@WarnerCrocker history loves reboots. I think it may at least partly be due to the human tendency to model themselves onto "great" (influential, not "good") historical figures, in order to justify their claims, actions, and ideologies.
I'm not at all comparing any of them to the current situation but just look at how many western nation builders love to model themselves either the roman empire (HRE, Great Britain, even the Russian Empire) or the roman republic (French republic, USA).