How bad a President is Donald Trump? Is he a good but misunderstood President? Depending on your politics and where you get your news, he is dishonest, incompetent and perhaps insane, or he is the crafty businessman, courageous in reversing long-standing but counter-productive policies, and someone who has brought us three years of peace and prosperity. Where is the truth? How do you get people in each camp to a common vision of the President?
Taking on this perhaps impossible mission requires a willingness to set aside one’s political preferences, be as unemotional as possible, and research a few statistics. It’s not easy. Five minutes of discussion on impeachment can result in F-bombs and broken friendships. And it will only get worse as the House proceeds with impeachment proceedings this fall.
The question of assessing Trump is not an assessment of whether he committed “high crimes and misdemeanors” or criminal offenses. Rather, it involves looking at his record in a larger context and including things cited as evidence of a successful Presidency.
Here are a few things to consider:
Record low unemployment rates. Few would have imagined the current rate of 3.5 percent possible. For African Americans, it’s 5.5 percent, still too high, but a record low worth celebrating.
A healthy economy. The economy, as evidenced in a positive GDP growth and a robust stock market, is doing well for most of us. Some have been predicting a recession for the last two years, but it hasn’t come. Does Trump get the credit because of his tax and regulatory policies?
Trade. Perhaps in no other area has Trump broken more with his predecessors than in the area of trade. His efforts to address trade imbalances and protect American intellectual property are well documented. The fact that Bernie Sanders, among others, has suggested that something needs to be done to re-invigorate American industry tells you something. You may disagree with the trade war that has resulted and fear its long-term consequences, but it’s impossible to dismiss the fact Chinese imports are down.
Peace. While some may argue that as long as any U.S. troops are in harm’s way the country is not at peace, the fact is that no new wars have been initiated despite, and perhaps because of, Trump’s often belligerent tones with North Korea, Iran, and others. Teddy Roosevelt is praised for his “Speak softly but carry a big stick” foreign policy. Trump rarely speaks softly, but he is carrying a big stick and is perceived by adversaries as willing to use it.
Resetting America’s relationship with our allies. While some believe Trump is jeopardizing the long-standing relationships with allies like Germany, his call for NATO members to pay “their fair share” of the cost of the military alliance has produced results. Were allies like Germany and Japan taking American support for their defense for granted? If so, they are not doing that now.
Loss of World Leadership. America is no longer seen as a world leader by many of our allies. The best example is the withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accords. If you believe climate change is a global threat, withdrawal from this agreement, whatever its flaws, must be seen as a negative. In addition, Trump’s practice of making world-impacting decisions unilaterally has hurt.
Undermining civility in political debate. For this one, there are more than a thousand actions that may be cited as evidence. Should Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff be tried for treason? Should Mitt Romney be impeached? Should any President use foul language at rallies or anywhere else?
Racism. Is calling Mexicans rapists and criminals evidence of racism? What about enhanced immigration policies? Please note that some view the restrictive immigration policies as a positive, does anyone really support splitting up families and some of the other harsh practices documented in the last two years on the border?
Appointment of incompetent or corrupt officials to public offices. Pruitt, Perry, Carson, Ross and DeVos, are but five examples. There are dozens more. And are you okay with nepotism?
Unstable executive leadership. No, despite claims by some to the contrary, I’m not talking about Trump himself. Rather, it’s the endless resignations, firings, and acting appointments to dozens of positions, including 2 of 15 cabinet offices, and 11 others to senior appointments, including the director of OMB and National Intelligence, as well as the President’s own chief of staff. Why can’t this administration vet officials before appointing them?
Russia. Is Russia our friend or ally? While proof of their interference in the 2016 elections is dispositive, Trump has appeared beholden to Putin. What is going on?
The National Debt. Did Trump let the National debt get “out of control?” The $22.6 trillion National Debt is indeed increasing, notwithstanding campaign promises to the contrary, but Trump is arguably no worse than other recent Presidents. Clinton, aided by a strong economy, is an exception.
Private inurement. The allegation is that Trump is using the Presidency for his personal gain. This allegation is supported by the military using one of his golf resorts in Ireland during refueling stops and, of course, the Trump International Hotel in Washington. Are these things illegal? That is currently under investigation/resolution. Until then, the jury is out.
Corruption. Some argue Trump is no more corrupt than the Clintons, Obama, or, most recently, Joe Biden. Do two wrongs make a right?
Tweeting. Trump’s tweets are hated by many but, in fact, represent a new chapter in Presidential transparency. Although his writings are highly selective, few would argue that this President speaks more to the American public, and more directly, than any President before him.
Supreme Court nominees. The bruising battle over Judge Kavanaugh is now behind us but calls for his impeachment continue. Depending on your politics, you will like or dislike Trump’s two appointments to date. Both have proven to be exactly what he promised, conservative votes on the Nation’s highest court.
Okay, so where does this leave us? For this writer, the negatives far outweigh the positives. Despite the positives, the negatives, most of them resulting from Trump’s volatility, disdain for expert advice, racism, and his New York real estate world view, render him a disaster. More importantly, I fear what Trump may do in coming months as the impeachment process proceeds.
