Amna Nawaz
@PBSNewsHour·5.3M subscribers·62.2K videos
How Lincoln would navigate today’s politics
Posted
February 16, 2026
Views
21,765
Likes
443
Engagement
2.04%
February 16, 2026
21,765
443
2.04%
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29:03Now PlayingAuthor and historian Matthew Pinsker has spent much of his professional life devoted to Abraham Lincoln. In his substack, “What would Lincoln do?” and his latest book, “Boss Lincoln,” Pinsker examines how Lincoln became a master at building political coalitions long before he became president, abolished slavery and held our fragile union together. Pinkser talks with Geoff Bennett about why Lincoln’s legacy is now more important than ever.
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Lincoln is the greatest president
Party leadership requires putting party before self
Partisanship serves essential democratic function
Slavery as political wedge issue dividing parties
Moderate strategy more effective than radical abolition
Lincoln required Republicans to oppose slavery
Lincoln was solitary decision-maker and demanding leader
Democracy requires faith despite disagreement
Constitutional limits on majority power prevent anarchy
Lincoln would view January 6 as insurrection
Lincoln would see January 6 rioters as misguided Americans
Lincoln's amnesty was conditional unlike Trump's pardons
Trump's blanket pardon differs from Lincoln's conditional amnesty
Trump lacks Lincoln's respect for presidential office
Lincoln fired cabinet members and made independent decisions
Telegraph's communication leap exceeded modern internet impact
Modern media consumption impairs political reflection
Lincoln balanced demanding leadership with forgiveness
Democracy requires faith in elections over violence
Lincoln faced gravest presidential challenge and saved republic
Lincoln ignored cabinet advice to save the union
Historical analogies inspire toward better nature
Younger generation prefers radical Douglass over pragmatic Lincoln
Modern politics rewards polarities over incrementalism
Great leadership requires thick skin and persistence
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