Trudeau, Tradition, and Tinder
Could Americans Embrace a Single President?
Yesterday, I awoke to the familiar vibrating of a CNN notification on my phone.
I rolled over to look and read that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that he and his wife of 18 years were legally separating. A familiar twinge of sadness passed through my chest — the same one I experience every time I hear of someone getting divorced — which is quite often in my circles these days.
I tried to imagine a President of the United States ever getting divorced and couldn’t. While many U.S. presidents have been known to have affairs outside of marriage, we seem to expect them to maintain a level of traditionalism — a portrait of the American family that includes a wife, children, and usually a dog.
Never mind what happens discreetly, this image should be upheld at all costs. The wives of these presidents seem to concur and have stayed committed even after their time in office ended.
We have only had two presidents in our nation’s history who have been divorced — Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump. Both had new wives by the time they took office. We have had several Presidents whose wives had passed away, and a couple who remarried.
