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Trump’s Failures, According to Trump Supporters
This is a thread for those of us who generally support Donald Trump and his presidency to discuss his failings. I would ask that Trump opponents please do not post here, since we already know what you dislike about the man.
I think it is important to document what we see as his mistakes so we can avoid them in the future.
One of the bigger failures in his COVID campaign was not letting scientists/physicians discuss scientific findings for him, since they can be precise and technical, while he is relaxed and acting as the everyman leader. This could have prevented a number of scandals. Also, have Fauci and company explain themselves better. The mask-or-not-to-mask flip-flop, excessive social regulations, and the excusing of protests destroyed public trust in public health.
He also missed the chance to push for long-lasting reforms, like destroying “certificate of need” rules.
Trump also massively failed in underestimating just how deep the swamp went. He ended up cycling through a lot of people needlessly – get the mass firing out of the way on day one.
Published in Politics
State governments did.
This requires legislation, which Lyin’ Ryan and McConnell’s gang would never allow.
That is the kindest interpretation of what they did. In this case it was naked partisan politics…(IIRC) completely antithetical to the law and modern practice in this Republic.
The provisions of the Kennedy executive order have long since been codified and would have required Congressional action to overturn. In any event, federal unions are largely toothless. They’re generally prohibited from bargaining over the number of employees. The real barriers to reducing government are the myriad of anti-discrimination appeal rights granted by Congress.
I was concerned when Trump was running in 2016 that he would find it very hard to put together a functioning government.
First, his executive leadership skills seemed nonexistent. The Trump Organization is huge, and he was only the face of the brand and idea guy. From what I could tell, he didn’t have much daily interaction with the internal workings of the organization.
Second, he launched his campaign by going after the older Republicans like the entire Bush family. I did not like that, and I am not surprised that he did not get their support. However, he actually did represent a solid half of the Republican Party who had lost confidence in 41 and 43. But that criticism of that wing of the party cut him off somewhat from potential leaders with whom to staff the various departments and agencies.
And third, he insulted the current bench of Republicans like Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, who eventually forgave him, but at the moment he was setting up his administration, were not thrilled with him and a little bit wary of him as president.
All of these factors made it difficult for him to create a barrier of people between him and the rest of the standing Washington bureaucracy.
The American Republicans, in their infinite wisdom, looking at the accumulated national debt and our disorganized foreign policy, our mounting problems with immigration, wanted an outsider. They got it in Donald Trump. He always connected to the Republican voters who put him there. He never created allegiances by flattering people within the bureaucracy.
One good thing about an older president like Reagan and Trump is that they have a better sense of time than younger leaders do. So they are impatient for change. I think that’s why he got so impatient with the CDC’s dragging out the pandemic controls. As a friend of my mom used to say, We live our life in chapters. People need to keep moving forward. And the pandemic controls have become a roadblock for so many people. That’s why Trump pursued treatment and prevention aggressively.
I became a fan of Donald Trump watching him respond to the pandemic. So I was late to the avidly pro-Trump group, but I’ll be in it for the rest of the my life. I think he did a fantastic job with the forces and people in play. I can’t help thinking the good Lord knows what’s ahead sometimes when we don’t, and Trump was the right person to be commanding this ship at this moment in world history.
Finally, I don’t think we can have it both ways–elect an outsider and expect him or her to work well with the established group in Washington. We wanted a bull in a china shop. We got it.
Chris Christie!? Obama’s pal?
This is exactly right. He made a ton of money simply leasing out his brand. This is a very weird way to make a living.
I never did think he had any big productivity executive ability beyond constructing buildings efficiently, which isn’t the same thing as normal business output. Even then, government is a completely different animal.
Trump never missed an opportunity to punch down on someone who irked him, making himself look small and petty and raising the stature of nobodies who would otherwise have been ignored. Too often he allowed personal slights, piques, and vendettas to distract him from sound arguments that could have brought more people to his side.
His base wanted a champion, and were willing to settle for a loud talking bully, and that’s what they got. But most people don’t like bullies. And most bullies back down when they’re challenged for real. Trump did a lot of that too during his tenure.
He let Schumer speak at his inauguration.
Yet, presumably, it was he who selected the actual operating managers, at least originally and at the top level.
I think Trump was old-school management like my dad and grandfather: hire the right man and leave him alone. I don’t think that Trump was ever deeply involved in the day-to-day operations of the Trump Organization. I say that because of number of other long-running projects he was engaged such as his reality shows and the number of books published under his name and his speaking engagements and his active personal life.
What I find amazing is that even in hindsight, even the learned sages of Ricochetti have not been able to compile a compelling list. The weaker advice has already been dealt with. Here is my response to the stronger advice.
…his constant Tweets…
– Without his direct line of communication, his message would have been filtered and distorted. Without making them entertaining, there would have been no audience. You can say, “there need not have been so much drama. The American people can handle a more dignified, measured, mature message.” To which I say, “Please support your assertion with evidence.”
…his ego …
– Some large part of the populace wants to see a competent man in charge. I don’t know if Trump has an ego that demanded he always be seen as the alpha dog but I do know that the people demanded an alpha dog.
…should have fired all political appointees in the Executive Branch within the first week…
– Looks good (to his base) in retrospect. Looks authoritarian in the moment.
