In this op-ed, I examine similarities between President Donald Trump and P.T. Barnum (1810-1891), both entertainment moguls and public figures, as well as icons of populism, capitalism, and democracy. As Barnum biographer Terence Whalen notes, he “inflicted himself upon a surprisingly willing public in a wide variety of roles” and “embodied all that was grand and fraudulent in American mass culture.”
Read more in the Hartford Courant.
Jennifer Tucker is a historian who studies the interrelations of art and science, photography, and mass visual culture, with a specialization in 19th to mid-20th century British, U.S., and trans-Pacific history. The common threads in her diverse research fields are the dynamics of visual media in modern history, the nature of evidence, public perceptions and practices of history, and the interrelationships of science, technology, and the law.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision in US v Rahimi upholding a law banning domestic abusers from accessing firearms, Jennifer Tucker provided analysis of the decision and its impact on CNN. The 8-1 ruling in the Read more…
Writing in CNN Opinion, Jennifer Tucker reflects on the conviction in criminal court of a mother, Jennifer Crumbley, charged with manslaughter in connection with the mass shooting committed by her teenage son at an Oxford, Read more…
Amidst the recent resignation of National Rifle Association (NRA) executive vice president and CEO Wayne LaPierre, Jennifer Tucker has written an op-ed in CNN exploring the long-time leader’s personal legacy and the future of the Read more…
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