"Unlike Johnson, Trump has proved stubbornly indifferent to the responsibilities of governing. He shuns expertise, science, data or any of the other assets a typical president avails himself of. He has little in the way of achievement that he can point to. He thrives on division, where LBJ sought to make America a more inclusive place for people of color, the poor and the left behind. In this regard, the two men are night and day, both in how they’ve executed the job and the moral bearing they brought to it. But if Trump walks like Nixon and talks like Wallace, he looks a lot like Lyndon B. Johnson, a president who by 1968 seemed unable to put the country back together. If what today’s Middle Americans (or, in Nixon’s words, “forgotten Americans”) want is an end to the violence, drama and discord, this week’s unrest may ultimately benefit the one candidate who has built his brand on a basis of empathy, shared sacrifice and loss and a sunny belief in a better tomorrow. 2020 could be Joe Biden’s year."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Presidents of the United StatesPoliticians from TexasMembers of the United States SenateUnited States presidential candidates, 1968United States presidential candidates, 1964
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Joshua Zeitz in If This Is Like 1968, Then Trump Is in Big Trouble (2 June 2020)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lyndon_B._Johnson
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Related Quotes
"During the 2012 campaign, Obama’s advisers heard the same thing in focus groups with sympathetic voters. These voters…"
"Johnson’s presidency will always be shadowed by the tragedy of the Vietnam War and the domestic civil unrest it trigg…"
"This year, while House Speaker Paul D. Ryan helped to shape the Trump proposal, the president did not show deep knowl…"
"In pushing his health care bill, Mr. Trump had the superficial advantage of controlling both houses of Congress. But …"
"We know that Mr. Trump dismissed the counsel of some advisers not to risk his entire legislative program by asking Co…"
"At his best, Lyndon Johnson was one of the greatest of all American presidents. He did more for racial justice than a…"
"Among Woods’s many achievements in this fine biography is to allow us to see not only the enormous, tragic flaws in t…"
"President Obama is no President Lyndon Johnson — and wouldn't be even if he tried. To those who might wish the presid…"
"When Lyndon Johnson -- President Johnson -- spoke here in 1964, he addressed issues that remain with us. He proposed …"
"Chris Cillizza: If there is a list of the 15 greatest senators ever, is McCain on it? Why or why not? Ross Baker: He’…"