RAHEEM J. KASSAM
Churchill at 150: How Trump’s Victory Ties History Together.
Winston Churchill’s 150th birthday on Saturday coincided with Donald Trump’s re-election.It isn’t a coincidence—it’s history rhyming again. Both men defied entrenched establishments, reshaped their parties, and redefined the political philosophies of their nations for generations.Their similar worldviews, second acts, and enduring popularities make the comparison unmistakable.
Churchill, born in 1874, was Britain’s wartime savior—a leader whose unyielding resolve pulled his nation back from the brink of Nazi domination.Yet before that, he was cast aside as a has-been and especially as a relic of a bygone era. His eventual return to power during World War II wasn’t just a comeback; it was a complete redefinition of his legacy and of the nation itself. Trump’s trajectory mirrors this arc.
Written off by media and political elites, Trump defied the odds in an even more stunning fashion at his recent re-election, proving his movement was no fleeting phenomenon but a seismic shift.
DISRUPTERS OF A STALE (AND DANGEROUS) STATUS QUO.
Churchill’s fervent criticism of appeasement and his warnings about Hitler made him deeply unpopular among Britain’s elite until the storm of which he warned arrived.Trump, with his “America First” agenda, challenged decades of globalist orthodoxy and corporate appeasement(especially of China) on matters of trade, military dominance, and America’s strategic future. Both men stood firm in their convictions, betting on the common sense of ordinary citizens over the approval of the chuntering class.“
You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life,”
Churchill is alleged to have said.Trump’s political career is a modern echo of this ethos. Both men thrived on opposition, using it to strengthen their bond with voters. Churchill was despised by the intelligentsia yet adored by factory workers and soldiers who saw him as the embodiment of British grit.
Trump, too, commands the loyalty of millions who see him as a champion against an out-of-touch ruling class.
WHOLESALE REFORM.
The two men didn’t just alter the without; they also altered the within. Specifically, their own political parties.
Churchill’s Conservatives embraced his vision of British exceptionalism and opposition to socialism, cementing this ideological bedrock for decades.
Trump’s Republican Party is undergoing a similar transformation, shedding globalist tendencies and, albeit begrudgingly in many cases, embracing populism, economic nationalism, and a focus on the very concept of nationhood.
Both leaders instinctively understood that preserving sovereignty—whether British or American—was the cornerstone of their countries’ strength.
Their shared worldview is equally striking. Churchill famously warned of the “iron curtain” falling across Europe, urging vigilance against Soviet tyranny. Trump has sounded similar alarms about the rising threat of China and the erosion of American sovereignty under globalist institutions.
Both men saw the fight for freedom and self-determination as non-negotiable, and both framed their battles in terms of existential struggles for their nations’ futures.
As the world reflects on Churchill’s 150th birthday,Trump’s victory reminds us of the enduring power of bold leadership.
Both men were dismissed as brash, boorish, and unfit to govern, until they proved their critics wrong. Churchill saved Britain, and Trump has rekindled the American spirit.
The parallels are undeniable, and the legacy of their shared defiance will shape the future.
N.B. It is impossible for me to think of Trump and Churchill and not relay the story of when I visited with the latter in the immediate days after the 2016 presidential election.
My friend Nigel Farage and I had conspired to ask him to return the famous bust of Sir Winston Churchill back to the Oval Office, from where it had been removed by former President Barack H. Obama.
As we were leaving his Trump Tower penthouse,I asked the President-elect for “a cheeky favor.” He asked me what that meant. I explained, and he knew, that Obama had removed the bust and mentioned it would be very impactful if he put it back.
He said, “Would that mean a lot to you?” We all nodded. “Would it mean a lot to your country?” he further enquired. Again, we all said yes.He nodded in approval and simply said, “Done.”
On day one of his first term, the Churchill bust was back in the Oval Office.Truly, Trump is a man of his word.
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