After three years of President Trump’s leadership style, people are still confused by it.
When President Obama was elected, many found him refreshing because he ushered in the age of reality and pragmatism.
Many people loved the fact that he told it like it was. He called it as he saw it. For example, Obama’s 2013 budget declared “In the 21st Century, real GDP growth in the United States is likely to be permanently slower than it was in earlier eras…” In 2016, he famously said some automotive industry jobs “are not going to come back.”
While there’s certainly an element of pessimism, it was more about being realistic about what the current numbers say about right now. There was a segment of our population who thought it was good for a politician to be honest, as they saw it.
Trump’s understanding of the job is much different than Obama’s. Obama always let us know that there would be pain or struggle. He was clear that things are changing, and you shouldn’t have your hopes up. There was nothing inspirational or uplifting about his presentation.
Meanwhile, Trump sees that one of the core traits of a good President is cheerleading. People respond well to optimism and inspiration. Time and again, Americans have proven that they can overcome anything. We’re up to whatever challenge we face, and we’ll face it head on.
Many people cite all of the times President Trump has said we’ll beat coronavirus or that things are getting better as examples that he’s out of touch or lying.
What they don’t understand is that President Trump lives squarely in the heart of the possible. Every challenge he presents comes with belief in this country’s ability to win or overcome. I think he is used to getting what he wants when he decides he wants something.
Unfortunately, to many people, that’s considered wrong.
Personally, I find that we need more inspiration in this country. We’ve won wars, overcome pandemics, conquered space, and defeated many diseases nearly out of existence.
Under Obama-style leadership, we would have just accepted that those things are here and a part of life, so we should accept them. But under Trump’s leadership, we can win any war, overcome any disease, and accomplish anything we decide to pursue.
Sure, there are definitely times when his optimism appears to be unfounded. But Trump understands if we’re going to progress, we need to believe and realize our true potential. We have to have the determination and resilience. We must understand that failures almost always come before success.
It’s just my speculation, but I think were Obama our President during coronavirus, we’d just have to accept that it’s here and hide out until it goes away.
Me? I’ll take Trump’s optimism and creative problem solving any day. Even if it comes with a few misses now and again.
Comments (0)