“Winning is easy, governing is harder.”
What President Trump can learn from Hamilton
It’s been 100 days since President Trump took the Oath of Office and in that time, there has been plenty of controversy for a four year term. For a quick recap, check out the video below.
Trump Troubles and the Embarrassing Impact
It is somewhat easy to go on the campaign trail and make false promises, kiss babies, and rally support. Nearly every politician has been guilty of this. However, the Trump presidency is unprecedented. The American electorate chose a man with no legal background and a pretty severe Twitter addiction that has now discovered the difficulty in governing. His preconceived notions were/are without merit. Its a dangerous game in the realm of global politics.
A major hallmark of his campaign was his promise to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.
Of course healthcare is difficult. Trying to offer healthcare coverage for millions of Americans is a complex proposal. So, instead, Trump backed a plan that would result in an estimated 14 million Americans losing healthcare coverage in 2018 and would rise to 21 million and 24 million in 2020 and 2026, respectively. However, the AHCA is just one example of many controversaries surround his office since January.
Inauguration Size
First, there was the debacle surrounding the size of his innaugural crowd. While certainly not a controversy, Trump made it an issue. That was evident by the President sending out Sean Spicer to berate White House Correspondents.
Syria Saga
On April 6, 2017, President Trump authorized a missile strike on Syria after the Syrian government used chemical weapons against their civilians. The acts of the Syrian government are undoubtedly atrocious and something that anyone with a conscience would wholeheartedly condemn. However, Trump’s decision to launch a missile strike is a vast difference from the opinion he tweeted in 2013. In 2013, President Obama sought congressional approval to intervene in Syria. A few of Trump’s responses are below.
Granted, Trump is not beholden to the statements that he’s made in the past. Admittedly, he has more access to intelligence information today versus 2013. These tweets from a few years ago are a vast difference from the statement made by President Trump following the missile strike.
Voter Fraud
Trump’s made false claims that millions of people voted illegally in the 2016 Presidential Election without producing evidence. This theory first appeard on InfoWars on November 14, a show hosted by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. Jones believes that the 9/11 attacks, Oklahoma City Bombing, and the Boston Marathon were all orchestrated by the U.S. government. He also believes that the tragedy at Sandy Hook did not happen. It’s important to note that President Trump appeared on Jones’ show several times during the 2016 election and Trump even stated, “Your reputation is amazing…I will not let you down.”
Michael Flynn
After a very short time in the Trump administration, Flynn resigned after accusations of his dealings with individuals in Moscow that are certainly becoming noteworthy as of late. In exchange for his testimony, Flynn was seeking immunity and President Trump supported giving Flynn immunity in exchange for his testimony. This is quite different from what both have said in the past.
Obama Wire Tapping
Trump has claimed, and continues to claim, that President Obama wiretapped Trump Tower, but without producing any evidence. There is irony in these tweets since McCarthyism means “the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence.” Did Trump commit McCarthyism as well? Or was he admitting to it in his tweet?
Then there was this awkward moment with Chancellor Merkel in March.
Crime Statistics
“When President Obama was there [Chicago] two weeks ago making a speech, very nice speech. Two people were shot and killed during his speech.”
— Donald Trump
There were shootings that day, but no one died as a result.
Trump’s Fascination with TV Ratings
Per the Trump Twitter Archive, President Trump has tweeted about ratings at least 236 times. Recently, he was asked if he was giving Spicer “the boot” to which he responded, “I’m not firing Sean Spicer. That guy gets great ratings. Everybody tunes in.” In an interview with the Associated Press, Trump has also claimed that his Face the Nation interview garnered more ratings than the 9/11 coverage, saying:
It had 9.2 million people. It’s the highest they’ve ever had. On any, on air, (CBS “Face the Nation” host John) Dickerson had 5.2 million people. It’s the highest for “Face the Nation” or as I call it, “Deface the Nation.” It’s the highest for “Deface the Nation” since the World Trade Center. Since the World Trade Center came down. It’s a tremendous advantage.
Saying a lot, with knowing little
During the campaign, President Trump earned praise for, “telling it like it is” and for “not be politically correct.” He made many claims, one of which is that NATO was obsolete.
”They had a quote from me that Nato’s obsolete; but they didn’t say why it was obsolete. I was on Wolf Blitzer — very fair interview — the first time I was ever asked about Nato, because I wasn’t in government. People don’t go around asking about Nato if I’m building a building in Manhattan, right? So they asked me, Wolf … asked me about Nato, and I said two things. Nato’s obsolete — not knowing much about Nato…” — President Trump
In many of the instances described above, its apparent that President Trump is not always versed before he speaks. Its one thing to say this as a member of the public, but as a presidential candidate and as a president, its very dangerous behavior — for both domestic and international issues. The continual trivial debate with our colleagues to the North and our European allies may cause those same allies to be less willing to work with the Trump administration. Has President Trump finally realized that the Office of the President of the United States has access to more intelligence than a private citizen with a Twitter account? Perhaps. In an interview with Reuters, President Trump stated, “”I loved my previous life. I had so many things going…this is more work than in my previous life. I thought it would be easier.” President Trump, in the future, please try to look beyond the pump handle when placing blame or analyzing global politics. If history has proven anything, its that your immediate reaction and interpretation is often wrong.
As you may recall, Vice President Mike Pence attended Hamilton in November 2016 where he received a rather unique message from the cast.
This message was not received well by then, President Elect Trump.
“Winning is easy, governing is harder” is a quote from Hamilton — An American Musical. In the production, Washington makes this statement to Hamilton following the intense “Cabinet Battle #1.” I am sure that Lin-Manuel Miranda did not recognize the value in these words when he wrote the Hamilton score years ago.
What’s most disappointing is that President Trump was campaigning in February 2017, just one month after taking the oath of office. In the eyes of many Americans, and citizens of the global community, this is a sign that he either does not understand the importance of the being the President of the United States or that he does not take this position seriously.
Unlike running a country, it is easy to sit back, watch cable news and complain on Twitter. But this is the big leagues — or bigly. President Trump, “history has its eyes on you” and you really don’t have control over “who tells your story.”