Also, remember that Trump already had trouble getting his cabinet picks approved. Imagine the headlines if the senior staff were all missing and the departments started failing. Do you suppose, they would be blaming Schumer?
...public employee unions… revoked the Kennedy executive order
– The courts declared an executive order to be irrevocable that was two years old and illegal on day one. You think Trump would have won this fight?
(con’t)
…He understood way too late the need to go after Big Tech and Critical Race Theory.
– But if he had gone after them earlier, the public would not have understood the problem.
…spending money like drunken Democrats…
– Agreed. (especially counting entitlement obligations) but if Trump had campaigned on my priorities, he would have lost. If he had won, then governed on my priorities, he would been dishonest.
He spent too much.
He offered amnesty for the dreamers in exchange for funds for a wall in one of his earlier State of the Union addresses, but then he never brought it up again. He should have kept pushing for this.
He should have pushed school choice more, and worked at dismantling the Dept. Of Education.
He lacks focus and discipline. Both are yuge problems in leadership. I like that he is a fighter but he doesn’t know how to fight well. His post-election messaging was horrendous even though he probably was right. Even though there wasn’t any great way to handle the virus, his lack of focus and discipline made it worse. The media is obviously mostly to blame for much of the divisiveness in our society but he contributes to it in a negative way. Fighting everyone, over every slight, all the time is just stupid. I shake my head in disgust at the daily harping over what Rob Reiner, Cher, etc. are tweeting.
One example: John McCain’s faults are many and they are great. Yet Trump’s idiotic statements about his service were the lynch pin to keep Obamacare with us along with Trump’s stupid comment about the House Tea Party Caucus being “mean, mean” for wanting to end it cleanly. Just one ounce of discipline by Trump and McCain might’ve been as pliable as most of the rest of his vanquished foes became. That would’ve delivered the end of Obamacare. That would’ve given us gains in 2018 instead of the loss of the House. That would’ve ended all talk of impeachment…
I’ll gladly vote for him a 3rd time over any Democrat. However, I hope someone rises up to take over Trump’s platform (plus cutting the budget), without his faults. What I wouldn’t give for a boring sort like Calvin Coolidge today. I think that by 2024, most everyone will be very happy to have a boring candidate.
I was with you until you said this. I do not believe a boring Republican can win against today’s odds of media and big tech antipathy. A boring Democrat, as we have seen, has no problem.
I don’t agree with any of the “faults” you listed, especially regarding McCain, but leaving that aside, what makes you think they would treat any other republican candidate better? Still the biggest complaint against Trump is that he is racist, and all the real evidence points to the exact opposite. There is no one that will be treated better and they won’t even come close to breaking through the media filters to put out a message.
Exactly. This is why I’ve been droning on and on about the radical propaganda and censorship. It’s impossible to assess the degree to which any of his supposed personal faults are real, unique (as compared to the average), or even significant without acknowledging and assessing the propaganda. The idea that Trump should be a pariah while Biden is some kind of normal or acceptable makes this silliness plain when these people are compared side by side in just about any measure.
I think this is blaming the victim. It’s true, President Trump antagonized McCain, but it was John McCain who chose to put his ego above his promise and general good sense to vote against repeal. When my wife and I have a fight I don’t stop paying for my kids’ health insurance. When my neighbor angers me I don’t cut his brake line.
John McCain is terrible. I’ve said this before, and I will say it again. You cannot get anybody to explain in plain English how he moved the ball forward for libertarians and conservatives. Everybody in his orbit voted for Biden.
Yep. When he stood on the Senate floor, voted against repeal, and gave that thumbs down with a smirk on his face, that was a slap in the face to me and every voter since 2010 who was counting on the repeal of that onerous law. There were no shortage of media outlets and microphones willing to give him air time to trash Trump on TV, but McCain betrayed millions of Americans and negatively impacted our lives for years (perhaps decades) to come for personal payback. He was a petty, small man and I don’t miss him.
I always chuckled at the “maverick” label that was given to McCain. There was nothing brave, bold or unique about him.
I forget who said this, but I have never gotten worked up about RINOs as long as they don’t do a lot of damage. Some conservative said that was the way to look at it. I think he’s right. I normally never even think about it because they are better than Democrats. But all of those RINOs that had eight years to get ready to get rid of the ACA, and then did the exact opposite, can go to hell. It was like three senators and a 100 representatives. Why couldn’t they have just waited a year if they weren’t ready? The ACA is nothing but a scam to force single payer.
McCain had no principles except to have fun or something.
I tend to “break down” John McCain to separate his military service from his career as a politician.
As a politician (especially as a Presidential candidate) he was a disaster; as a pilot (and POW), I do not question his bravery.
I do. Tigers don’t change their stripes.
Disagree. Having a shoulder crushed with a rifle butt and bayoneted (along with the fractured arms and leg from the ejection) and then refusing to be repatriated; well, I’m not going to worry about his “stripes”.
De minimis. He was probably more afraid of his father’s or grandfather’s reaction if he accepted parole. Also, military law forbade it.
I’m old enough to remember that many of his peers didn’t have respect for him in the POW camp. He made propaganda videos, some say 32 of them. Nah, I won’t give him credit for anything.