used in opposition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-chait/in-some-ways-trump-is-just-going-to-continue-the-trend-by-continuing/) [Jonathan Chait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-chait/) > [It's possible that the clowning and the buffoonery and the entertainment are a bigger part of what's happening than we've allowed. 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The contrast, side by side, is almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-chait/president-obama-is-so-much-smarter-and-a-better-communicator-than/) [Jonathan Chait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-chait/) > [Trump was the logical outcome of the Republican's irrational, racialized backlash to Obama that had utterly come to dominate the party's thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-chait/trump-was-the-logical-outcome-of-the-republican-s-irrational/) [Jonathan Chait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-chait/) > [Republicans fighting back against changes Obama made means those changes are important, as with most of the major progress in American history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-chait/republicans-fighting-back-against-changes-obama-made-means-those/) [Jonathan Chait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-chait/) > [It's pretty clear that Hillary Clinton was a deeply, deeply flawed alternative. She had the wrong combination of the internal political chops to muscle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-chait/it-s-pretty-clear-that-hillary-clinton-was-a-deeply-deeply-flawed/) [Jonathan Chait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-chait/) > [We're not going to be living in a world where white identity politics is the basis for a major political party.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-chait/we-re-not-going-to-be-living-in-a-world-where-white-identity-politics/) [Jonathan Chait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-chait/) > [Barack Obama is an intellectual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-chait/barack-obama-is-an-intellectual/) [Jonathan Chait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-chait/) > [Obama took 20 million people from the category of ignorables and put them into the category of unignorables. No one had to do anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-chait/obama-took-20-million-people-from-the-category-of-ignorables-and-put/) [Jonathan Chait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-chait/) > [I never thought Hillary Clinton was a very good politician.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-chait/i-never-thought-hillary-clinton-was-a-very-good-politician/) [Jonathan Chait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-chait/) [Explore all 44 Jonathan Chait quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-chait/) ## More American history quotes > [Adam Clayton Powell's entire political career has to be looked at in the entire context of the American history and the history of, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/adam-clayton-powell-s-entire-political-career-has-to-be-looked-at-in/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-prescott/don-t-fire-until-you-see-the-whites-of-their-eyes/) [William H. Prescott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-prescott/) > [“In December of 2007 human bones including skulls, which have been radiocarbon dated back to between 1304 and 1424, were found in a museum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/captain-hank-bracker-seawater-one/in-december-of-2007-human-bones-including-skulls-which-have-been/) [Captain Hank Bracker, "Seawater One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/captain-hank-bracker-seawater-one/) > [John Lane has long been recognized as one of the South's finest poets and memoirists. This debut establishes him as one of our finest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-rash/john-lane-has-long-been-recognized-as-one-of-the-south-s-finest-poets/) [Ron Rash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-rash/) > [No man-made structure in all of American history has been hated so much, by so many, for so long, with such good reason, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/no-man-made-structure-in-all-of-american-history-has-been-hated-so/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [The problem that we have is that most Americans don't even study American history, let alone Pinochet, Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin and all these guys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/the-problem-that-we-have-is-that-most-americans-don-t-even-study/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [We must not falsely teach American history in our schools. We have a law requiring state textbook oversight to guard against frauds like Zinn,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-daniels/we-must-not-falsely-teach-american-history-in-our-schools-we-have-a/) [Mitch Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-daniels/) > [The only thing we have to fear is fear itself-and possibly teh bogey man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-paulsen/the-only-thing-we-have-to-fear-is-fear-itself-and-possibly-teh-bogey/) [Pat Paulsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-paulsen/) > [“Thanks in part to the rapid mechanization of cotton production in the early 1940s, which ultimately threw millions of farm laborers out of work,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-t-patterson/thanks-in-part-to-the-rapid-mechanization-of-cotton-production-in-the/) [James T. 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