More than most care to admit, Trump stands with Biden in many ways. I count 18 similarities. How many can you name? 
Trump-Biden Similar Positions
- Tariffs: Trump and Biden are the two biggest protectionists in history. Biden kept all of Trumps tariffs and added to them. Trump recently Leapfrogged Biden proposing a 10 percent tariff on all imports.
- Free money handouts: In 2020, Trump was angry that House Republicans would not give him, a bigger fiscal stimulus package to fight Covid. Biden got the hugely inflationary free money handout that Trump wanted.
- Eviction Moratoriums: Trump started the eviction moratorium. Biden continued them.
- Afghanistan: Trump vowed to get out of Afghanistan, Biden actually did it. Biden messed up the exit, but at least he got it done.
- Israel: Trump and Biden are both big backers of Israel, willing to send the country more money.
- Defense Spending: Trump and Biden both hugely increased the defense spending.
- Both support US drone policy. However, Trump wants to bomb Mexico to stop drug traffic. That’s an act of war.
- Social Security: Despite the fact that Social Security will soon be insolvent forcing payout cuts, both Biden and Trump have vowed to not touch Social Security.
- The Fed: Biden and Trump both pressured the Fed to not hike interest rates.
- The Media: Both Trump and Biden blame the media for being against them. Neither is willing to blame himself for anything. It’s always somebody else’s fault.
- Both Trump and Biden want the other to be the nominee thinking that is the person they can most easily beat. One of them will be wrong but they believe the same thing.
- Both are willing to set policy by declaration. Biden learned from Trump and really pushed the scale. Both had Supreme Court rulings against them.
- Both are at an age where one wonders if they can last another four years. Trump is questionable but Biden isn’t. It’s pretty clear Biden won’t last four years.
- Both are extreme candidates, especially on energy policy although on this point in opposite directions.
- Trump was twice impeached and it appears Biden is headed that way. Neither was or will be removed from office.
- Both are fiscally irresponsible. Both pretend not to be. Deficits and debt prove it. So does the fact that neither wants to address Social Security and both want more money for the military. Trump is the bigger hypocrite.
- They are both big liars to a degree far beyond what one can say about any politician.
Similarity Discussion
Points 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 are ongoing.
Many aspects of points 12-14 are in opposite directions. If Trump wins, he will undo some of Biden’s energy policy madness.
Points, 1, 5, 6, 8, and 16 have big ongoing economic impacts in the same direction no matter who wins.
Biden pledged to be a healer and a moderate. He turned out to be the Progressive wet dream candidate.
Among a slew of notable lies, Trump kept repeating Mexico would pay for the wall, that trade wars were good and easy to win, that tariffs would be used to reduce the national debt.
Tariffs are a tax on consumers so Trump’s 10 percent tariff proposal is a big inflationary tax hike.
Trump Singes the GOP as He Blazes Ahead
The Wall Street Journal comments Trump Singes the GOP as He Blazes Ahead
Mr. Trump moved ahead of Mr. Biden for the first time in the Dec. 4 Wall Street Journal poll, 47% to 43%. Two early December CNN battleground polls put Mr. Trump ahead of Mr. Biden, in Michigan 50% to 40% and in Georgia 49% to 44%.
But nothing is ever normal in Donald Trump’s turbulent world. Witness two campaign decisions very likely made by the candidate himself.
First, he constantly brags about his lead, saying “I’m up on these people by 60 points and 59 points. And I don’t mean I’m at 59, I’m leading them by 59.”
Any consultant worth his salt would advise his client not to exaggerate his lead. Front-runners should lower expectations. Polls tend to tighten, and you don’t want supporters to get demoralized if you win by a smaller margin than expected—or lose.
Then there’s Mr. Trump’s name-calling. He sarcastically intoned at a rally that his supporters shouldn’t call Chris Christie “a fat pig.” Ms. Haley is “Birdbrain.” Mr. DeSantis is “DeSanctimonious.” Mr. Trump claims each of his GOP opponents would be “a puppet nominee . . . who will do the Deep State’s bidding” and “get along with the sinister forces that are destroying our country.”
Mr. Trump insults their supporters, too. He rails that voters who back his opponents are “disloyal, globalist” and “two-faced, backstabbing RINOs.” They would “rather see Joe Biden win,” he says. RINO—an acronym for Republican in name only—is rich coming from a man who registered as a Republican only in 2012.
