From Jackson to McKinley: What Trump’s Shift of Presidential Hero Says About His Evolving Goals

WASHINGTON (AP) — In his first term, Donald Trump’s favorite president, other than himself, was Andrew Jackson, the hatchet-faced, self-made populist who relished turning Washington upside down. Now he’s partial to the barrel-chested, unfailingly polite William McKinley, a champion of American expansionism as well as of tariffs, Trump’s favorite second-term policy. Trump’s shift, rather than merely swapping one infatuation for another, demonstrates how his mindset and priorities have evolved. The Republican president's admiration for McKinley fits with his current politics, which are different from when Trump first took office in 2017. A key political target for Trump back then was…