A partisan and politician': Abraham Lincoln and the art of the deal

"Obviously, with any historical analogy, there are more differences than similarities, and history never repeats itself. And I don't want to weaponize Lincoln to just support my view and oppose other views. But I feel like we're in a moment of crisis for democracy and Lincoln is the greatest democratic politician in the history of the world, arguably. And it's fair to try to draw some inspiration from him."

"Lincoln's belief that the White House belongs to the American people, compared with Trump's belief the whole country is his playground. Lincoln was furious about his wife's White House renovation budget overruns, complaining about paying for 'flub-dubs' for this damned old house, reflecting fundamentally different views about presidential property and public trust."

Matthew Pinsker, a historian at Dickinson College and author of "Boss Lincoln: The Partisan Life of Abraham Lincoln," actively engages modern political discourse through historical analysis rather than avoiding contemporary comparisons. He emphasizes that while historical analogies have more differences than similarities, Lincoln's example offers valuable insights for all political perspectives during current democratic challenges. Pinsker distinguishes Lincoln's view of the White House as belonging to the American people from contrasting modern attitudes, using specific examples like Mary Todd Lincoln's budget overruns versus contemporary approaches to presidential property. He advocates drawing inspiration from Lincoln's democratic leadership without weaponizing history to support particular ideological positions.

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