The atmosphere created by his craven attitude is dispiriting to the team. I remember during the president’s first year how often he promised we were going to reform the US health care system, a topic of major focus during the campaign. Trump pledged to repeal and replace Obamacare, which was replete with problems and distorting the marketplace. It looked like Republicans had the votes in Congress, but when the effort inexplicably collapsed, the president didn’t show courage by taking the fall. He pointed fingers at “weak” senators who voted against repeal and privately blamed staff. Little has happened on the issue since. His “I’m not it” demeanor has been copied by those beneath him, creating a culture where people scurry away from problems to avoid shouldering the blame. Scott Pruitt was remembered for this during his tenure as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, where he blamed staff for his misuse of government funds rather than take responsibility. He was ultimately forced to resign.
Bravery comes in different forms. It’s not just a willingness to take a popularity hit when something doesn’t go the right way. It can be far more serious. In some cases, it means actually putting your life on the line. I don’t know how many times Trump has been in such a position (most people rarely are in their lives), but the one example we have is telling.
At the height of the Vietnam War, when others were joining the US military to serve their country, he sought to avoid the draft. Trump received five deferments: four for education, one for medical reasons. The excuse? “Bone spurs” in his feet. The injury was concocted, according to the daughters of the podiatrist who made the diagnosis, as well as the president’s former lawyer, who recounted Trump saying, “You think I’m stupid? I wasn’t going to Vietnam.” Don’t fool yourself into believing this goes unnoticed by the men and women he commands in the United States military or the veterans who didn’t have a convenient way out of Vietnam. They would have gone to war with or without an excuse, and they deserve better than the boasts of a man who stayed home.
Bravery is not the only component of courage, so it is unfair to judge the president on that score alone. Cicero suggests that a courageous person also is someone who is not swayed by the masses—“He who is carried by the foolishness of the ignorant mob should not be counted a great man”—and someone who is not “conquered by pleasure” and greed—“Nothing is more the mark of a mean and petty spirit than to love riches.” Fortitude is also important. “It is the mark of a truly brave and constant spirit that one remain unperturbed in difficult times, and when agitated not be thrown, as the saying goes, off one’s feet, but rather hold fast to reason, with one’s spirit and counsel ready to hand.”
Thus, aside from bravery, the checklist for a courageous person includes resistance to the mob mentality, avoidance of obsession with money and pleasure, and stability through crises.
On the first account, it would be difficult to describe the president as someone who is not carried away by public passions. As we will discuss later, he fuels rather than avoids mob behavior. And he is demonstrably obsessed with public opinion. This is second nature to a man who spent years obsessing over TV ratings. Our tweeter in chief survives on a diet of “likes” and “retweets.” Analysis of his feed shows that he has mentioned opinion polls almost every single month since becoming president. It’s not rare for a meeting about economic growth or national security to include stray comments about recent poll numbers.
His favorite polls are, predictably, any that show him ahead, regardless of how dubious the sourcing. Trump blows his top when outlets report his unpopularity, especially those that he thinks should be in his camp, such as Fox News, when their professional polling operation accurately reflects his unpopularity. Polls and polling to him are demonstrations of loyalty, not scientific measures of the country’s mood. They aren’t data points to help feed into deliberations, as with any other politician on earth; they are only meant to feed his vanity. If they don’t, then they must be wrong. We know where such an attitude inevitably leads—failure. Margaret Thatcher, a giant of modern history to whom Trump could never be favorably compared, once warned, “If you set out to be liked, you would be prepared to compromise on anything at any time, and you would achieve nothing.” The president’s craving for high approval ratings is ironic, because he does little to deserve them.
As for whether or not he is “conquered” by money and pleasure, I will again let Donald Trump speak for himself:
“I have made the tough decisions, always with an eye toward the bottom line.”
“The point is that you can’t be too greedy.”
“Part of the beauty of me is that I am very rich.”
“You have to be wealthy in order to be great.”
Trump’s love of money is second only to his love of luxury writ large. His expensive personal tastes and extravagant lifestyle are well documented. They were on full display for America his first week in the White House. Days into the administration, Trump used one of his first major interviews as president to brag to the New York Times about his new famous home. “I’ve had people come in; they walk in here and they just want to stare for a long period of time,” he said. Trump touted the building’s many rooms and priceless artwork, not to mention the impeccable service. He woke up to buffet spreads of fruit, pastries, and treats. The staff stocked all of his favorite snacks. And the phones, he said, were “the most beautiful phones I’ve ever used in my life.” “It’s a beautiful residence, it’s very elegant,” he gushed to the paper.
He reserved his most unintentionally revealing remarks for when the Times asked about the Oval Office, which he’d already redecorated with new drapes and a rug. Trump told a story about a recent visitor. “The person came into the Oval Office and started to cry. This is a tough person by the way. But there is something very special about this space,” he told the paper. “They see the power of the White House and the Oval Office and they think, ‘Yes, Mr. President.’ Who tells you no?”
Lastly, Cicero defines courage as the mark of someone who is “unperturbed in difficult times,” a quality that I cannot assign to President Trump. When faced with tough challenges, he becomes unglued and bombastic. The fallout isn’t always contained within the White House. It explodes weekly into public view. Aides have stopped counting the number of press conferences, interviews, and events that have gone completely sideways because the president is so unmoored by a problem, whether it is a personal spat or negotiation with Congress.
When he is angry about an issue, Trump will let the frustration in his mind boil over, no matter where he’s at or what he’s doing. It might be the most straightforward event. “Person A will speak,” an aide will brief him. “Person B will introduce you, Mr. President. And then you will deliver the following written remarks.” She hands him a short speech. Trump will glance at the page, cross the words out with a big black Sharpie, and then take the remarks in a different direction. If the press is in the room, the direction he tends to go is off the deep end of the swimming pool. He’ll change the order of events on the spot and launch into a tirade. That’s how an event about tax reform can turn into an endless rant about “millions and millions” of illegal voters ruining the democratic process.