We live in troubled times. Trump’s problems are not going away. It will get worse. Stay tuned.
J.E. Dean of Oxford is a retired attorney and public affairs consultant. He is a former counsel to the House Committee on Education and Labor. For more than 30 years, he advised clients on federal education and social service policy.
Deirdre LaMotte says
I am sick and tired of false equivalency. The incompetence, corruption and self dealing in this administration is the worst this country
has seen. If people with dubious reasons, they don’t care or they financially benefit, wish to overlook such malfeasance…that is sickening.
But please don’t try to equivocate . What we need are better citizens who really care about this nation and its Constitution.
Michael H C McDowell says
Well said. This article beggars belief. The Tooth Fairy must have done an early draft! Virtually every single day now brings another appalling criminal or indefensible action revealed about or rejoiced in by this dangerous fool Trump. And sadly, District 1 is represented by Trump’s premier pathetic defender, Andy Harris, an embarrassment to the district and to the State of Maryland. A hard right enabler of Trump, a one time deficit “hawk” now turned deficit poodle, and shill for neo-fascist strongman of Hungary, Harris’s favorite, Viktor Orban. A “doctor” who pretended to back protection of pre-existing conditions, when all he has done for years is wanted to destroy the ACA. Those who vote for him and Trump — including farmers hit by Trump’s lunatic tariffs on their crops, while we, the taxpayers are bailing them out — need to wake up and show some moral backbone and economic sense. Harris has never been a committee chair, never held a leadership position even within the “Freedom” (not) Caucus, and counts for nothing even more so now that he is in a minority. Instead all he sends out are mendacious press releases claiming he brought by money for this and that and which he had nothing to do with. It was the US government or Congress which supplied the money. Time for an independent redistricting commission for Maryland to get Harris out, and yes the Democratic machine should be ashamed of creating a district which Harris always wins because of the utterly skewed arithmetic. Harris drones on about the private sector doing better and more than the public sector when he has been at the public trough now for decades. His hypocrisy is only rivaled by Trump. Donald Trump: con artist and stiffer of small contractors, multiple bankrupt, serial sexual predator and assaulter, habitual liar, vulgarian extraordinaire, ignoramus, racist, bigot, betrayer of our allies and friend of our enemy Putin, an American Mussolini who couldn’t run a booze up in a brewery and who puts his inept family members and in-laws into government to play “experts” when each is as arrogant a fool as Trump is. As for his “economic record”, this is risible — he benefited from the Obama recovery and the GOPer ideologues like Harris loathed the bank rescue, etc. The sheer gall. And the rich pay less than the working class. FACTS. Roll on impeachment and roll on the elections on Nov. 2020 for the White House and the Senate and the House. Hope springs eternal.
John Dean says
Deidre and Michael: Thank you for commenting. I wrote this piece as part of my long effort to understand why anyone would support Trump. As I indicate at the end of the piece, I consider him to be “a disaster.” I look forward to the post-Trump era. Thus, I hope you will let me push back on condemnations of false equivalencies or the suggestion that the tooth fairy did my first draft (if she did, I would have acknowledged that).
In looking forward to the elections, I personally believe it is dangerous to dismiss Trump without trying to understand something of what led to his election (and please know I believe the election was stolen). If Democrats don’t better understand what is still causing over 40 percent of the country to oppose removing Trump from office, they increase their risk of losing in 2020.
Let me also say that the limits of an op-ed do not permit the type of in-depth review of issues that is optimal. Some of the other comments note statistics or corrections that are important, in particular on trade. I welcome these corrections.
Bob Moores says
Dear Mr. Dean,
My comments on your analysis:
Low unemployment. Yes, it is to Trump’s credit that he has continued the pace of reduced unemployment that Obama took from ten percent to five percent.
The economy. I guess we should take solace that our economy has not gotten worse under Trump, but the wage gap between the haves and have-nots is as wide as ever.
The trade war. Do you think it’s to Trump’s credit that Chinese imports are down? Is it also to his credit that our exports to China are also down, that our farmers have to be subsidized by American taxpayers to partially offset their losses? Both American Chinese consumers are the victim of this ill-conceived trade war. Correcting the trade balance with China is a good objective, but I think a diplomatic solution would have caused a lot less pain on both sides. I agree that China and other countries must be discouraged from stealing our intellectual property and cyber-attacking us. Keep the playing field level and fair.
Peace. Too soon to feel good about peace. Think Iran. And abandoning the Kurds, our chief ally in Syria against ISIS, is a cruel double-cross which will only serve to tell our friends (if any remain) that you can’t trust America.
Resetting our relationships with our allies. I think it was needed, but the manner in which it was done was playground bully-crude.
Loss of world leadership. We still lead, as before, as carrier of the biggest stick and having the largest economy. Doesn’t that keep us world leader? Yes, unless you include the moral component.
Undermining civility in political debate. No disagreement here. Incivility and crudity are hallmarks of our president.
Racism. I hoped Obama’s election was a sign of improvement in race relations. Then we go elect a bigot. Go figure.
