# How will Trump be memorialized for posterity? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 24, 2020, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-trump-be-memorialized-for-posterity/926360 "2020-11-24T17:06:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2020, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-trump-be-memorialized-for-posterity/926360/41 "2020-11-25T17:30:23Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I kind of wonder if it’ll even be affiliated with a university, or if it will be, but some fundamentalist one like Liberty or Oral Roberts University. Maybe they will combine the two and have it located in Trump Tower, and call it Oral Liberty University. So much sucking - everyone there will get tired of all the sucking. More seriously, I would hope high school history books will have a chapter on “The Trump Era”. No, I do not want it to be short, but detailed and descriptive on how he negatively impacted politics, social issues, health issues, the news media, international relations, etc. etc. As already stated upthread, everyone should know about this lost 4 years 2016 - 2020 as a warning signal so it can never be repeated by some other fascist dictator wannabe. I would also like key GOP enablers permanently stained in the history books from Trump’s taint. There are two kinds of people in the world: Those who leave a mark, and those who leave a stain. We should be sure the Trump Era is remembered as a stain. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2020, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-trump-be-memorialized-for-posterity/926360/42 "2020-11-25T19:48:44Z")
> [@Kimera757](#): > > Are presidential libraries required to display truthful information? Here’s a good article on presidential libraries and why Trump’s library will probably _not_ depict him truthfully (warning: soft paywall). > **[Perspective | Trump’s presidential library will be a shrine to his ego](https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/trump-presidential-library-narrative/2020/11/17/fcd27b9e-1edd-11eb-ba21-f2f001f0554b_story.html)** > > If he declines federal participation, he can tell any story he wants about his presidency. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2020, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-trump-be-memorialized-for-posterity/926360/43 "2020-11-25T19:53:32Z")
Someone said it here. His Presidential Library should be a thumb drive of all his tweets and speeches stored in a Sucrets tin in a janitors closet. No offence to janitors. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2020, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-trump-be-memorialized-for-posterity/926360/44 "2020-11-25T20:56:49Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Have we yet developed the technology to freeze him in carbonite? Maybe _then_ he’d think black lives matter. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2020, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-trump-be-memorialized-for-posterity/926360/45 "2020-11-25T20:59:01Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > There are two kinds of people in the world: Those who leave a mark, and those who leave a stain. We should be sure the Trump Era is remembered as a stain. Lump him into the same chapter as Huey Long and Joe McCarthy. ---
**Author:** ![Temporary\_Name](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@Temporary\_Name](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Temporary_Name)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2020, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-trump-be-memorialized-for-posterity/926360/46 "2020-11-25T23:55:36Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > More seriously, I would hope high school history books will have a chapter on “The Trump Era”. No, I do not want it to be short, but detailed and descriptive on how he negatively impacted politics, social issues, health issues, the news media, international relations, etc. etc. As already stated upthread, everyone should know about this lost 4 years 2016 - 2020 as a warning signal so it can never be repeated by some other fascist dictator wannabe. I would also like key GOP enablers permanently stained in the history books from Trump’s taint. > > There are two kinds of people in the world: Those who leave a mark, and those who leave a stain. We should be sure the Trump Era is remembered as a stain. With warnings about group think and mob rules. Tie it into lynchings and other atrocities we have supposedly (and should definitely) moved beyond. It should also have a tie-in with that chapter in **A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court** where the peasants are hunting their own whom they know are innocent lest the mob turn on them. This lesson needs to be taught and learned well and in perpetuity. This is much to good an opportunity to learn from mistakes before they become (even larger global) catastrophes. I would change your quote thusly: Most people are loved and are influential amongst only their friends and family. They do not long to be known far and wide, but admired within their own society. But of those who are remembered by history, there are two types: Those who leave a mark and those who leave a stain. And of course Trump is a stain, pure and simple. Without bringing Nazi’s into the mix – what other leaders are similar to Trump? (My first nomination is the Prince of Walachia known as Vlad the Impaler. I have others in mind of other posters also join in naming Trump’s historical role models.) ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-trump-be-memorialized-for-posterity/926360/47 "2020-11-26T00:09:52Z")
[https://www.flickr.com/photos/189571352@N07/50646644872/sizes/c/](https://www.flickr.com/photos/189571352@N07/50646644872/sizes/c/) ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-trump-be-memorialized-for-posterity/926360/48 "2020-11-26T00:47:08Z")
⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆ Good one ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-trump-be-memorialized-for-posterity/926360/49 "2020-11-26T00:55:01Z")
I didn’t make that, found on the internet. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-trump-be-memorialized-for-posterity/926360/50 "2020-11-26T07:04:32Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Lump him into the same chapter as Huey Long and Joe McCarthy. Meh. My community college-level American History book (circa 1995) had one sentence (maybe two?) about Joe McCarthy, stating only that he was a corrupt politician (and maybe also mentioned that he was a demagogue) and that was all, with no further detail. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-trump-be-memorialized-for-posterity/926360/51 "2020-11-26T09:56:35Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > I’m struggling to find something that Trump can claim as a real achievement. In all fairness I have tried to look for actual verifiable achievements by this administration. At the moment the list is 1) repatriation of Korean war soldiers remains, and 2) whatever the hell they did with regard to the UAE-Israel peace treaty. Other than that I’m struggling too, although he must have done _something_ else worthwhile, even if by accident. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-trump-be-memorialized-for-posterity/926360/52 "2020-11-26T11:59:37Z")
