Fish Out of Water
President Trump will need credibility to guide America in time of crisis
President Trump is an outsider to politics who won on a promise to “drain the swamp.” However, it is increasingly apparent the swamp has rejected Trump and he is a proverbial fish out of water. He has found little support for wild claims about the previous President tapping his phones and his first major agenda item to repeal and replace Obamacare was withdrawn due to lack of support in his own party. This has created a credibility crisis for the President. This lack of credibility is a contentious topic for sure, but let’s look a little deeper into the President’s role as leader and guide to the American people during a time of crisis related to Homeland Security.
Credibility is crucial in a time of crises.
President Trump is new to politics and maybe credibility for that matter. Of course many Presidents before him have faced crisis and important quotes from these men offer insight that could be useful for any floundering leader:
“In a time of domestic crisis, men of goodwill and generosity should be able to unite regardless of party or politics.” — John F. Kennedy
“Life isn’t meant to be easy. It’s hard to take being on the top — or on the bottom. I guess I’m something of a fatalist. You have to have a sense of history, I think, to survive some of these things… Life is one crisis after another.” — Richard M. Nixon
“I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts.” — Abraham Lincoln
“At every crisis in one’s life, it is absolute salvation to have some sympathetic friend to whom you can think aloud without restraint or misgiving.” — Woodrow Wilson
“The man who can look upon a crisis without being willing to offer himself upon the altar of his country is not for public trust.” — Millard Fillmore
“Character is the only secure foundation of the state.” — James Calvin Coolidge
“Above all, tell the truth.” — Stephen Grover Cleveland
“Honesty is the first chapter of the book wisdom.” — Thomas Jefferson
Every President faces a crisis during a term in office. Weather, disease, terrorism, money, or war to name just a few and useful information to rally an appropriate worldwide response should be expected from the Office of the President in the United States. The President has always used the office to broadcast comfort, instructions, reassurance, and righteous retribution. U.S. credibility on disaster information has generally been taken for granted. But the Trump presidency could put that at risk according to Jeremy Konyndyk writing in POLITICO magazine. James Fallows writing in The Atlantic drives home the point even further, “something has happened to every new president, and something will happen to Donald Trump. It is inevitable. And when that something occurs, it is also inevitable that his administration will need to say, Trust us on this.”
Old media and new media.
C-SPAN provides a series of Presidential video clips that illustrate the role of the President in crisis. Each of these are a fine example of the President’s power to speak directly to the American people. No doubt that President Trump has a knack for speaking directly to crowds at supportive rallies and through unprecedented use of social media, but some would argue that many of his messages lack an inspirational quality that would be useful in a time of crisis. In fairness, Mr. Trump has not faced a full fledged national emergency yet, so only time will tell if he captures the national spirit found in these examples:
Clip: Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library
First Fireside Chat on Bank Regulation
www.c-span.org
But what if a traditional interface with the “mainstream media” is not President Trump’s strong suit? Let’s give him credit for the direct to the people microphone he has found in social media messages. Couldn’t these platforms be used by the President to inspire and guide? Of course the answer is yes but to what end? A scholarly analysis of Mr. Trump’s “populist communication style — grandiose, dynamic, and informal” confirms its effectiveness in winning a campaign but there is not enough data to determine how this style will work long term. In terms of Homeland Security, the use of social media is a growing and sometimes slippery way to communicate with the public in times of emergency. Research found in The Journal of Decision Systems posits that social media, even when used as a deliberate emergency management tool, can be derailed by misinformation and rumor which has a negative effect on the deployment of resources. The key takeaway for the President should be a desire for increased credibility now so when the inevitable crisis comes his voice as leader will be taken seriously in order to guide the American people into safety and recovery.
