Friends, I think we all know how important it is that the Trump presidency succeeds. Moreover, I think we all know that the margin for error is incredibly small. That is, with so many powerful interests combining to destroy Donald Trump and all he represents, it behooves the President and his supporters to make a maximum effort to succeed, and to make as few mistakes as possible. My latest article is an attempt to offer President Trump some constructive criticism on two key areas in which his administration could improve. See what you think...
An Open Letter to President Trump
Dear Mr.
President:
To begin with,
let me congratulate you on a long list of achievements in your first
15 months in office. I will not be exaggerating when I say that your
presidency has been a dream-come-true for many conservative patriots
like myself. What makes your successes even more impressive is that,
during your campaign for the presidency, the Democratic Party, the
Obama administration, the FBI, intelligence agencies, the mainstream
media, and many foreign governments plotted to undermine you...and
they failed. Now that you are President, most of these establishment
figures are still plotting against you, and they are doing their best
to poison the minds of the American people. Nonetheless, your
popularity has recently surged to its highest level in almost a year.
Your ability to persevere and prosper in the midst of these
extraordinary headwinds is nothing short of miraculous.
Nevertheless, Mr.
President, given your successes, a strong case can be made that your
approval ratings ought to be much higher. I believe this is partly
due to self-inflicted wounds and missed opportunities, and I wish to
tender some advice that may help you to flourish politically, even
more so than you already have. I hope you will take my constructive
criticism to heart.
First, I cannot
stress enough that timing is
critical in politics, as it is in most fields of human endeavor.
Occasionally, you have not shown the patience or forbearance to wait
to speak your mind, or to take action, until the moment is right.
Your decision to fire FBI Director James Comey, while unquestionably
correct, was timed poorly, insofar at it occurred when Democrats and
the media were frothing with (phony) outrage over “Russia
collusion”, and you were due to meet with the Russian Foreign
Minister the next day. This was poor planning, to say the least.
Arguably, much of the heartache you have experienced dealing with the
false narrative of Russian collusion (including the appointment of
Robert Mueller as special prosecutor) could have been avoided had you
fired Director Comey at a more propitious moment.
More
recently, your administration announced the firing of Secretary of
State Rex Tillerson on the same day as a critical Congressional
special election in Pennsylvania. This meant that the news cycle that
day was dominated by a (thoroughly contrived) media narrative of
“chaos” in the White House. This was a foreseeable problem. Had
you foreseen it and delayed the firing by 24 hours, the outcome of
the election could have been altered. This is because the Democrat
Conor Lamb won that election by only .33% of the vote (less than 800
votes). It is very plausible that a positive news cycle on that day,
instead of a negative one, would have made the difference. This is
important, because Democrats' victory in the special election
bolstered their claim that a “blue wave” is building that may
devastate Republicans in November.
I
applaud the fact that General Kelly, as your Chief of Staff, has
brought greater discipline and order to the functions of the White
House. Many leaks also appear to have been plugged. Nonetheless, I
believe that the timing of your administration's public statements
and actions could be further optimized. I ask you to consider holding
off on moves that are destined to be controversial until the right
moment arrives.
Second,
I believe you are missing crucial opportunities to speak directly to
the American people to circumvent the toxic effects of media bias. I
can illustrate this point in a simple way.
Twice,
you have delivered State of the Union addresses to the country. In
both cases, while the media was hostile before, during, and after
your addresses, the public reacted very positively, and your approval
ratings rose. The reason is fairly evident: for a brief period, your
public image, instead of being filtered through the biased media, was
sculpted by you personally, based on your ability to engage with the
American people. These opportunities are precious indeed for any
president, but especially for you, because of the degree of media
antipathy that you face.
Therefore,
Mr. President, I advise you to make greater use of the presidential
bully pulpit by more often speaking with the American people. Other
than the State of the Unions, you have delivered only one prime-time,
nationally-televised address, in the classic sense: a speech about
U.S. policy in Afghanistan. This is a drastic under-utilization of a
forum for political rhetoric that has historically served many U.S.
presidents very well.
To
cite only one example of a missed opportunity, your recent actions on
trade, including the imposition of tariffs on China, are vitally
important (and frequently misunderstood) initiatives that
unquestionably serve U.S. national interests. You could easily
justify giving a prime-time, Oval Office address to the American
people explaining why the short term pain that tariffs and a “trade
war” may entail are necessary because of China's long-time abuses,
including the theft of U.S. intellectual property. The chance to make
this case directly to the American people, I would add, is infinitely
preferable to allowing the likes of CNN, MSNBC, and the New
York Times to spin your policies
as they please. In fact, you owe it to Americans to make your case as
effectively and as forthrightly as you can.
Again,
Mr. President, I do not mean to minimize the difficulties and
challenges you face, nor the singular triumphs you have won by a
great deal of hard work, boldness, and granite resolve. Nonetheless,
there are always ways to improve, and I hope you will bear in mind my
suggestions. The stakes are simply too high for you not to make
maximum use of the opportunities at hand to make America great again.
Sincerely,
Nicholas
L. Waddy
