The Trump paradox
For all his celebrity, there’s a lot we don’t know about our new president
When Donald Trump takes the oath of office today, he will be among the most famous Americans ever sworn in as president. As a prominent real estate developer and man about town, his life and loves have been a staple of the New York tabloids for decades. He has starred in a reality TV show and been the subject of several biographies. Since he announced his long-shot campaign for president 19 months ago, he has been a constant presence on television and Twitter.
We all know Trump. That is to say, we all know of him. We know about the three wives, the five children, the six bankruptcies, the comeback, The Apprentice, the spectacular marketing of the “Trump” brand and the stunning victory in November. But the paradox is how little Americans really understand this celebrity who is becoming the 45th president of the United States and the first with no experience in government or the military.
Trump tapped into the hopes and fears of millions of Americans in achieving an electoral victory with a mandate to shake up Washington and make the Rust Belt shine again. He ran atop the GOP ticket, yet he is a Republican-come-lately. Beneath his thin skin, it remains murky what really matters to him and what he holds sacred. The unknowns about the new president are sub- stantial, both from a personal standpoint and a policy one. On the personal side:
He ran as a billionaire businessman who could cut great deals for America, but much about his finances remains obscure. That’s because of Trump’s steadfast refusal to release his tax returns, like every other major party candidate going back nine elections has done. The absence of those returns also robs the American people of understanding the full extent of potential conflicts Trump might have.
At 70, Trump is the oldest person to assume the presidency, and he’s clearly a high-energy individual for his age. Yet we know only basic information about his physical health and little about his mental health. He shows classic signs of narcissism. But do those traits rise to a clinical personality disorder? We don’t know.
Modern presidents are subject to a constant barrage of second-guessing, criticism and ridicule. It comes with the territory. Is Trump capable of turning the other cheek? Or will he become consumed with lashing back at his critics? So far — based on his transition Twitter tiffs with everyone from Meryl Streep to Alec Baldwin to John Lewis — the evidence isn’t encouraging.
We don’t know whether Trump is a serial sexual aggressor. A dozen women have come forward with accusations, which Trump has vehemently denied. But the Access Hollywood tape from 2005 — on which Trump is heard boasting about grabbing women’s genitals — lends some credence to the accusations. On the policy side:
The relationship between Trump and Russia remains murky. America’s intelligence agencies are convinced that President Vladimir Putin directed a hacking and disinformation campaign to help defeat Hillary Clinton. There are open questions about communication between Trump’s campaign and the Kremlin. And while a salacious, opposition-research report suggesting Putin is blackmailing the president-elect is wholly unverifiable, nagging suspicions remain about Trump’s odd reluctance to criticize the autocratic Russian leader.
Trump’s foreign policy views leave the nation wondering whether he’s crazy like a fox — or merely crazy. He persistently praises Putin while threatening a trade war with China. He talks one minute of engaging in a nuclear arms race, then another about reaching an agreement with Russia to reduce arsenals. His excellent pick for Defense secretary, James Mattis, accurately describes NATO as “the most successful military alliance probably in modern history, maybe ever.” Trump calls it “obsolete” and threatens to undermine the European Union. Is Trump being reckless, or is there a larger strategy at work?
Trump takes office with illdefined or irreconcilable domestic policy views. For example, he wants to cut taxes, invest in infrastructure and the military, leave Social Security and Medicare alone — and simultaneously reduce the federal budget deficit. How can you do that? You can’t.
America and the world have a huge stake in a successful Trump presidency. But more than any incoming president in memory, Trump is surrounded by a swirl of uncertainty about his intentions. This is why the excitement that typically surrounds a presidential inauguration is tempered with trepidation this time around.
Is Trump willing or able to reach beyond his core supporters in an effort to unite a divided nation? That’s another unknown, one that the new president has a prime opportunity to address at today’s inauguration.