April 19, 2023

To most, putting Washington and Trump together might seem an odd pairing. Let’s consider, though, why these two great Americans belong together.

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From 1776, when our Declaration of Independence was signed, until the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783, George Washington led our colonial army against the greatest military force in the world. The last major battle of the Revolutionary War was the Battle of Yorktown, fought in September and October 1781. Throughout this period, Washington held our meager fighting forces together through revolts and mutinies as our soldiers suffered many deprivations from inadequate food and clothing to lack of pay.

After the great Yorktown victory, which the French aided, there were small-scale skirmishes until the signing of the peace treaty in Paris. In March 1783, just after the Paris Peace Treaty had been announced, Washington dealt with what is now known as the “Newburgh Conspiracy.” Similar to the mutinies in 1781, this again dealt with the Continental Congress breaking faith with the soldiers who fought on their behalf.

In a meeting held on March 15, Washington addressed a gathering of angry officers in Newburgh, New York. He could tell by the men’s faces, many of whom had not been paid for quite some time, that they were very angry. Some did not show him the respect and deference they had previously shown.

Image: George Washington and Donald Trump. Public domain images.

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Washington then delivered what is now known as the Newburgh Address. In a short, impassioned speech, he counseled patience and to oppose anyone “who wickedly attempts to open the floodgates of civil discord and deluge our rising empire in blood.” When he paused to don glasses to read a letter from a congressman, that shocked those in the assembly who had never seen him with glasses. “Gentlemen,” Washington said, “you will permit me to put on my spectacles, for I have not only grown gray but almost blind in the service of my country.”

Those words brought many in the room to tears, for they had shared the deprivations and burdens together. This put an end to any talk of violence, and a compromise payment plan was later worked out.

Washington would head the Constitutional Convention in 1788 and become a two-term president, quite reluctantly as regards his second term. He blocked a move to join a new war with the French against England, and the press excoriated him for his stand. Ironically in 1792, he warned that, within twenty years, we would again be at war with the British and were not militarily ready for another war. What few understood at that time was that no one hated England more than Washington, but he understood that emotion should not drive foreign policy.

Given his commitment to America and his wisdom, it’s no surprise that, until the woke movement came along, George Washington would be the beloved “Father of his Country.” Now let’s look at Donald Trump.

On April 11, Tucker Carlson interviewed the 45th president. I was impressed. He spoke movingly about how the people responsible for the act of booking him were near tears about their task and repeatedly apologized. The scene recalled the 1783 incident in Newburgh, New York. Law enforcement loves Trump.

Much of the interview dealt with foreign policy and the incredible dangers our country faces because of the “juvenile delinquents” running the country. Trump reminded us how the war in Ukraine was entirely avoidable, and it’s quickly turning into our second Vietnam. Recently leaked documents show that we have troops on the ground and that Ukraine is slowly losing, although Democrats contend these facts are untrue.