Donald Trump: The Seasoned Executive

Caleb
Caleb
Jul 24, 2017 · 4 min read

Being successful executing the role of President is all about executive authority and leadership. The most successful Presidents have been able to embrace this style of leadership, and use it’s power to produce tangible results. Donald Trump is an exciting case study in executive leadership, and for the first time we will see how success in an executive role in the private sector translates into the swamp of federal politics.

I believe President Trump has the potential to be one of the best Presidents in US History. His chances sky rocket if he wins a second term, and he appears to be well on his way to doing so.

President Trump will excel as President because of his tremendous command of executive leadership.

Career politicians, especially legislators, usually make terrible Presidents because they lack the ability to command a room, much less an empire. No amount of reading will give you the experience of actually being in command of a large team with total accountability for the teams results. Only an executive leadership position, or business success can give you this training.

Trump spent his entire life not only practicing executive leadership, but being one of the most successful executives the world has ever seen. His name is on over 500 corporate entities. Everyone knew the Trump brand 30 years before he ran for office.

The fact that President Trump is well known for firing people tells you he has no problem dealing with the tough situations that leaders sometimes struggle with. Trump is driven by action and results, and has a tenacity that is rarely replicated.

The entire Trump brand screams executive leadership. This was a key factor in persuading voters. Very early I identified Donald Trump as a contender because of his personality and the mood of the electorate coming off of the Obama years. I’ve studied elections for many years, and know that there are some things in politics that matter more than others.

In politics, the candidate makes all the difference and the intangibles can tip almost any contested election.

Not only does Donald Trump emit an aura of executive leadership, he fit the mold of the American President almost perfectly. Our founding fathers would be proud.

Alexander Hamilton wrote in The Federalist Papers that “Energy in the Executive is a leading character in the definition of good government”. Donald Trump is absolutely a high energy leader. Those that know him best always talk about how much of a work horse he is, and how he is always pushing forward. The first month of the Trump Presidency reflects this energy and sense of urgency.

Our founding fathers knew that urgency was essential in faithfully executing the duties of the President. Hence the importance placed on a President’s “1st 1oo days”. History tells us that after this honeymoon period, reality sets in for most Presidents, and their agenda usually grinds to a halt. Don’t expect this urgency to end in the Trump Administration. His private sector experience won’t allow him to just settle in to the norms of an inefficient Washington. If Trump is able to bring the full weight of his private sector executive experience to Washington, he may transform the entire federal government forever.

Great leaders know that they set the tone and pace for those they lead, and The US President always faces the toughest of odds. From being checked frequently by a judicial branch hell bent on increasing it’s power, to a Congress that moves at the pace of evolution, the Executive faces tough odds when it comes to advancing his agenda. The founders foresaw this problem, and knew that an effective executive must persist when any other person, or group of people, would give in.

On the other end of the spectrum, Hamilton also said “A feeble Executive implies a feeble execution of the government”. This description of executive power made me immediately think of Barack Obama.

President Obama will likely go down in history as one of the weakest Presidents in American history.

Though it will be up to history to judge him, Obama was certainly a weak executive with very little executive experience, and it showed frequently. Obama always exhibited weak body language when fulfilling his Presidential duties. The simple way he carried himself most days was a major tell that he was overwhelmed and couldn’t handle executive authority. Compare this to Trump who seems to be a natural fit for the role of President, and never fails to be the biggest person in the room, by influence if not by action. Trump’s energy, as a 70 year old, never ceases to amaze me.

Obama’s inability to embrace his role as an Executive played out many times throughout his Presidency in both domestic and foreign affairs. His foreign policy doctrine was to create a vacuum of US leadership and allow others to step in and capitalize on that new found absence. This happened almost immediately in Iraq and Afghanistan, and continued to play out in every foreign policy move the administration made for the rest of his Presidency. He sat back while the economy drug along, and for the first time a two term US President did not achieve 3% GDP growth at any point in his Presidency. Obama only came alive and showed his passion when battling Republicans.

Obama was a great opposition politician, but a terrible executive leader.

Under President Obama, America experienced such a huge vacuum of executive leadership in the White House that it was only logical that the pendulum would swing back and elect Donald Trump.

The American public yearned for executive leadership in the White House. Donald Trump was a strong executive leader in the private sector and saw an opportunity. He was the perfect candidate at the perfect time, and if he continues to flex his executive authority, he may be one of the best Presidents in US history.

Caleb

Caleb

Entrepreneur & Business Consultant. Red Pilled Politico.

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