Trump: Managers vs. Commanders

Who Knew Trump Would Be a Weak President?

It’s a little early to say he’s totally ineffective [according to the left, Trump is the embodiment of Hitler when he succeeds or weak and incompetent when he doesn’t], but I predicted this months ago (even as early as February), calling Trump more of a ‘manager’ than a commander or a leader. But also, the tripartite style of government and resistance from Congress is also a hindrance. The job of manager is to oversee things, to make sure the wheels aren’t falling off, but otherwise is somewhat detached. A McDonald’s chain manager doesn’t care if people like McDonald’s more than Taco Bell or Burger King or if McDonald’s is ‘having a positive impact on the world’, but only that the restaurants that he oversees are well-kept and aren’t crawling with bugs and that employees aren’t stealing money from the till and such. Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, and Elon Musk are the opposite, who have a ‘vision’ and leave much of the managing to underlings. Managers are invaluable, but you cannot expect sweeping change and reform from them or for managers to evoke awe and amazement, because that is not their job and it’s not what they do best. Look at Trump’s public and business life before running for president…he was never much of a ‘vision guy’; rather than trying to revolutionize something or foment a paradigm shift, his job was to manage his real estate empire, his TV shows, and his ‘brand’, and that’s what he is good at. His businesses, such as golf resorts and vodka, are kinda stodgy and boring; how much ‘change’ can you really expect from someone who would rather play golf than, say, build a spaceship. But also, billionaires and successful people, in general, have an incentive to maintain the status quo because they derive direct financial and social benefits from it continuing, even if they may not like all aspects of the status quo. This creates a sort of conflict of interest.

So what is Trump’s value if he isn’t in power and likely never will be? It’s to shift narratives and sentiment. So Trump winning, even if he is unable to do much, will change the course of the ocean liner that is analogous to America away from the iceberg, or at least to a destination that is better than where we’re headed now. Will empty actions and empty words translate into meaningful change? Likely not, but it will still be interesting to see what happens.

[1] FDR authorized the deportation and incarceration of 120,000 innocent Japanese Americans via Executive Order 9066 and mostly gets a pass from the ‘left’, yet Trump implements a travel ‘ban’ that, at most, prevented 50 or so people from entering the country (or at least not unless they filled out some paperwork and waited a little while) and suddenly it’s Schindler’s List all over again or something.