Though in many ways the most unusual US president ever elected, both in experience and in character, Donald Trump is not entirely sui generis. This article strives to show that in some respects he is in the American tradition, as evidenced by his continuity with some classic American literary works. Characteristics which Trump shares with the American literary tradition include religiosity; egalitarianism, and its corollaries including anti-expertise, braggadocio, self-assurance and self-reliance; insularity and xenophobia; and American exceptionalism.