Deep Dives / The Worst of All of Them
The Worst of All of Them
America has had bad presidents before. But no single president has borrowed from every single one of them — until now.
The comparisons people make to foreign dictators are easy. But the scarier comparison is to our own history. Every line on this map traces back to something an American president already did — and something we already tried to stop. It didn't work.
At the center
Donald Trump
2017–2021, 2025–present
Every connection below traces a specific Trump action back to a specific president's playbook. Some are direct copies. Some go further than the original. None are without precedent in American history — which is exactly what makes them so dangerous.
Mass-fired inspectors general
Fired at least 17 inspectors general in one night without the legally required 30-day notice. These are the independent watchdogs created after Nixon to catch fraud and abuse inside the government.
Nixon's abuse of agencies led to the creation of inspectors general in 1978. Trump eliminated the watchdogs Nixon made necessary.
Like Johnson firing his Secretary of War, Trump fired officials specifically because they were investigating or overseeing his administration.
Defied court orders
When courts ordered the administration to return a wrongly deported man, the administration publicly refused. The Attorney General said it was "up to El Salvador." Trump and El Salvador's president staged a joint refusal in the Oval Office.
Jackson refused to enforce the Supreme Court's ruling protecting Cherokee land. Trump refused to comply with orders on deportation cases. JD Vance explicitly cited Jackson as the model.
Impounded $425+ billion
Withheld over $425 billion that Congress had approved for specific purposes — far exceeding what any previous president has attempted.
Nixon's impoundments were what triggered the Impoundment Control Act of 1974. Trump is defying the very law Nixon's actions created.
Weaponized the DOJ
Created a formal unit to go after political opponents. Ordered prosecutions of specific people by name, including former FBI directors, state attorneys general, and political critics. Over 100 career prosecutors resigned.
Nixon used the IRS and FBI covertly against his "enemies list." Trump's version is openly stated policy.
Like the Sedition Acts, this criminalizes political opposition — the targets are people who investigated or criticized the president.
Pardoned ~1,500 Jan 6 defendants
On his first day back in office, pardoned approximately 1,500 people involved in the January 6 attack on the Capitol, including 169 who pled guilty to assaulting police officers.
Johnson used pardons to put former Confederates back in power. Trump used pardons to shield people who attacked the government on his behalf.
Profited from the presidency at unprecedented scale
Launched a cryptocurrency ($TRUMP meme coin) that generated $324 million+ in fees for his companies. His businesses received $7.8 million from foreign governments during his first term. His family's crypto holdings are worth billions.
Harding's cronies ran the Teapot Dome bribery scheme. Trump's personal enrichment from office dwarfs anything in American history.
Politicized the civil service (Schedule F)
Issued an executive order reclassifying tens of thousands of career government workers into at-will employees who can be fired for political reasons — gutting the merit-based system.
Jackson created the spoils system that Schedule F revives. The Pendleton Act of 1883 was specifically designed to prevent this. Schedule F bypasses it.
Gave unelected allies control of government (DOGE)
Placed Elon Musk's associates inside federal agencies with access to personnel systems, procurement databases, and the power to fire workers and cancel contracts — without Senate confirmation or, in some cases, security clearances.
Like the Ohio Gang, private allies were given access to government resources. The difference: DOGE operates at a scale Harding's cronies never imagined.
The spoils system put loyalists in government jobs. DOGE put private citizens in control of government systems without any job at all.
Suppressed dissent — defunded schools, investigated critics
Pulled federal funding from universities that criticized his policies. Launched investigations into campus speech. Ordered agencies to target organizations and individuals who opposed him.
Adams jailed newspaper editors for criticism. Trump defunded institutions for it.
Wilson imprisoned 2,000+ Americans for anti-war speech. Trump used financial and legal pressure instead of prison, but the target is the same: people who disagree.
Used emergency powers to bypass Congress
Declared national emergencies to redirect funds for the border wall and impose tariffs without congressional approval — using powers designed for genuine crises.
Lincoln suspended habeas corpus during an actual civil war. Trump used emergency powers without an existential crisis to justify them.
Nixon's secret bombing of Cambodia led to the War Powers Resolution. Trump's emergency declarations test whether any limit on executive power actually holds.
Why This Matters
Other presidents did one or two of these things. Andrew Jackson defied the courts or created the spoils system. Nixon weaponized law enforcement or impounded funds. Harding's cronies profited from corruption. FDR tried to pack the courts. Wilson jailed dissenters.
Trump is doing all of it. At the same time. At a larger scale. And in several cases — mass IG firings, pardoning political violence, the $TRUMP meme coin, giving DOGE access to federal systems — he's done things no American president has ever done before.
He didn't need to copy a foreign dictator. American history gave him a complete playbook. The only difference is that he's running all of them at once.
The Quiet Part Out Loud
"When the courts — because you will get taken to court — and when the courts stop you, stand before the country like Andrew Jackson did and say: 'The chief justice has made his ruling. Now let him enforce it.'"
— JD Vance, 2021 podcast
Three things about this quote:
- The quote is fake. Jackson never actually said it. A journalist invented it in 1865, twenty years after Jackson died.
- The case was about ethnic cleansing. The Supreme Court ruling Jackson ignored was about protecting Cherokee land. The result of that defiance was the Trail of Tears and the deaths of 4,000 people.
- It wasn't a history lesson — it was a plan. The Trump administration has followed through, defying court orders on deportations, the Abrego Garcia case, and DOGE operations.
The Presidents on This Map
John Adams
1797–1801
Criminalized criticism
Andrew Jackson
1829–1837
Defied the Supreme Court
James Buchanan
1857–1861
Secretly rigged a court case
Andrew Johnson
1865–1869
Sabotaged civil rights
Abraham Lincoln
1861–1865
Suspended rights in wartime
Warren G. Harding
1921–1923
Cronyism and corruption
Franklin D. Roosevelt
1933–1945
Court-packing and internment
Woodrow Wilson
1913–1921
Jailed dissenters, hid his illness
Richard Nixon
1969–1974
Watergate and the cover-up
Go deeper
The Scorecard
Full history cards for every president on this map. What they did, what we built, whether it held.
What now?
Sweeping Up the Rubble
The guardrails are broken. Here's what we need to build next.
Sources
- NPR: Trump Fires Inspectors General
- CBS News: Trump January 6 Pardons
- CBPP: $425 Billion in Withheld Funds
- Abrego Garcia Deportation Case
- Temple Law: JD Vance Fails Constitutional Law
- Georgia Encyclopedia: Worcester v. Georgia
- National Geographic: Trail of Tears
- IBA: Weaponized Department of Justice
- Protect Democracy: Schedule F Explained
- DOGE Overview
- Lawfare: $7.8M in Foreign Government Payments