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Sunday, November 15, 2026Nov 15

Sohn: The kindred spirits of Donald Trump and Andrew Jackson

FILE - In this March 31, 2017 file photo, a portrait of former President Andrew Jackson hangs on the wall behind President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Trump made puzzling claims about Andrew Jackson and the Civil War in an interview recently. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
FILE - In this March 31, 2017 file photo, a portrait of former President Andrew Jackson hangs on the wall behind President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Trump made puzzling claims about Andrew Jackson and the Civil War in an interview recently. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

Could President Trump have negotiated away America’s Civil War?

To hear him tell it, someone should have. And maybe he, the great deal maker, could have. Sure.

Never mind that he hasn’t been able to get even the first piece of legislation through the House of Representatives, let alone the entire Congress.

But let’s not quibble.

What we’re talking about here is the Civil War. Or to be precise, the Civil War was what Trump was talking about in an interview last week with Washington Examiner reporter Salena Zito. We know what he said because excerpts of that interview were played Monday on Zito’s show on Sirius XM radio.