Politicians are infamous for making use of national tragedy. President George W. Bush had soaring approval ratings after 9/11 because he responded to the crisis by uniting the country and attempting to reassure everyone in a very turbulent and confusing time. In order to avoid soiling his moment as America’s father, he did not cast blame within or engage in partisanship. But in the age of President Donald Trump, one of the most divisive presidents in history, how can we expect our commander-in-chief to respond to his own 9/11?
If the president’s past behavior is any metric, we cannot expect much of a diplomatic response. Following the botched raid on suspected Al-Qaeda affiliates in Yemen, which resulted in the death of an American serviceman and dozens of civilians, Trump immediately passed blame for the event to his predecessor and the military in general. This is despite the fact that he himself approved the raid and signed off on it.
As usual, the kindergartner-in-chief was unable to accept the blame for the failure. Even if the raid was strictly the fault of others, his inability to reconcile the issue and help find a solution shows him to be childish and unaware of how being honest and supportive can boost ratings. As salacious as using tragedy to one’s advantage can be, having a president that has an ounce of class most definitely binds the nation together rather than entrenching us in debate.
America’s recent opioid problem has been addressed by the young administration, but in typical Trump fashion, the talks have been just that: talks. In fact, the president’s plan to combat the epidemic runs contrary to his official position on healthcare, thus weakening his rhetoric further. This “right-hand/left-hand” confusion may work for a small amount of time, but as the country gets used to Trump, it will soon get tired of his antics.
As charming and diplomatic as President Barack Obama was, he sometimes made the same mistakes. The infamous disaster of Benghazi in 2012 was followed by a possible lie that the attack was precipitated by a video online, when it is now clear that it was a pre-meditated attack. During the numerous hearings regarding the attack, it came to light that security concerns of the compound went ignored by the administration. The incident tarnished the reputation of the former president and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as well as spawning a veritable cottage industry of criticism, including many books and a major motion picture.
Despite Bush’s competent handling after 9/11, his response to Hurricane Katrina was one of the major sources of his criticism. The stilted reaction to the disaster, as well as the president’s poorly-timed vacation, made him appear neglectful of the refugees and continued the downward slope in his already dropping approval ratings.
So as national crises go, no president this century has responded perfectly every time. What makes Trump special is his complete lack of humility and political accountability. Politics is a ultimately a large board game, where the players turn in popularity points, both from the public and their party, in order to get their way. Trump so far has no points in this game. His approval ratings are septic-tank-worthy, his appeals to Congress have largely failed and he has revealed himself to be little more than a big mouth in a suit and a wig. This venomous combination of bravado and ignorance grants skepticism to the claims of Trump’s ability to handle real problems.