This isn’t new; Mr. Trump has never been able to control his delight in lobbing slurs and abuse at his opponents, including Republican competitors and their grassroots backers and donors.
Front-runners should work to unite their party and make it easier for intraparty rivals and their supporters to come on board. Mr. Trump’s gutter assault on party rivals makes that much harder.
The above article pertains to points 14 and 15. Neither is a uniter. Both are big liars.
Trump is not a Republican or a Libertarian. He is an arrogant blowhard whose opinion is subject to radical change depending on who he wants to criticize or believe at the moment.
Independents decided the election in 2020 and will do so again in 2024. The way to lose independents in a hurry is to keep calling your opponents fat pigs and birdbrains.
Trump is only ahead because Biden is both inept and incoherent. Almost no one really thinks Biden can last another 4 years.
To what extent voters will weigh Trump’s constant derogatory bullying against Biden’s economic incompetence remains to be seen.
One Final Thing In Common
Here is point #18: They both deserve to lose.
Unfortunately, unless something changes dramatically, one of them will win.
Both are too old to be Presidents.
Both are too arrogant to be statesmen of stature.
Both are too dangerous to world peace and cooperation.
Hey, both have two arms & two legs too!
A discussion of the similarities is a diversion from the differences that actually matter.
Only Trump will declare himself the winner before all the votes have been counted.
Just like he did before.
Simple fact: King Chaos is so far removed from his “stable genius” claim that he made Biden look like a good choice in 2020.
When I point this out to “normal voters” – – and that would be most of my friends and family, and that it is “madness” to keep doing it over and over and expecting different results, they quietly say to me without saying it: “YOU ARE THE ONE WHO IS NUTS.”
I was at a party in Southern Europe when Clinton and Trump were running and I was the only American there. One of them asked me: “COME ON, MAN, admit who you will vote for!”
I said, “the choice is between a Turd and a Piece of Shit. You call can guess who I think that the TURD IS.”
The silence was deafening. Three of those people never spoke to me again. MOST of them are liberals and simply thought that Clinton was an Angel.
For the record, Trump was the piece of shit.
“Call” should be “all.” Sorry, typo fat thumb man.
I wrote in Vermin Supreme, the guy from Vermont who wore an upside down boot on his head, on the grounds that at least he admitted to being a clown. I won opposing bets, one that Trump would be elected and the other that the Hildebeast would win the popular vote but by less than 4%. On Election Day, I predicted she would win the popular vote by 2%, which is exactly what happened.
Got 4 grass-fed steaks on the Trump prediction and two dinners in a gastropub on the Hillary call. In ’20, I wrote in Kanye West on the grounds that he was no crazier than Trump or Biden but at least he admitted it. LOL
It’s unfortunate that the Americans are represented by two idiot octogenarians. 360 million sensible(?) people and these are the best you can do. Or maybe the system is broken. Something has to give.
The “system” is controlled by THEM, not US.
There are very few difference, from a macro view, on how the two parties govern especially related to financial matters. It’s very obvious that neither really care about the general public.
Seems about right…most democrats are just left wing Republicans when you get down to it. I don’t see either of these guys bring back gold or silver money…
It’s no longer the 1800s, kid. Get used to it.
#18 – Both hired incredibly incompetent help. Most of Trump’s hires actually worked at cross-purposes to his administration.
Hey Mish since everyone hates me now with some of my recent outrageous comments, I may have to go back to Ghost Post incognito! So anyway I forgot what I was going to say, so anyway Mish you know I’ve been with you, having supported you longer than anyone else of all these years other assholes-ok I can’t say that-I’ll delete it-so is Lisa Hooker who doesn’t like me a prostitute? Mish over all these years you’ve never really said to me hey Truthseeker, I’m glad you’ve really supported me with Truth, though you’ve sorta been nice to guys I’m saying they are all assholes truthfully for the most part honesty! Good grief
You forgot the most important of all… both Presidents’ failure to uphold their Oath and shore-up their rogue DOJ.
Liars.
Exaggerators.
Incompetent.
Senile Braindead.
I’ll take Trump policies any day however.
“He turned out to be the Progressive wet dream candidate.”
