Political leaders debate Trump’s legacy
No matter what you think about President Donald Trump, it’s clear his time in the White House is not quite like that of any president who came before him. During his term in office he shattered all sorts of traditions and norms.
As he leaves office and we reflect on what it all meant, the answer is complicated.
What, exactly, his legacy will be depends on whom you ask. While that’s typically the case and people often view presidencies based on their political allegiances, Trump’s legacy, like much of his presidency, seems to be a lesson in extremes.
MediaNews Group asked a handful of local politicians, party leaders and political experts for their take on Trump’s presidency.
What the experts say
Political science professors Tim Blessing of Alvernia University and Randall Newnham of Penn State Berks agree it will take a long time to figure out what the Trump legacy will ultimately mean.
But Blessing said the more immediate reaction is clearly rather negative.
“The Republican Party cannot go backward to the era of Bush, McCain, and Romney if we hope to move forward.” — Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Gale
“Everyone wanted this man to succeed and at every turn he disgraced himself, his family to the point where he incited an attack on his own people by American citizens.” — U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean
“He got a lot done. He knew what he wanted to do and he did it. He got results. He found ways to get things done rather than talking about getting things done and blaming others when they didn’t.” — U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser
“Right now, his legacy is pretty toxic,” said Blessing. “And I would certainly expect it to stay that way as long as my generation and the next generation and maybe the generation down after that are still alive. The real test will be when the people who were alive at the time have passed.”
As an example, Blessing said he just finished teaching a course on the presidency of Richard Nixon and can attest that his time in office is viewed much differently by his students than by someone like himself who lived through it.
“For progressives, he will be the worst president of all time,” he said of Trump. “And for many conservatives, he will be seen as somebody who tried to pull power back from the center and enacted more realistic foreign policy. So it’s going to be a very split legacy at this point.”
Blessing said the complexity of Trump’s legacy will mirror his time in office. For instance:
• His supporters liked that he spoke directly to them using social media but admit that his posts were often controversial.
• He often attacked organizations that were fighting for civil rights but had more support from African American voters than any other Republican president in some time.
• He was apparently difficult to work for but also sought advice from those in his inner circle before making important decisions.
“For every negative thing you can find, you can also find a positive,” Blessing said. “But in the immediate term those things will have a pronounced negative legacy. It will probably take some time. And because I’ve lived through the Trump presidency I’m not going to be as dispassionate as I should be.”
Blessing said the dust has to settle first and that there are many political factions out there that are going to dispute the legacy.
“In fact, I can’t think of many presidents who have left the White House with as much conflict about them as exists now,” he said
Newnham agrees with that assessment.
“I think he will be known as one of the more divisive presidents, which I think is going to be a problem for his legacy,” he said.
But not everyone feels that way. On one hand, Newnham said, there are his supporters.
“I think his supporters would say that they got Trump in there to shake things up, to change the old way of doing business. And that he has achieved,” he said.
And he has certainly achieved what were traditionally conservative priorities such as appointing a lot more conservative judges, greatly reducing regulations and lowering taxes for businesses, Newnham said.
Newnham said Trump’s supporters knew he would be rough around the edges and knew he would say things that didn’t sound great. They liked that because it was part of shaking up the system.
Newnham said there is no doubt that Trump followed through on a lot of the promises he made to his base. But the question ultimately became just how much do you want to shake up the system.
“I think for a lot of people, maybe some Republicans,
too, when you shake up the system to the point where his supporters are attacking the Capitol building, that may be something that says we shook up the system too much,” he said. “It’s one thing to shake up the system, it’s another thing to tear down the system.”
So where you draw the line means a lot there, Newnham said.
“The system is not just elites or bureaucrats, the system is our Constitution and our democracy,” he said. “Shaking up some of the fundamental foundations of democracy like the peaceful transition of power is part of that.”
Newnham said clearly there are still people on board from Trump’s base who are quick to point out the president’s achievements, which some on the other side wouldn’t think of as achievements, but that’s always the case.
“But when the history books are written and they’re trying to sum up the Trump administration in a few paragraphs, it’s kind of hard to believe that one of those first sentences won’t be about him being the first president to be impeached twice,” he said. “They won’t likely be mentioning that he rolled back business regulations in the first paragraph of the story.”
What Republicans say
Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Gale has been outspoken on Trump.
“I am proud to be the first elected official in Pennsylvania to endorse Donald Trump in 2016. Even though President Trump is exiting the White House, I will continue to be a voice for Trump conservatives, not just in southeastern Pennsylvania, but across the entire state,” Gale said in an emailed response.
“The Republican Party cannot go backward to the era of Bush, McCain, and Romney if we hope to move forward. And, frankly, I will not let that happen. Together, we must continue the policies and agenda Trump started and finish the job of draining the swamp in both parties, which begins by saying goodbye and good riddance to the failed GOP of yesterday that was run into the ground by power-hungry establishment hacks.”
U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, a Republican who represents parts of nearby Berks County, said there are things that really stick out about the Trump presidency.
“First, he brought a business approach to the White House — something people never saw before,” he said. “He got a lot done. He knew what he wanted to do and he did it. He got results. He found ways to get things done rather than talking about getting things done and blaming others when they didn’t.”
Meuser said Trump had a long list of accomplishments. He focused on three.
• The economy before COVID arrived. Everyone was in better financial shape, he said.
• He spent money on rebuilding the military, started the space force and dealt with the dangers of ISIS.
• The peace treaties in the Middle East and taking on China to make sure that manufacturing would come back to America.
Meuser said the fact that Trump was not beholden to special interests allowed him to focus on the needs of the people who voted for him. And that meant he gave people hope who hadn’t voted in years, or maybe ever.
“They were the people who felt forgotten, and he made them feel as if they had a voice. That was inspiring to a lot of people,” he said.
What Democrats say
Montgomery County Commissioners Chairwoman Valerie Arkoosh said recent events have likely affected Trump’s legacy.
“Well I think that his legacy will not be a positive one, particularly because of the events that have occurred since the election. In these last months, the president has presented the American people with numerous falsehoods, none of which have been able to be substantiated in a court of law and a week ago he seemed to incite an insurrection on our Capitol and so I do not think that it will be a positive legacy that he leaves behind.”
U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean, who represents most of Montgomery County, said of his legacy, “the historians will write it that it’s tragic.”
“It’s going to be a legacy of disgrace, of corruption, of callousness. It is a very, very sad legacy. None of us wanted this. Everyone wanted this man to succeed and at every turn he disgraced himself, his family to the point where he incited an attack on his own people by American citizens.”
Weighing in on the municipal level, Lansdale Mayor Garry Herbert called it “a complicated question ... based on who you’re speaking to.”
“I think personally his legacy will be one of division and frustration for many in the country. I think it’s a difficult place the country is in right now and I think it was a difficult place four years ago. I don’t know that he has improved our situation much, but I certainly can say I don’t know that there’s too many people that would consider themselves happy at this point in time, hence the results of the election.”
“Right now, his legacy is pretty toxic. And I would certainly expect it to stay that way as long as my generation and the next generation and maybe the generation down after that are still alive. The real test will be when the people who were alive at the time have passed.” — Tim Blessing, Alvernia University