Mark Twain once said that “History never repeats itself, but it does often rhyme.”
Twain’s quote makes a lot of sense to many people, but today, he might be understating the case. President Trump seems to emulate the so-called Gilded Age beyond mere rhyming. He seems to be REPEATING the past. For example, before William McKinley was assassinated, he was a strong advocate for raising tariffs on foreign goods. McKinley’s era was extremely pro-business and was against business regulation. In fact, the dominance of corporate interests was so strong during this era that very young children worked in dangerous factories. When workers objected to ill treatment, they were either fired or beaten by hired goons.
The very wealthy, such as the Robber Barons, benefited enormously from the lack of regulation and taxation. The Gilded Age created such a disparity between the rich and the poor that massive new government programs were required to keep the country from exploding in conflict.
Conflict in America is once again becoming cancerous. The disparity between the rich and poor in 2025 is increasing to levels we have not seen since the 1890s. Trump’s tariff executive orders, despite their haphazard implementation (i.e., Trump’s new TACO moniker), are beginning to have an impact on the economy. Corporations are uncertain about the future. This leads to freezes in hiring, construction, and new product development. While it may take a while to take effect fully, tariffs will inevitably cause prices to rise and the economy to suffer.
Donald Trump is the only American president in history who openly makes money off his office to benefit himself and his family. He appears to aspire to become a 21st-century Robber Baron, potentially becoming the first to achieve this status while in office.
As a footnote to Trump’s bid to take America back to the 1890s, on September 5, 2025, he signed an executive order rebranding the Department of Defense to the Department of War.
The following is a video summary of our rush to restore the Gilded Age circa 1890s.