FJB is NOT running this country. Obama has been from day one.
I have said it 100 times. Trump was a dyed in the wool democrat most of his life. As time went on he realized that they were evil and today I think he realizes the real truth which is that they are Satanic. The difference between trump and biden is that biden and his ilk have literally sold their souls to satan, and Trump has decided to avoid that. He is still in the process of understanding the nature of G_d as you can see by how he tenuously held the Bible. But he knows the dems are rancid, stinking, anti-human evil who want population reduction and globalist control over the individual. If trump was on their side they would not attack him literally 24/7/365 like they do, always with false accusations, like the accuser Satan, always with lies.
Trump is NO angel. After all, you don’t just go from being a life long democrat into an honest person overnight. The stink of socialism is on you for the rest of your life. But Trump has not decided to throw humanity under the bus for the sake of the elite and THAT is the big difference between him and biden. Most of those other things are noise by comparison.
Agreed, especially with the NO angel admission. However, I believe that Trump is very patriotic; therefore, he understands that unfettered illegal immigration is well on its way to ruining this country. He’s a guy who’s always spoken his mind, and he has no intentions of changing what & how he says things. I get that this is a big turnoff for a lot of people, but on a certain level I appreciate his doggedness for not changing for political correctness sakes.
IMHO, this election is about illegal immigration and the incomprehensible downsides that will come from having FJB let 14M into this country over 4 short years. Drugs, crime, inflation, employment & wage impacts are all major downsides to this powder keg.
I sincerely hope that Trump gets re-elected and goes scorched earth on the deep state. Flynn should be his AG, and he should appoint Jordan & Comer to tun the FBI & ATF, respectively, so they can dismantle them & rebuild them from the ground up. The ATF needs to be whack-a-moled into about half its current size. Whitaker would make a great DHS leader and then find the meanest, conservative Texas Sheriff possible to run the CBP.
Presidents are elected on domestic issues, but the job is really foreign affairs and entanglements, which they should avoid. As far as the worst policy decisions Biden wins. Seizing Russia’s dollars on deposit at the NY Fed is, and will, destroy the dollar, as others no longer trust the dollar.
The most reliable predictor of any presidential election is the direction of the headline unemployment rate in the second quarter of the election year. It doesn’t always work, but it’s usually reliable, especially when it’s a fairly big swing. In a normal year, we would have a good idea who would win by early July, when the June UE headline rate is ublished.
Next year might be quite different, though, given how unpopular the likely major party nominees are and will be. I somewhat astonished that otherwise intelligent people here are failing to see just how turned off the electorate is by the idea of a Biden-Trump replay.
I don’t vote because I won’t vote for anyone that wants the job. I believe, like the Greeks in their heyday of using a lottery of all the landowners (skin in the game), then have the military drag them from their farm or business to the Senate,
If you won’t vote, you have nothing useful or interesting to say about any election.
Disagree with #4 as it was Trump who got the agreement to withdraw. Biden screwed up the exit, not Trump.
Biden is not a “progressive”. He is pro-establishment, pro status-quo, pro military industrial complex.
By today’s standards, Nixon would be considered a radical left wing revolutionary.
18. COVID
18. Vax
20. Assange
Mish, gotta admit, 250 years was a good run as these things go.
Assange is a great point
Point 1 to 17. Biden knocked off 80% off Trump policies. Trump is an original thinker. He changed old concepts. He moved things. Point #19 : Biden follows the spiteful regime change policies.The Democrats want to Epstein Trump. Point #20 : The Trump family was victimized, the Bidens were not.
Trump did not use lawfare against political opponents and trump did not organize mass election fraud like the party of Satan did and does.
The one major difference between the two is stronger checks and balances when Trump was President.
A Martian believing this analysis would see the two as equally bad. But Brandon is such an affront to civility rationality and integrity that Trump is the clear winner in all three categories. It doesn’t really matter though, because money rules, and the globalists, the central bankers and Bill Gates run things no matter who’s POTUS. Good hoot though!
Not true except for Martians who cannot read
“If Trump wins, he will undo some of Biden’s energy policy madness.”
“Both are extreme candidates, especially on energy policy although on this point in opposite directions.
Mike,
The difference between Trump and Biden is that Trump is generally competent, and Biden isn’t. Biden is not a bad machine politician, but not the sort of fellow who can be expected to lead.
