Unfortunately, this article will be dismissed before it even begins, by Donald Trump fans with knee-jerk reactions. Their labeling of any Trump critic as having Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS), a popular label coined by his supporters early on.
I say “unfortunately” because contrary to popular belief, there is such a thing as unbiased criticism. Although I have written about Trump being one of the most polarizing Presidents in history… and nothing in the last 3 ½ years has convinced me otherwise… I remain steadfast in my position of praising Trump for the things he does right, while criticizing him for what he does wrong. As a rule, I normally stay away from extremist points of view.
Having established that disclaimer up front, I feel compelled to express one of my deepest desires regarding whoever eventually follows Trump as President of the United States (POTUS).
Regardless of party affiliation or anything else, I want the next POTUS to leave the different areas of expertise to those people qualified to speak on those topics. I want the next President to have the wisdom and temperament necessary to seek and assign the proper value to the advice of experts in the field. I want the next President to resist the urge to grab the podium in self-aggrandizement, and instead yield it to the true experts.
It is admittedly tough to keep a stiff upper lip and resist drifting over to the TDS camp, but resist I do, continuing to call out only those mistakes of a more critical nature. But Trump’s penchant for claiming expertise in all fields is difficult to miss or sweep under the rug, even for his most ardent fans, I would imagine.
A video montage on Twitter from last year shows Trump claiming expertise in nineteen different topics. It provides a telling glimpse into a major character flaw. Yet again… I am willing to overlook most of these as harmless. Harmless that is, until now that as President he undermines the true experts on critical topics.
His rants don’t even have to make sense, as clearly evidenced by the following video of this speech in December of last year.
Not only does his rant on windmills cause vicarious embarrassment, but he compounds the tragedy by attempting a little humor… which by the way is another area I would imagine he claims to dominate with his expertise.
Three months before that, Trump tried his hand at meteorology. When Hurricane Dorian had devastated Bahamas and was headed for Florida, Trump became fixated on insisting that Alabama was at risk, when the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (the real experts on the matter) had predicted nothing of the sort. Reportedly there was a bit of bullying and chart-doctoring by Trump during the whole “Sharpiegate” affair, as it has since been called.
Relatively harmless, Trump fans might say. But then along comes the COVID-19 pandemic, and who else but Trump, now self-proclaimed virology expert, initially dismissing the threat to the U.S. and insisting everything will be business as usual by Easter.
Trump’s tune has dramatically changed since then, but the damage has already been done. Most true experts in the field agree that the final statistics will be worse by the end of the crisis, than they would have been had the threat been taken more seriously from the very beginning.
Here’s the bottom line. Ego is an unavoidable part of the job of running the most powerful country in the world. But too much of it is incredibly damaging. Claiming expertise on everything… undermining those with the knowledge and responsibility to provide counseling and advice… coercing real experts to parrot his absurd pronouncements… None of this is even remotely defensible in the position of President. It is downright dangerous.
We need a leader. We have plenty of experts.
My response to the video: “Whaaaaa…???!!!”
Hahaha! And my response to your response is……… “EXACTLY.” Nothing but nonsensical blabbing. This clip alone should be enough to give people pause as to who exactly is sitting in the Oval Office right now. Thanks for your response, Vanessa.