The following article by Kenneth T. Walsh was posted on the U.S. News website October 6, 2017:
President Trump’s cycle is clear: announce a goal, then back off to let others do the work.
The pressures on every president are relentless and inescapable. Presumably Donald Trump is learning this basic fact about his job as he enters the most crucial period of his first year in office.
Americans want their president to be commander in chief, policymaker, healer, innovator, protector, role model, celebrity, administrator and empathizer. Trump has never needed to show most of these qualities before, and it’s unclear whether he can do so now.
So far, Trump has excelled as a disrupter who wants to shatter the norms of Washington. His job-approval ratings are poor, hovering below 40 percent, indicating that while his approach may satisfy core supporters who want him to turn Washington upside down, the rest of the country isn’t pleased.
Trump isn’t a detail man. Throughout his careers in business and politics and during his presidency, he has floated above the landscape of specifics and set general directions. He attempts to sell his ideas to the country as a showman with a proclivity for hyperbole that borders on deception and sometimes crosses into falsehood. His goal, above all, is to score
Now Trump’s it’s-all-about-me approach is being tested as never before as he copes with a new wave of crises, political battles and tragedies. They include improving the initially sluggish government response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. Trump’s effort to console victims of the horrendous shootings this week in Las Vegas. The Republican Party’s effort to cut taxes as the signature Trump initiative of 2017, since he failed to win congressional approval of any major legislation including the repeal and replacement of former President Barack Obama’s health care law. Trump is also dealing with the fallout of his inflaming of divisions over the protests by athletes during the national anthem at National Football League games.
Potentially most dangerous is the war of words between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as the Pyongyang regime continues to threaten both its neighbors and the United States by developing nuclear weapons and the missiles to deliver them.
Trump’s pattern is clear. He dramatically announces a goal, dominating the news and becoming the center of attention, then backs off and leaves working out the details to others. He declares any success as his own achievement and portrays any failure or setback as someone else’s fault. In short, Trump fans the flames and then lets others fight the fire. He may be creating more chaos than he bargained for and fostering an out-of-control atmosphere which makes most Americans very nervous.
“It’s the chickens coming home to roost,” former Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin told The Washington Post, referring to Trump’s stance on tax cuts. “This operating style I don’t think serves the process very well, and I think he got trapped into it by not being specific enough on the campaign.” Holtz-Eakin advised Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., during his 2008 presidential bid.
In dealing with Puerto Rico, Trump is playing defense in reacting to dramatic media reports of a slow federal response to the storm, which killed at least 34 people, destroyed many homes and created huge shortages of food, water, electricity, medical supplies and essential services. But Trump bragged about his administration’s efforts. He told reporters the government response was a “miracle.” And, on a visit to Puerto Rico Tuesday, he patted first responders and himself on the back for dealing with the crisis effectively and efficiently and blamed the media for creating negative and false impressions of the relief effort.
On tax cuts, Trump encouraged congressional Republican leaders to work out a bill during the past several weeks while the president remained vague on the provisions he would accept. As of now, much of the tax package remains unclear, such as how much it would balloon the deficit and who would benefit the most from the proposed tax cuts.
Regarding the NFL, Trump set off a firestorm when he denounced as “sons of bitches” the athletes who kneel during the national anthem to protest racism and policy brutality against African-Americans. Many critics, including some athletes and team owners, said Trump was being too divisive and insensitive. And many wondered whether he made a mistake by giving the protesting athletes vast publicity and calling attention to their cause.
Trump is also learning that it’s not always easy to keep talented staff at his side. A number of key aides have left the administration – fired or forced to resign – including, most recently, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price. He left because of severe criticism of his use of military and private aircraft on trips funded by the taxpayers. The departures have added to a sense of instability surrounding Trump.
Trump offered a few moments of uplift this week, notably in his dignified and somber speech after the horrific attack by a lone gunman in Las Vegas that left nearly 60 concert-goers dead and hundreds wounded. But such a positive approach is not Trump’s natural way. As a rule, he prefers confrontation and attack to comity and unity.
Many Americans are looking for a kinder, gentler side in their president during the long term. Whether Trump can give it to them remains to be seen.
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