I am expecting horrors ahead, but I would much rather face them with the knowledge that the fellow at the helm of politics has a brain and is prepared to make decisions, even if some of them turn out to be wrong.
With respect to Trump’s actions in the early days of the Chinese flu, I think you have to remember that none of us knew how bad it was going to be. It was natural to rely on the experts. We now have the useful knowledge that the experts turned out to be dishonest, and the middle-level bureaucrats and politicians largely turned out to be megalomaniacs who just wanted to impose rules, while ignoring them themselves.
Trump certainly isn’t a doctrinaire free-trader or libertarian, and he is certainly rude. But leaders are often like that.
I may be silly, but I keep thinking of what happened in France around the year 1870. France had just lost a war with Prussia, and the Emperor Napoleon III, who was a fool, had abdicated and bolted. Paris declared itself a socialist republic and went to war with the rest of the country. It looked as if France was on the verge of a dark age.
Instead, a Marshal McMahon, a military man, became President of France. I don’t know the details, but he apparently just stopped the usual government practice of doing stupid things, and the country recovered surprisingly quickly. You might also recall what happened in Germany in 1923 when Dr. Schacht stopped the inflation, and again in about 1946 or 1948 when Ludwig Erhard (hope I have that name spelled correctly) abolished price controls and similar nonsense.
The United States has gone Latin American, with bad money and government interference in business. All that nonsense needs to be stopped. It may take a military dictatorship to do it, but Trump is your best hope of getting it done in a constitutional way.
“Trump certainly isn’t a doctrinaire free-trader or libertarian, and he is certainly rude. But leaders are often like that.” Sounds like he was channeling Steve Jobs…
I notice you overlooked the biggest similarity, probably because of a blind spot due to you sharing this flow with both men: they defend the poison Covid jabs.
But trump NEVER demanded you take it at pain of job loss, disenfranchisement from participation in society, the need to carry medical credentials and display upon demand, etc.
BIDEN DID. He will never be forgiven for that and it will never be forgotten. He can rot in Hell for what he did on that score alone.
I said they both defended the poison, like our gracious host. I never said Trump was AS bad as Pedo Joe.
Spot on analysis, basically the main actors in a clown show for us plebes
Point #18 should be in BOLD.
Are these two potential candidates the best we can do? Really?
Life in the Age of Incompetence.
The media has mostly covered for Biden and treated him positively (Fox excepted). The media was 24/7 shrilly against Trump (except for some on Fox) . So that point is just plain wrong. The only time I saw the media say something nice about Trump wa when he launched some cruise missiles in Syria.
I’m not a fan of Trump because he didn’t follow through on his campaign promises and because he let the false Russiagate narrative influence his policy towards Russia.
But given the choice between Trump and Biden, the choice is simple. Trump is head and shoulders above Biden (which isn’t saying much since Biden is a massive catastrophe).
“But given the choice between Trump and Biden, the choice is simple. ..”
But much more importantly: ANYONE else, is an improvement on either one. From Xi to Iranian Mullahs to Hamas guys to Mexican Cartelistas.They are all better than either of those two. And as well they all represent organizations better than those two do.
Sure, Biden is a rapist, a fraud, an insurrectionist, a six-time bankrupt entrepreneur, a serial philanderer, a narcissist, and, to top it all, Biden has a BMI above 32 (meaning he is a fat slob). I assume/hope you get the point. But, obviously, all these facts about Trump were invented by globalists financed by Soros.
“Trump wants to bomb Mexico to stop drug traffic. That’s an act of war.” and one hundred thousand American fentanyl deaths per year are peachy keen.
Front-runners should work to unite their party and make it easier for intraparty rivals and their supporters to come on board. – right, that’s how President’s McCain and Romney got elected – oh, wait….
The Deep State Establishment deserves to lose.
…. And The Deep State Establishment includes anyone indoctrinated to not End the Fed on the first day in office. And end all activity taxes by the second. And The Drug War, as well as all other wars, on the third
BS Trump did not attack the fossil fuel
industry like crazy JOE which led to
the worst case of inflation in past 50 years
who said he did. I didn’t and even pointed that out.
“Both are extreme candidates, especially on energy policy although on this point in opposite directions.”
But you still counted it as a negative. Some would call that sophistry.
