Leadership in Times of Crisis Matters

For the last eleven years of Barack Obama’s life, the former President of the U.S. has been hounded and criticized by one individual. That individual is Donald Trump. During the early years of Mr. Obama’s presidency, non-candidate Trump wasted no opportunity to question every move by President Obama, as he would not let the “birther” issue die despite all of the evidence to the contrary concerning where Mr. Obama was born. Now, three years after Mr. Obama has left office and is enjoying life as a private citizen, Donald Trump, even as President, continues to denigrate Mr. Obama at every opportunity for things that the former President did not create. It’s the old classic, “the butler did it" or “Obama did it" as President Trump continues to blame someone else for his own shortcomings while he sits behind the same desk as Mr. Obama did for eight long years. Did the former President face any crisis while he was in office? Yes, he did. He faced a looming recession at the very beginning, that could have pulled the nation into a depression. Did the President blame outgoing President George Bush for what he inherited? No, he reminded the nation of what had to be done to restore it to financial stability, and did not try to bring down the Bush family name. The same can’t be said about President Trump.

When Trump was running for the presidency, he said that he would run his presidency as he ran his business empire. We have learned that his “empire” has gone through serious financial challenges, some resulting in multiple bankruptcies. But despite other credible candidates running against Trump, the electoral college gave the victory to him. No one was more surprised at the results than Donald Trump. He would have to live up to the bragging of what kind of leader that he would be as compared to Barack Obama.

Three years later, Trump’s role as that of a leader is being severely tested. The world is facing a crisis more menacing and dangerous than the last world war. We don’t have McArthur, Churchill and De Gaulle to lead the world to victory. The world has Donald Trump to show how America handles a crisis when no other nation can. Clinton led the nation back to economic prosperity, Bush after 911, Obama led the nation back to a second economic boom (and got Bin Laden), while Trump just criticizes his predecessors. As the world and the U.S. face an uncertain future in the grips of the coronavirus pandemic, President Trump has publicly said that he takes no responsibility for what has happened in this nation. That alone would have warranted an impeachment from Congress, but Republicans don’t even have the courage to mention it. A leader, no matter the assignment, knows that he takes responsibility for what happens on their watch, and takes appropriate actions to correct any deficiencies. This may well be the defining moment of Trump’s presidency, as history should tell us the truth even as the President will not. It took Americans decades to finally learn what Nixon and others did during the Watergate years. President Trump will be no different.

Recently President Trump had an opportunity to show how he could unite the nation when an NBC reporter asked the President what he would say to the millions of Americans who are afraid of the virus. Instead of showing empathy to people who do not care if there is a “D” or “R” on their voter registration card, the President attacked the reporter. The President said that “was a nasty question” to ask. Every President that this reporter has witnessed always had words of comfort and encouragement to say to a public that is hurting and afraid. Somehow this President seems not to have “it” in him. He seems to be more interested in himself, as he is not looking forward to the 2020 presidential election. He has not handled the economic crisis well, especially not as well as compared to President Obama. He cannot handle criticism well at all. He cannot even go play golf. He is where he does not want to be. He is facing a leader’s worst nightmare. Normally this would be the time when former Presidents would voice statements of support to one of their own. Unfortunately, the words from President Trump’s mouth have alienated him from so many people to the point that he would rather be anywhere else than where he is right now. Remember, the world is watching. So is God.