Trump Now Risks Reliving the Carter Years

Philip Elliot: “So much of Donald Trump’s worldview came together in the 1970s, when turmoil in the Middle East sparked an energy crisis around the world and an economic malaise at home set in motion a political realignment that punished those in power.”

“Trump, then a rising real estate magnate, never forgot the dim view many held of Jimmy Carter, the former peanut farmer who resoundingly lost his presidential re-election bid to Ronald Reagan…”

“And now, nearly half a century later, it’s like we’ve all jumped into a time machine. The U.S. mired in a seemingly endless conflict with Iran. Oil prices shooting through the roof. Inflation and tepid job growth spurring fears of a recession. Even the long lines are back—Carter had them at gas stations, Trump has them at airports.”

“It’s not a comparison Trump would find particularly comforting. After all, Trump continued to harp on Carter’s as a failed presidency even in the months after his death.”