{
  "id": 18029017,
  "title": "Trump Repeats a Centuries-Old Mistake",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/03/trump-repeats-a-centuries-old-mistake",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-11-03T21:53:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Atlantic",
    "slug": "the-atlantic",
    "url": "https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/2026/11/andrew-johnson-midterms/689269/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On Election Day, a story from The Atlantic’s archives reminds us of a centuries-old political blunder. In 1866, E. P. Whipple lamented that the President of the United States possessed an unusual blend of demagogue and autocrat qualities, which placed the office in a precarious position. Just as Whipple’s essay was penned during a midterm election battle, Andrew Johnson, who had assumed the presidency after Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, found himself at the center of a congressional election with far-reaching implications for the nation. The Republican majority in Congress pushed for reconstruction to not only restore the Confederate states to the Union but also secure the rights of former enslaved people and prevent former Confederate leaders from regaining political power.\n\nJohnson, a War Democrat from Tennessee, held a contrasting view. Whipple derided Johnson and his allies for attempting to nullify the Union's Civil War victory, pardon thousands of Confederate leaders, veto Reconstruction legislation, and excuse white violence against Black Americans in Memphis and New Orleans. The \"Johnson Party,\" as Whipple dubbed it, was characterized by secessionists being portrayed as true patriots, presidential overreach as constitutional, and opposition as treason.\n\nWhipple’s essay on Johnson's campaign echoed in today's political climate, where Donald Trump, much like Johnson, claims to see the world through his own distorted lens. Focused on defending his record and deflecting questions about economic challenges, some Republican candidates have distanced themselves from Trump as the election approaches. Johnson's campaign similarly defined the election as a referendum on both the nation's future and his personal ambitions, with whispers of impeachment dogging him during that year.\n\nWith the tension between the executive and legislative branches at its peak, Johnson embarked on an unsuccessful national tour, aiming to rally support for his Reconstruction policies and favored congressional candidates. Whipple criticized Johnson for his intemperate rhetoric and the apparent vanity of his speeches, which included excessive use of the first-person pronoun. The president's behavior was deemed a \"Presidential Ass\" by a Michigan Republican, and his tour ultimately resulted in a significant loss of votes for his preferred candidates.",
  "summary": "This isn’t the first time a president has made the midterm elections all about himself.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}