Issue 28.17
I made a promise to my readers that I would review the performance and give my opinion of President Trump after his first six months in office. I felt that would give me the time to see what he actually would do rather than just responding to all the rhetoric from his supporters and detractors. I will say this – he inspires passion, positive and/or negative in most people. Next week on the 20th of July, he will have been in office for six months.
I am finding it difficult to give much of a positive or negative review at this point, but I will share some observations that are simply what I see and a little of what concerns me moving forward.
At this point, President Trump has failed at creating a coalition of legislators that can help him pass the legislation he wants to pass. Many Republicans don’t trust him, and many Democrats don’t want to appear like they are supporting anything he does. Even his good ideas (and I believe there are some) have gained little traction. He has not yet figured out that, in general, politicians are most interested in whether or not their actions will get them re-elected and somewhat less interested in what would actually serve the country, the people and our future.
In the business world, his approach of deal-making, bluster and bullying those who get in his way is often successful. It would also work in a tyrannical or autocratic government such as those in Russia or China. Unfortunately for him, he has to work in what is arguably still a Representative (or Democratic) Republic where the representatives of the people actually create the laws and the President is responsible to enforce those laws.
He has angered many who might otherwise support at least some of his ideas. He has used heavy handed actions by bureaucratic fiat such as Executive Orders. He has also rescinded existing agreements without any preparation or thought as to how it will affect anyone except those who own corporations and the people who work for them. He has not prepared the public by educating them as to why he is doing what he is doing. As I mentioned in an earlier article, most of his actions have been legally defensible, but a number of them do not resonate as exhibiting morality or concern for the effect they will have on less advantaged (read non-corporate Americans), the environment or the future. He could take a lesson from Ronald Reagan who enacted broad changes after taking the time to get the people on his side before moving forward.
On the international front, he has been much more successful in his dialogues with world leaders than the left-leaning portions of the media portray or than many others thought he would be. His recent meeting with Vladimir Putin won him the grudging respect of not only Putin, but the press in other countries, even as he was denounced as ineffective and unprepared by our own press corps. The US press seems to have entered into a war with him that he seems bent on continuing.
Most of his prime initiatives are on hold or in danger of failure. The country is divided and acrimoniously so. There have been improvements in some areas and promise of better trade balances and international agreements that may be good. But that is not enough.
In summary, the perception is still clouded as to whether he will be a good, bad, or inconsistent and confused president. I believe he will mostly fail unless 1) he finds ways to help the citizens of this country understand and agree with what he wants to do and 2) he finds ways to lessen the tension politically between not only the parties, but the general public. If he continues to force his policies upon people through the bureaucracy, instead of teaching and convincing in order to bring a consensus, his presidency will be brief and his legacy will not be honored. Time will tell if he learns this important lesson.
Lynn West is a thinker, a teacher and a patriot. You can reach him through email at forgingthefuture2021@gmail.com or through this newspaper. Liberty is a state of being which must be continually created. These articles can help all of us discover the ways we can contribute to that outcome.