Will Trump Be the New Warren Harding?

I really can't make this shit up. American Thinker, the pseudo-scholarly voice of the alt-right, has declared that Donald J. Trump will be the political reincarnation of Warren G. Harding. And they think that would be a good thing.

Every historical ranking of American presidents lists Harding at or near the bottom.

• Dumbest? Warren is last. 
• Most crooked? Harding is next to last, behind Nixon.
• Made sound appointments? Warren is last, again.
• Overall ability? Last again.

To understand just how bad a president Harding was, he ranks beneath James Buchanan, who started the Civil War, and William Henry Harrison, who caught a cold at his inauguration and died a month later.

The author gives Harding credit for the Roaring Twenties. This is partially true. Harding slashed taxes on the wealthiest Americans leading to a credit bubble that grew exponentially under Harding's successor, Calvin Coolidge, until it burst to devastating effect in the crash of '29.

He says Harding assembled "a quality cabinet" (cough, Teapot Dome Scandal, cough) and urges Trump to study and emulate the heroic Harding. And the author does this without a hint of awareness at how utterly insane this sounds.

Of course, the author is probably right. Trump will probably appoint criminal elements to high office where they can convert public assets into person profit. Trump, like Harding, isn't even dimly aware of the responsibilities of the presidency.

There are differences. Harding was a jolly drunk who saw the White House as his personal Playboy Mansion. Trump is an angry man who sees the presidency as a tool to take vengeance against all the people, races, and creeds that he despises.