Associated Press President Donald Trump meets with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during the United Nations General Assembly, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, at the UN headquarters. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

As America celebrates its 250th anniversary of declared independence this year, citizens turn their thoughts to George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and … Benedict Arnold?

Arnold, an ambitious young military officer in the Continental Army, won military victories for America that no one else had achieved, through his sheer tenacity and audacity to win — very much like President Trump’s assertive policies in his first term. But also like Trump, Arnold’s self-aggrandizement did not win the universal praise he craved.…