There have been editorials written on this topic since the day he was inaugurated. Being that it is finally coming to an end, I figured I would provide my two cents on how I think Trump’s presidency will be read in the history books 15–30 years from now.
There are those who have said the immense amount of scandal over the last four years is what would define his presidency. Some have said that the way he turned the GOP into a conspiracy cult will define these four years. Others have said it would be defined by the cruel way the administration locked up migrant children. Then, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, nearly everyone said his failure to respond to it properly would define it.
In the short-term, his failure to respond to the pandemic in a timely fashion is the paramount issue that ultimately led to his defeat. But in my view, the overall picture is actually far simpler than that. As time goes on, people tend to forget nuances. But there was one memorable, over-arching theme in his presidency, and that was the way he conducted himself. That includes the immense amount of lying, the midnight gibberish tweets, the incessant golfing, the real-time blooper reels from whenever he was at summits with foreign leaders, and other various speeches and appearances with material that wrote itself for Saturday Night Live to have a field day with. Those things are what will define his presidency. (By the way, fewer people would be bothered by Trump’s excessive golf habit if he had not spent the entirety of 2016 constantly bashing Obama for golfing too much. A small video compilation can be found here — and that does not even account for half of the times he hypocritically complained about it)
Now, I will discuss something everybody is already aware of. If we are being generous, Donald Trump is unable to speak above a third-grade level. He lacks the basic ability to form and write coherent sentences. To the educated world, it is an embarrassment.
If you have read my other extensive piece on Trump (here), I consistently spoke more about Trump’s poor behavior and lack of character, rather than policy matters. That is because character is a defining trait. A willfully ignorant, fraudulent, immoral 74-year-old manchild does not paint a pretty picture for historians to look back at.
Critics of my assessment would say, “But look at the progress with North Korea! But look at the stock market! Look at unemployment!”
And I am not some liberal that will not give credit where credit is due. Presidents are allowed to take credit for the economy they inherit and/or build. I get all that. I really do. But you must understand that those things are incredibly short-term. Like Trump, Kim Jong Un is erratic. When it comes to economic accomplishments, presidents are lucky if they get a paragraph or two about their economic accomplishments in the history textbooks. Why? Because 99% of 8th graders do not usually give a damn’ about those sorts of things. (For the record, I was part of that 1% that did take interest in aspects of economics at that age, but I digress.)
The approval rating of nearly every president that has ever served has always increased in the years following their time in office. That is another precedent that I believe will be broken by Trump. It will either stay stagnant or go down further, as the veil over these last four years is removed over time.
The bottom line is, no matter how much time passes, Trump will be never be viewed favorably. His incredibly fragile ego, the incendiary remarks, the unprecedented use of the office for personal gain, the involvement of his family members and crooked friends in every aspect of the administration, and his overall lack of competence will forever remain a blood orange stain on American history.