A pond and an ocean are similar in that they are both bodies of water. It’s a matter of degree. Yes Biden criticizes the media for a negative portrayal of the economy. He’s done that a half dozen times in his entire administration. Trump does that a half dozen times every single day. He also throws in that they are “the enemy of the people” and they should be prosecuted and thrown in jail. Let the thumbs down begin.
Trump comes at issues like media from a different political universe. He wants to be an authoritarian leader in the mold of Orban, Putin, Xi, and MBS. Maybe democracy and rule of law in this country will survive him, but I don’t think the odds are great.
“Maybe democracy and rule of law in this country will survive him, but I don’t think the odds are great.”
Considering what passes for “Democracy and rule of law” these days: Who bloody cares?
Found the fascist….
Yup. In your mirror, starring back at you.
And not only is the bastard a fascist: He’s one so thouroughly uncritical and indoctrinated that he fell, hook line and sinker, for the trivially obvious nonsense that some silly chad dimpling raindance conducted every few years, somehow magically make his obvious fascism somehow a-ok.
I do. I don’t want to live in an authoritarian country. Are you saying a scumbag like Rudy Giuliani should not have been slapped with $148 million? If so, you should move to Russia. There, Putin is going to tell you what‘s true or false.
“I don’t want to live in an authoritarian country.”
Well, you do. Some silly chad dimpling ritual acted out every four years or so, has exactly no bearing on that.
Democrats always projecting their evil characteristics onto their rivals.
Some of these comments defy everyday reality, to wit: So far there has been no
evidence publicly produced or trial concerning the presidents criminality, stock
markets are currently at or near record highs, gas prices are well below $4 gallon across the country, under $3 in some areas, and we are not currently in recession, let alone the “deepest recession since the 1930s.”
200% accurate. I think his strong support is because the democrats are weaponizing the judicial system against him like a
typical banana republic. I don’t like him but am disturbed by the corruption of our legal system.
You ever heard “if it walks like…, if it quacks like…”?
Dude: “We” ARE a Banana republic. Have been for, at a very minimum, half a century. Banana republic, and NOTHING but.
And furthermore: Failure to grasp something even that obvious, is exactly why we are still nothing but a banana republic, and why that won’t change.
Recall 1992, when Ross Perot got 19% of the vote despite a ramshackle, semi-serious effort. Today, there is wide and deep dissatisfaction with both Biden and Trump. I think a “fusion” ticket of North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin could be viable.
Third parties haven’t succeeded in America, but they’ve had a lot of impact at times. The new Republican Party relplaced the Whigs before the Civil War, and the Progressives were integral in giving us both Roosevelts. The level of disgust with the dominant arties is thick enough to cut with a chain saw.
Keep an eye out for a “No Labels” ticket next year. Manchin and Burgum (hopefully with Burgum on top) would make a much more serious and qualified ticket than Perot and Stockdale (“Who am I? Why am I here?”) did in ’92.
Don’t forget RFK Jr. Nobody seems to be talking about him. Combine his presence with Manchin/Burgum and it’s anybody’s guess what will happen.
RFK Jr. might be a Nader spoiler in some close races, but he’s not going to have broad appeal. He is way too quirky in too many ways. I think a governor with a solid track record and a senator who has pulled against the grain would be a much bigger threat.
Problem is: What are those two realistically going to do different from Crazy and Senile? Apart from looking a bit less like circus clowns, and being less clumsy navigating stairs?
As long as you have a Fed, and a completely out of control shakedown-racket-on-the-make passed of as “civil courts”, America WILL remain nothing but a decaying basket case.
“We” are doing nothing, not one thing, differently from what Argentina has been douing since Peron. Argentina has had plenty of “serious”, “statesman-like” morons in charge. It’s only the latest guy who instead prefers to play Trump. All to NO avail.
Trump, and Milei, are right about the problem being the Deep State and The Establishment. Their problem is rather: Aside from hairdos and mannerisms, they are no different themselves.
Ron Paul was meaningfully different. Since then, it’s all been nothing more than same day, different hairdo.
Keep in mind that voter dissatisfaction with BOTH Biden and Trump, and with the two parties in general, is at a fever pitch. What has been a long running “none of the above” quip is much more than a quip this time around.
