As we all know, Donald J. Trump is currently busy making his mark on the modern world. Hardly a day passes in which the news cycle doesn’t include a rundown of his latest adventures.

For better or worse, he is pursuing his agenda with enthusiasm and a sense of urgency not seen since perhaps FDR at the beginning of his first term.

Some call it destiny; Trump was meant to be. I believe his rise to power was predicated on an exceptional set of cultural, political, and economic circumstances unique to our era.

Which got me to wondering. Would Trump have been as successful had he lived earlier in our nation’s trajectory? Would his distinctive brand have appealed to previous generations? How would his approach to leadership potentially have changed the course of history.

It’s certainly something to think about. If Trump had been involved in our collective history, how might things have been different in our country? Or the world?

For example, what if Trump had been at the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Can’t you just hear him say, “Hancock thinks he’s got such a great signature. What a loser. Let me show you what a real signature looks like!”

School kids today would probably be learning his was the most famous signature on that sacred document.

Similarly, what if, instead of George Washington, Trump had been commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. I can almost hear him now: “Benedict, I’m putting you in charge of West Point. Some people are telling me not to trust you, but nobody is a better judge of character than me.”

Speaking of Washington, how might things have turned out differently if Trump had been our first president?

“You want me to be your king? I accept. You know, I alone can make the United States great. That crazy idea you guys had about electing a president every four years will never work.”

Moving on to the Civil War, just imagine how the outcome might have been different had Trump been president instead of Lincoln.

“Free the slaves? Have you lost your mind? Do you realize how much they are saving us in labor costs. And anyway, if they didn’t want to be slaves, they shouldn’t have come to this country.”

Then there was the Great Depression. What if, instead of FDR, Trump had been there to navigate us through the worst economic crisis the world has ever seen?

“Use government funds to help people survive hard times? I don’t think so. What kind of a deranged idea is that? It’s the immigrants’ fault anyway. If they weren’t in this country illegally, there would be plenty of jobs for everyone. So instead of massive building projects, I’m going to focus on massive deportations.”

And consider what those legendary fireside chats would have been like with Trump: “Be afraid. Be very afraid.”

Next, what if Trump had been president during World War II.

“I like the emperor of Japan. We get along great. He even sent me a nice letter. My intelligence people tell me he may be planning a sneak attack, but when I asked him about it, he said no. So relax.”

Moreover, consider how Trump might have negotiated the end of World War II.

“Look, Winston, Adolf said he’d stop bombing your country if you gave him Scotland. Sounds reasonable to me. Do you want this war to end or not? Just give him Scotland or don’t expect to get any more help from us. And anyway, I still don’t know why you started this war in the first place.”

Moving into my lifetime, remember the Cuban missile crisis? JFK arguably prevented World War III. How do you think Trump would have handled it?

“Blockade? That’s ridiculous. They are only talking about a few ‘intermediate’ range missiles. And by-the-way, Khrushchev, who is a really smart guy, said they would name the missile base in my honor. So let their ships through!”

Yes, things might have turned out differently if Trump had been born in a different era. Luckily, we get to experience him in the present.

We should all be grateful.

— Aaron W. Hughey is a university distinguished professor in the Department of Counseling and Student Affairs at Western Kentucky University.