I’m just thinking about Nixon. He’s primarily remembered as the guy who resigned because he was so corrupt. And thus he became a joke. Certain Nixonisms are still done today to make people laugh. I don’t actually don’t hear any talk about anything good Nixon did. Trumpisms are even more plentiful. He’s just very imitable and thus can make for easy caricature and parody. People will be paintting their faces orange, wearing a wig, and doing his accent and speech mannerisms. But Nixon just has the one thing. Trump has so many. His entire presidency was full of shocking moments, and shocking moments are remembered. None of them are positive, either. Sure, he has supporters, but none of them have really any things he did that were big. Y’all mention his win, but he won while losing the popular vote, so that’s probably what will be noted. He won because of clear advantages in the system for Republicans. In the digital age, there’s very little information lost anymore. While the media the information is on can die, the information lives on as long as it’s being used and moved around. While there’s some early Internet stuff that’s gone forever, everything else has pretty much been preserved forever. Maybe not a particular site, but there’s data about that site. The information the site contained is available. The main way I could see some of Trump’s stuff being forgotten is not that we’ll lose records of it. It’s that we’ll have faced something worse. It’s that a lot of his stuff won’t be a priority. Like, sure, he’ll be remembered for bungling our first major pandemic in modern times, but most people are just going to remember how badly that pandemic went and hopefully how much better we are with them now. As long as we keep out anyone worse, I could see him becoming the go-to for bad presidential actions. Nixon is sorta already there—he’s constantly used as the trope of “bad president.” But I think Trump eclipses him easily. And I do think he might borrow a bit from those who weren’t completely failures at becoming dictators, and gets used just generally for “bad person” or “bad leader.” It’s already happened now, and it will spread as the negatives remain so much more memorable. People support him now due to a feeling, but feelings fade while the facts will still be there. The more interesting, the more they’ll be remembered, and he lacks anything good that was interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-trump-be-memorialized-for-posterity/926360/53 "2020-11-26T17:00:33Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > But Nixon just has the one thing. Trump has so many. His entire presidency was full of shocking moments, and shocking moments are remembered. None of them are positive, either. I’d really like to see a definitive book about these four years, with chapters on “stupid shit he said” and “corrupt things he did.” I want a record, all in one place, of the horror we went through. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-trump-be-memorialized-for-posterity/926360/54 "2020-11-26T23:13:46Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I want a record, all in one place, of the horror we went through. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/fHP3EFvD8i4/maxresdefault.jpg "Every Terrible Thing Trump Has Done As President") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHP3EFvD8i4) ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2020, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-trump-be-memorialized-for-posterity/926360/55 "2020-11-27T00:18:40Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I want a record, all in one place, of the horror we went through. 74 millions votes says this horrorshow ain’t over yet, babycakes. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2020, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-trump-be-memorialized-for-posterity/926360/56 "2020-11-27T00:29:00Z")
As normal with threads like this, there is a lot of unwarranted optimism that freedom of speech will continue. Just because the Trump Organization lost one election doesn’t mean its dictatorial aspirations will fail. See; > **[Opinion | Did American Democracy Really Hold? Maybe Not.](https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/11/25/did-american-democracy-really-hold-maybe-not-440595)** > > Donald Trump didn’t manage to overthrow the electoral system. But he’s drawn a clear road map for breaking it. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2020, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-trump-be-memorialized-for-posterity/926360/57 "2020-11-27T00:49:44Z")
Whitewashing isn’t neutral. ---
**Author:** ![gnarator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gnarator/32/8266_2.png) [@gnarator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnarator)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2020, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-trump-be-memorialized-for-posterity/926360/58 "2020-11-27T00:55:49Z")
He takes credit for criminal justice reform (the First Step Act), though it don’t think the White House had much to do with it. He also takes credit for installing 3 conservatives on the Supreme Court, the Tax Cut and Jobs Act, and the moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem. Only the last one was driven by the White House. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2020, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-trump-be-memorialized-for-posterity/926360/59 "2020-11-27T00:59:13Z")
> [@erysichthon](#): > > > [@Kimera757](#): > > > > Are presidential libraries required to display truthful information? > > Here’s a good article on presidential libraries and why Trump’s library will probably _not_ depict him truthfully (warning: soft paywall). The irony is that a truthful representation of what the Trump presidency was like would require a depiction of an unending stream of lies. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2020, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-trump-be-memorialized-for-posterity/926360/60 "2020-11-27T01:52:16Z")
Let’s [quote=“snowthx, post:41, topic:926360, full:true”] > [@bump](#): > > I kind of wonder if it’ll even be affiliated with a university, or if it will be, but some fundamentalist one like Liberty or Oral Roberts University. Maybe they will combine the two and have it located in Trump Tower, and call it Oral Liberty University. So much sucking - everyone there will get tired of all the sucking. More seriously, I would hope high school history books will have a chapter on “The Trump Era”. No, I do not want it to be short, but detailed and descriptive on how he negatively impacted politics, social issues, health issues, the news media, international relations, etc. etc. As already stated upthread, everyone should know about this lost 4 years 2016 - 2020 as a warning signal so it can never be repeated by some other fascist dictator wannabe. I would also like key GOP enablers permanently stained in the history books from Trump’s taint. There are two kinds of people in the world: Those who leave a mark, and those who leave a stain. We should be sure the Trump Era is remembered as a stain. [/quote] Let’s agree to never say “Trump’s taint” again. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-trump-be-memorialized-for-posterity/926360.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-trump-be-memorialized-for-posterity/926360.md?page=4)