I don’t think the dissatisfied majority is motivated by resentment of “the deep state” or the Federal Reserve. At the presidential level, anyway, most voters look at the choice between a clearly senile Biden and a bombastic, yammering Trump and see it as a matter of a failure of competence and character, abetted by an untrustworthy media.
You might want to overthrow the Establishment, but I think most people desire reasonably effective, common-sense, competence at the presidential level. They aren’t seeing it in Biden, and Trump doesn’t offer it.
Ron Paul is even less relevant than RFK Jr. He is a fringe ideologue who has not and will not get anywhere. His sun never got above the horizon, and is now not even visible in a glow. Give it up, along with your other hobby horses.
I am intrigued by Manchin and Burgum, because they offer direct experience and engagement, and have a record of independence from entrenched forces but are not bomb throwers. One way or another, I will be watching what “No Labels” has to say next year. Want to abolish the Federal Reserve? Ain’t gonna happen.
“I don’t think the dissatisfied majority is motivated by resentment of “the deep state” or the Federal Reserve.”
And hence why it makes not oner lick of difference exactly which Peron wannabe’s self serving tripe they fall for next time around. Same guy, different hairdo, is hardly all that interesting.
“Want to abolish the Federal Reserve? Ain’t gonna happen.”
Then “we” ‘ll remain Argentina, 20 years delayed. Continuing to do the exact same thing, won’t magically see a different result next time neither.
Keep beating the carcass of that dead horse! LOL
Has Social Media Brainwashed You Into Thinking the Economy is Bad?
link to thedailybeast.com
The blue-sky voices are ignoring something big. Today’s inflation number (4% core) is less important than they think. Prices for basics have gone up a LOT during Biden’s term. Food, both in the grocery store and in restaurants (especially fast food and casual dining), is much more expensive. Same for utilities and fuel.
I can afford it, but it still angers me to pay so much more for produce, meat, gas, and diesel than I did only 3 years ago. The Democrats are only broadcasting how thoroughly out of touch they are when they portray the current economy as healthy. They are telling people to ignore their lying eyes, and that simply will not work.
Incomes are up more than 4% in my locale. Energy prices are down 30%
You must live in a very special corner of the country. Incomes are flat, at best, in real terms in the rest of the country, and the daily essentials are noticeably less affordable than they were three years ago.
Jake, spot on, the dim bulbs will talk about some dip in energy prices but cost of electricity is up 14 percent in Oregon…it’s real money – the food price increases are sticky, as are rents, HEALTH INSURANCE, oh my gosh, even with employer provided plans we’ve experienced 4-6 percent premium increases per year, soaring deductibles and co-pays AND the hospitals are having trouble keeping docs and nurses on staff. The stuff regular Joes and Janes have to tally up doesn’t get washed out by a soaring DJA.
There are many differences between the two, but the most obvious is the blatant abuse of Biden to weaponize the government agencies to go after his enemies. The second obvious difference is the corrupt and criminal acts of Biden and his crime family.
But Trump vowed revenge.
So make that another point in common. Thanks
Whether or not you intended to, your article makes a very good case for an outsider fusion/independent ticket. Unless there is a viable alternative, I for one will be casting my third straight write-in vote.
There is very deep and wide disgust with both Biden and Trump. I fully realize that a third party effort would be quixotic, but this country has a long history of coming up with solid, brilliant leadership in times of crisis. Don’t overlook the possibility of a real disruption next year; the people want it so badly they can just about taste it.
Trump vowed to drain the swamp. When Satan is attacking you, if you counterattack then someone might call that “revenge” or if you are a right thinking person you can call that “justice” or “victory over evil”. When a murderer is sent to jail for life, some might also call that “revenge”. Can you please provide a link where trump even vowed “revenge” as opposed to someone putting the “r” word in his mouth? That would be peachy.
Trump’s children were too close to nepotism. I believe they crossed the line.
Biden‘s economic incompetence is really earth shattering: as we all know, the stock market has tanked below 2009 levels, gas prices are exceeding $10, US oil and gas production is only half of what it was under Trump, the economy is in an inflationary spiral, employment has stagnated since 2001, and we are in the deepest recession since the 1930s.
Biden will have to be replaced.
Biden needs to be arrested
What a GREAT article, and absolutely spot on accurate !!! Well stated !