Here are the top 7 reasons why the nation should be grateful to President Donald Trump:
- President Trump proved that it is possible for an “outsider” to become the nominee of a major party and get elected President. No one thought he could beat seasoned and well-funded Republican thoroughbreds like Governor Jeb Bush, Senator Marco Rubio, or Senator Ted Cruz. He proved everyone wrong by skillfully using the media and capturing the imagination of a large segment of the population who felt unappreciated and forgotten by both political parties.
- President Trump, once elected, probably delivered and followed through with his election promises more than any other president in recent history. This includes putting conservatives in the supreme court, reducing funding for abortion, and, yes, started building the wall aimed at reducing the entry of illegal immigrants.
- President Trump increased defense spending but did not get us into any new wars or put American troops in harm’s way. In fact, he has reduced substantially the number of American troops stationed abroad.
- President Trump has shown that he is not “owned” or “controlled” by anyone. He is truly his own Master. This is significant because all our political figures are beholden to some “interest groups” –business or political or sometimes both. The only curious deviation from this has been the President’s refusal to criticize or condemn any action of President Putin or Russia. Perhaps we will know the reason for this someday.
- President Trump articulated during his campaign that it is not a level playing field in international trade. Once president he acted by putting tariffs on Chinese goods or discontinuing easy access to the American market to several countries. Even though some of his actions were controversial or even counterproductive, he was right to question the fairness of many existing trade relationships. In fact, effectively he has strengthened the hand of the next President when he sits down with counterparts regarding trade, tariffs, and access to American markets and consumers.
- President Trump was able to draw attention to the USA’s reduced influence in the UN, WHO, and similar international agencies by his refusal to be the biggest donor indefinitely. While his unilateral withdrawal from Climate Accord was unwise, he forced other wealthy nations to contribute more.
- President trump’s policy of talking to anyone or going to meet any leader anywhere in the world may not be the advice of state department traditionalists but in its way, it heralded a different type of openness to dialog with our potential adversaries. It also became clear that he likes the “strongman” kind of leader personified by Putin, Kim Jong-un, or Bolsonaro of Brazil. On the contrary, he was uncomfortable with strong women like Chancellor Angela Merkel or Speaker Pelosi.
I do not want to stop here and leave everyone with the wrong impression of my political views. I strongly disagree with President Trump’s policy towards immigrants, his refusal to listen to any advice from anyone, his choosing to remain anchored to his base and essentially not even trying to be the President of “United” States of America, and his lack of empathy for the poor and unfortunate.
The saddest chapter of his presidency was his failure as a crisis manager during the worst pandemic in the last 100 years. Leading a country through crisis required honesty, transparency, and unity. He feared that the economy could collapse from the fear of COVID-19 and listened to his own political instincts more than the physicians/epidemiologists. In this case, he was wrong, and unfortunately, there was no one around him who could be honest with him. In the end, it was COVID-19 and sycophants surrounding him who contributed most to his election defeat.
Finally, President Trump less than distinguished himself by how he has conducted himself after the election loss. He has set the stage for continued division among large segments of the population. For that and other similar behavior, I am happy to say —goodbye President Trump and welcome citizen Trump. He will now experience the protection and liability given to all Americans.
Author: Faisal M Rahman, Ph.D. Founding Dean and professor, the Graham School of Management, Saint Xavier University, Chicago, IL 60611. Dr. Rahman is also President/CEO of APAC group of healthcare companies