Heartland Politics with Robin Johnson

H.W. Brands: "No One Like Jackson Had Ever Been Elected (President)"

By Robin Johnson

Published December 19, 2025 at 11:00 PM CST

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Nationally-eminent historian H.W. Brands discusses his book, Andrew Jackson: His Like and Times, a timely topic since Jackson is one of president Trump's favorites. Brands discusses Jackson's upbringing that shaped his values as president, the "Corrupt Bargain" and the longest campaign for the presidency in 1828, Jackson's appeal to voters, his role in what Brands calls the beginning of American democracy and its first true test, and the similarities and differences between Jackson and Trump.

Heartland Politics with Robin Johnson

Robin Johnson

Robin A. Johnson is a governmental relations, public policy and political consultant. He is an expert on government reform issues and has consulted with numerous local governments on consolidation/merger, public-private partnerships and full-cost accounting of public services. Robin has also helped candidates win elections for the U.S. Senate, U.S. Congress, state legislature, judiciary and local government. Robin served as a consultant to the Office of Statewide Performance Review in the Illinois Governor’s Office and is former director of the Illinois Center for Competitive Government, a partnership between the Illinois Comptroller’s Office and the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs at Western Illinois University. Prior to that, he was Director of the Local Government Affairs Division of the Illinois Comptroller’s Office. Robin served on the Board of Directors of the National Council for Public-Private Partnerships (NCPPP) in 1999-2000.

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