Corruption (draining the swamp). I’ve been following politics for decades, and I submit that the D.C. swamp in the Trump era has doubled or tripled in depth.
Unstable executive leadership. Recall Trump’s claim that “I only pick the best people”? If these are the best people, why is the turnover rate higher than I have ever seen? Why are so many of his associates in jail, under indictment, or under investigation for corruption?
Russia. See my OpEd on the Russian connection. Trump/Putin is not normal.
The national debt. Trump has increased it by $2.8 trillion so far. The effect is invisible to most Americans because a) the effect is not immediately felt and b) they can’t see that the interest we pay on the debt, currently about 7% of revenues received, results in seven percent less services we get from our government.
Emoluments. There are several lawsuits currently in process alleging Trump has violated the emoluments clause of the Constitution by not placing his assets in a blind trust, holding meetings for foreign diplomats at his resorts, and having air force pilots stay at his property at Turnberry, Scotland while refueling.
Tweeting. I give Trump credit for realizing the power of Twitter – direct communication with Americans, unfiltered by media bias. It is only his bias that comes through.
Supreme court nominees. The president has the right to install judges of his choice.
A few categories you didn’t mention:
Division of our people. My younger brother voted for Trump. I voted for Clinton (I would have preferred better choices). We used to discuss politics. Now, because we want to retain our loving relationship, we have agreed that politics is off limits. I’ve never seen this situation before. Reminds me of brother fighting brother in the Civil War. Democrats and journalists are the enemy. Trump is president of some of the people, not all of the people. The sad thing is that the division of which I speak seems to be Trump’s plan, his strategy for being re-elected. No matter how many times he hugs our flag, the show is really about him. It’s all about him.
Where is Trump’s leadership on gun violence, health care, infrastructure rebuilding, and climate change? The answer seems to be that he has only so much energy, and after spending it all trying to avoid being kicked out of office he has no energy (or will) to tackle anything else.
Mr. Dean, you sound like a good man and a patriot, probably more fair-minded than me. Thanks for your perspective.
Deirdre LaMotte says
It isn’t that Trump has “no energy “ to tackle climate change and gun violence. He and his Republicans in Congress are owned by the
NRA and the fossil fuel industry, period. This is who dictates their policies . Unfortunately, as cynical as this sounds it is the
situation we as a nation are in. As I’ve said, our country needs better citizens: Citizens who take the time and learn the issues not the
Rubert Murdock propaganda spewed daily on Fox. Our nation sorely needs informed and well intentioned people to vote, serve in Congress, and run for President.
John Dean says
Mr. Moores: Thank you for your thoughtful comments. You make a number of important points, which were beneficial for me to read.
emily l Massey says
The question are we seeing the end of the USA as a world power.
John Dean says
Ms. Massey: Thank you for raising this important question. I would answer “no,” but I believe significant damage gas been done. Examples are quitting the climate accords and the recent abandonment of an ally in Syria. I am hopeful that once Trump leaves office a rebuilding process will take place and succeed.
James Nick says
Re: “You may disagree with the trade war that has resulted and fear its long-term consequences, but it’s impossible to dismiss the fact Chinese imports are down.”
From: https://www.statista.com/chart/15419/the-us-trade-balance-with-china/ Posted 19 August 2019
“… But how has Donald Trump’s confrontational attitude affected trade with China? For many years, China has sold more to the U.S than vice versa, resulting in a U.S. trade deficit with China. In fact, that trade deficit has been growing larger despite the sanctions (and retaliatory measures that were taken). The H1 2019 balance is already at US$-222 billion in favor of China opposed to US$-375 billion for the full year of 2018, with the holiday quarter still ahead…”
With two exceptions, no matter which trajectory of major macroeconomic indicators you care to examine (eg, unemployment, GDP, trade), no discernible inflection point has occurred during the current administration to indicate trump’s trade and tax policies have resulted in any significant positive improvement in our economy. The two negative exceptions are the size of the national debt and deficit and in wealth inequality. Where President Obama inherited a global economic train wreck from Bush II, trump has been coasting on the tailwind of the strong economy that he inherited.
John Dean says
Mr. Nick: Thank you for this informative comment. I agree with you that “no discernible inflection point has occurred during the current administration to indicate trump’s trade and tax policies have resulted in any significant positive improvement in our economy.” Thank you for contributing to the discussion, including where you point out limitations/deficiencies in what I wrote.
Mark Douglas says
Found this while doing research on who to vote for and its..clearly bias. The premise is that its going to be an objective pros and its simply not. Disappointing
Jovan Shire says
Can you site your sources? One of the main problems in these debates are “what’s the source?” The information in this page is definitely useful, but with proper citations this will without a doubt be the go-to for info on Trump’s presidency.
Trish Aherne says
3.5 percent unemployment in August 2020? Only if that’s a number you’re multiplying by at least 4.
Ash says
This was written in October before Trump REALLY REALLY REALLY showed his ugly side. It’s a good article but I really wonder how it would be written today!
Robyn Spencer says
Is there an updated piece?
Pamela Smith says
What is your summation now as it is September 16th, 2020