Boy Scout speech proves Trump is unteachable
The American presidency is a peculiar institution. Its occupant is supposed to be simultaneously head of government and head of state, functions that in most other countries are separated between a prime minister and a monarch or ceremonial president. As head of government, the president can, and sometimes must, be nakedly partisan. But as head of state he is supposed to rise above the muck of politics and serve as a symbol of unity.
That is something Ronald Reagan did after the Challenger disaster, Bill Clinton did after the Oklahoma City bombing, George W. Bush did after 9/11, and Barack Obama did after the Charleston church shooting. So far it’s safe to say that while Trump doesn’t know how to be an effective president in general, he is especially bad at the ceremonial, nonpartisan part of the job.
Exhibit A was his speech to the Boy Scouts of America. Instead of offering inspirational rhetoric about the passage to manhood, he instead went after Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and the “fake media” while extolling the size of his crowds and election victory. At one point he actually had the boys booing Clinton, a former senator, secretary of State and first lady as well as the first female major-party presidential nominee in U.S. history. This violates not only good taste but also the Boy Scout rule forbidding any political activities in uniform.
But it is part of a pattern with Trump. Recall that the day after he was inaugurated, at CIA headquarters, he attacked the “dishonest” news media, claimed the assembled CIA officers had voted for him, and bragged about the size of his inauguration crowd and even about how many Time magazine covers he appeared on. All while standing in front of a wall honoring CIA officers who died in the line of duty.
Trump was still going after the same targets this month in Warsaw. Last weekend, at the commissioning of the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford, he blasted Democrats as “obstructionists” and urged his audience — primarily active-duty military personnel and their families — to help him pass a health care bill. He clearly has no idea that military and intelligence personnel are sworn to serve a commander in chief of any party, and try to remain above partisan politics. In fact, servicemembers can be courtmartialed for taking part in partisan political activity in uniform.
These instances barely scratch the surface of Trump’s wildly inappropriate conduct. He has called his behavior “MODERN DAY PRESIDENTIAL.” No doubt he will say something similar if he bothers to notice criticism of his Boy Scouts or aircraft carrier speeches. He evidently thinks that norms are for losers, and that he is free to upend all expectations of presidential conduct.
Judging by his record-low approval ratings, most Americans disagree. Trump would have a lot more success if he acted a little more “presidential” in the oldfashioned sense of that word. But that is something he is evidently incapable of doing, no matter how long he stays in office.