Editorial: Rather than shake the D.C. establishment, Trump brings chaos
Tuesday, June 6, 2017 -- Governing by tantrum is not leadership. It childish and it needs to stop. We need a grown-up in the Oval Office.
Posted — UpdatedPresident Donald Trump shouldn’t be concerned about leaks to news reporters painting a portrait of disarray in his still-young administration.
All he needs to do is read his own Tweets, watch the evening news, read the headlines in a newspaper or talk to his staff.
This is no “fake news” – it’s governmental chaos. It is no way to run a nation. It needs to stop.
This wasn’t how things were supposed to be. When he was campaigning, then-candidate Trump promised something very different and many Trump voters backed him to get an outsider in office and bring change to Washington.
Sure, there might be some rough edges. So what if a few feathers got ruffled. Trump was a “winner” and a “deal-maker.” He promised to build respect for the nation, produce jobs for the middle class, put a stop to the squabbling in the nation’s capital and make sure everyone would get health insurance (or at least no one who had it would lose it).
Almost five months into his presidency and Trump is an embarrassment to himself, his family and the country. The nation is smaller in the world’s eye. Sadly, there is no sign of relief.
Just this weekend after the terrible tragedy in London, instead of offering words of sympathy and support to the mourning city and Great Britain (the United States’ most steadfast ally after the 9-11 attacks), Trump took to Twitter to unfairly belittle the Muslim mayor of London and spread unconfirmed and inaccurate information he picked up in “The Drudge Report.”
And in his first public comment about the attack Trump himself disseminated unconfirmed information from an unofficial source: The Drudge Report.
This is no way to run a country – particularly the only nation on the planet in a position to calm global jitters and build effective coalitions to address the threats of terrorism, climate change and the economic uncertainty faced by families all over the world – including the United States.
Although it’s totally against his nature, President Trump needs to acknowledge that things are seriously off track. The country needs a “re-set,” and it needs to come from the top.
There’s no magic to getting an administration back on track – just a bit of humility and willingness to do the right things.
For President Trump, those things include:
- Get the family out of the government. They are causing more distraction than action.
- Release the income tax returns. Americans need to be assured that their interests come first in the administration, not those of the Trump business empire.
- Stop Tweeting, stop contradicting White House spokespeople. If the communications staff can’t get the word out, fire them and find some folks who can. The world become less safe and presidential stature is diminished with each posting of 140 letters of gibberish.
- Clean house in the administration. No one is perfect and there are bad hires. Good managers recognize their mistakes and correct them. Get rid of the bad apples now.
These concerns are not about Democrats and Republicans or conservatives and liberals. They are simply about good government.
President Trump, governing by tantrum is not leadership. It is childish and it needs to stop. We need a grown-up in the Oval Office. Now.
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