Benedict Arnold v. Donald Trump...
Benedict Arnold v. Donald Trump
The first, Arnold is a traitor that is historical fact. The second, Trump cannot be called a traitor because America is not at war. I don’t want to discuss that aspect at war, not at war this is a comparison of two people that put America in grave danger.
During his term as governor, rumors, not entirely unfounded, circulated through Philadelphia accusing Arnold of abusing his position for his personal profit. Questions were also raised about Arnold’s courtship and marriage to the young Peggy Shippen (1760-1804), the daughter of a man suspected of Loyalist sympathies. Arnold and his second wife, with whom he would have five children, lived a lavish lifestyle in Philadelphia, accumulating substantial debt.
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During his term as president, again not entirely unfounded, stories circulated around the country accusing Trump of using the presidency for his own profit. His third wife, an immigrant, American by marriage, their one child and four children by his two previous wives, lived a lavish lifestyle in New York, accumulating substantial debt.
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The debt and the resentment Arnold felt over not being promoted faster were motivating factors in his choice to become a turncoat. He concluded that his interests would be better served assisting the British than continuing to suffer for an American army he saw as ungrateful.
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The debt it is thought along with the reluctance of American and other banks to lend him any money are seen to be the motivating factors for him and his companies to seek loans from Russian banks. Those loans put him at risk of becoming a Russian asset but he concluded that help could be used to gain him the Presidency of the United States. In that position he could repay the loans by making American foreign policy that would directly help Russian interests.
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By the end of 1779, Arnold had begun secret negotiations with the British to surrender the American fort at West Point, New York, in return for money and a command in the British army. Arnold’s chief intermediary was British Major John André (1750-80).
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In 2015, Trump was in negotiations with the Russians to develop a building project named Trump Tower Moscow. It is thought that with Russian assistance and money they would help him ascend to the presidency and once again be of help to the government of Russia removing or greatly diminishing sanctions placed on Russia by the previous administration. In this action his intermediary was an American general, Michael Flynn and his personal lawyer Michael Cohen.
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André was captured in September 1780, while crossing between British and American lines, disguised in civilian clothes. Papers found on André incriminated Arnold in treason. Learning of André’s capture, Arnold fled to British lines before the Patriots could arrest him. West Point remained in American hands, and Arnold only received a portion of his promised bounty. André was hanged as a spy in October 1780.
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In 2018 both Flynn and Cohen were charged with various crimes related to Trumps accession to the presidency, both pled guilty and helped an investigating body with information about Trumps involvement in those crimes.
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Trump, Flynn and Cohen “sold out America what is the difference between the stories? Only War?
https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/benedict-arnold