What’s Behind President Trump’s Removal of Bill Clinton’s and George W. Bush’s Portraits?
A bold move was made by President Donald Trump when he replaced Bill Clinton’s and George W. Bush’s portraits from the Grand Foyer of the White House with those of William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. Clinton’s and Bush’s portraits were shifted into an unused room.
But why would the White House do this? Is it a personal vendetta or something deeper? Interestingly, President William McKinley raised tariffs to promote and protect American industry. President Donald Trump himself had set high tariffs on China in September. McKinley also signed into law, the Gold Standard Act of 1900, which established gold as the only standard for redeeming paper money. He significantly advanced the U.S. economy. McKinley was assassinated in 1901. He was succeeded by Roosevelt. Throughout American history, four sitting presidents were assassinated: Abraham Lincoln (1865), James A. Garfield (1881), William McKinley (1901), and John F. Kennedy (1963). Moreover, two were wounded in assassination attempts: Roosevelt in 1912, in his third run for the presidency in the middle of a speech; and Ronald Reagan, who was a sitting president in 1981. All of the attacks were carried out with a firearm. Everyone of them with the exception of JFK and Roosevelt, who represented the Progressive Party from 1912 onward, were Republicans. But is there a connection between all of these presidents? Did they share some common goals? Does Trump identify with some of their policies, legacies, and goals?
Is there any relation between this bold move and the global economy? Is it mere symbolism? Will the world economy reset in the coming months as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic? If so, what can we rely on? Gold and other precious metals will play an important role in the restoration of the world economy. But, what about the somewhat “new kids on the block”: cryptocurrencies? Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and XRP are appealing for a number of reasons: (1) they have low transaction costs; (2) they provide entrepreneurs with a competitive edge through the ease of their convertibility into currencies directed towards investments, purchases, and payments; (3) they can give unprecedented opportunities for people living in countries with incredibly high interest rates and who lack banking services—cryptocurrency websites are user friendly and can be controlled at your fingertips; and finally, the growth rate and its potential for increasing economic activity in the world are unprecedented. Interesting changes are to come—economic changes that will hopefully benefit more and more, as opposed to a select few. We are living in a period of great uncertainty, but one with unseen potential. Let’s stay tuned to see what’s to come.
So, contrary to Chris Cuomo’s predictable analysis, the removal does not seem to be because of pettiness but, perhaps, something symbolic. Could it be that a strong signal is being sent to a number of “elites”?