Gerry F. Bowles: Trump’s rise not unprecedented

Donald J. Trump’s phenomenal rise to the brink of the presidency of the United States brings to mind two remarkably similar candidates from our not too distant history. Candidates who, like Trump, were celebrities outside the political arena, who, like Trump, had no lack of either charisma or ego, and who, like Trump, promised to turn the tired, corrupt old system on its ear in no time and to make things “great again.”

Any North Carolinians who are undecided about Trump at this point should look up the records of former Gov. Jesse Ventura of wrestling and Minnesota fame, and former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, of the great debt-free state of California.

The parallels of their rise to political stardom and that of Trump are startling. And the results they produced? See for yourselves.

This story was originally published October 3, 2016 at 8:42 PM with the headline "Gerry F. Bowles: Trump’s rise not unprecedented."