What is Donald Trump’s personality like? What qualities do you think a president of a nation should exhibit? Does Trump display these qualities?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voters have the responsibility to weigh a president\u2019s temperament and moral qualities\u2014that is, character\u2014when deciding whether that person is fit to continue in the role of president. The Roman statesman Cicero spelled out the moral qualities he felt were most important, and they are still a useful way to measure our leaders today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This article will look at how Trump measures up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Such comments are a window into real Donald Trump’s personality, that is, behind the facade. Often, he\u2019s vulgar, furious and close to losing control. Other times, he comes across as charming or amusing, especially to people encountering him for the first time. Many find it refreshing that he says whatever crosses his mind, in comparison to the scripted presentations of most politicians. But while we\u2019ve had other undisciplined presidents, Trump is in a class by himself. For those who work with him, amusement quickly turns to alarm and apprehension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In our nation\u2019s history, unprincipled presidents have at times succeeded. They\u2019ve broken promises or cheated on their wives, while still pursuing wide foreign policy or championing important domestic causes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the good must outweigh the downside rather than the reverse. James Buchanan has been deemed our worst president because his immoral defense of slavery and Southern slaveholders outweighed his efforts to stave off civil war, which might have been a good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the end, a president\u2019s character defines his or her presidency. Further, the president\u2019s behavior sets the tone for public discourse<\/a> and models civic engagement for young people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n History shows us that power tests a leader\u2019s character. Trump has been tested and his character revealed<\/strong>. His character overshadows the character of all Americans because his reputation is also ours. We need to ask ourselves whether it reflects who we are or aspire to be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Roman statesman Cicero believed that to be good or moral, a leader had to demonstrate the \u201ccardinal virtues\u201d of wisdom, temperance, courage, and justice<\/strong>\u2014and that morals determined behavior. The rest of this chapter looks at how Trump measures up to Cicero\u2019s moral qualities necessary for a person of character.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cicero defines wisdom, not as being all-knowing, but as \u201clearning the truth\u201d\u2014which requires diligence in seeking the facts and getting to the bottom of issues. Cicero warned against falsely claiming to know something and allowing yourself to be distracted by trivial matters. He said it\u2019s \u201cdishonorable to stumble\u2026to be ignorant and be deceived.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, Trump clearly fails this test by constantly falling for and spreading conspiracy theories and false information or \u201cfake news.\u201d<\/strong> Misinformation and disinformation<\/a> are Trump\u2019s stock-in-trade. For example, before being elected, he was a fan and promoter of conspiracy monger Alex Jones. He also was a vocal proponent of \u201cbirtherism,\u201d the false belief that Barack Obama was born in Kenya (Obama has been proven to be a U.S. citizen). When Sen. Ted Cruz was a primary opponent, Trump asserted that Cruz\u2019s father was involved in the Kennedy assassination. Those are only a few of the many examples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The president constantly makes or repeats false claims, especially via Twitter. When called out for a false statement, he shrugs it off. So much of what he says is untrue that his appointees and the public are no longer surprised when his lies are revealed. Whether Trump believes the conspiracies he touts or whether he just spreads them to get attention<\/a> or manipulate others is a matter of speculation. Probably, it\u2019s both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In terms of Cicero\u2019s admonition that a person of character should diligently pursue the facts and not be ignorant, Trump again fails the standard. He lacks curiosity and has made little attempt to learn what he needs to know in order to do his job.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump says he lacks time to read, but he has plenty of time for golf, tweeting, and binge-watching cable programs. Or he insists that he doesn\u2019t need to read because he has common sense<\/a> and is highly intelligent. He\u2019s been touting his genius and his \u201cvery good brain\u201d for years. He often interrupts briefings by saying, \u201cYeah, I get it. I\u2019m pretty smart, okay?\u201d Yet, Trump can\u2019t remember things he\u2019s said or what people have told him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He regularly claims to be an expert<\/a> on issues on which he has scant knowledge. For instance, he has asserted that \u201cnobody knows more than me\u201d about: campaign finance, the courts, trade, taxes, ISIS, the U.S. government, and technology, including drones. Yet, officials have seen him stumble on every topic. Aides have described him as \u201can idiot and a moron with the understanding of a fifth or sixth grader.\u201d Those are the milder descriptions\u2014most involve a series of expletives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Cicero discusses justice, he\u2019s referring to how a person treats others. He defines a just person as one who:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The president has a different concept of justice: it\u2019s whether he\u2019s being treated fairly or unfairly, in his view. <\/strong>On the perceived unfairness side of the scale, he\u2019s suggested that television networks should be investigated and punished for making fun of him. He spends a great deal of time complaining about news coverage or critics, then \u201csends White House aides on an endless quest to \u2018fix it\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump\u2019s treatment of others is ruthless rather than \u201cjust,\u201d in the way Cicero means it. He has tweeted: \u201cWhen someone attacks me, I always attack back…except 100X more.\u201d He picks fights with his own appointees, sports stars, and foreign leaders alike. For instance, he attacked Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, whom he appointed, asking on Twitter, whether Powell or China\u2019s dictator is a bigger enemy of the U.S. Like a schoolyard bully, he assigns his critics derogatory nicknames, often focusing on physical features. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Through intimidation, Trump believes he can get what he wants, rather than what is fair<\/strong>, by Cicero\u2019s standard. He brags about his tactics\u2014for instance, he loves to tell his staff stories about filing spurious legal claims to intimidate rival companies. During the 2016 campaign, he told journalist Bob Woodward that \u201creal power\u201d is achieved by generating fear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He lacks any sense of proportion. He views political opponents as enemies forever. He\u2019s tweeted about 2016 opponent Hillary Clinton hundreds of times since taking office and pondered how to use his power as president to prosecute her. Trump wants more than electoral defeat\u2014he wants to destroy her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another component of justice, according to Cicero, is keeping your promises. Trump\u2019s career is littered with unkept promises, including: unpaid contractors and employees, unpaid bills, and contract violations. He has treated philanthropy similarly, making false promises and claims and using the Trump Foundation to further his business and political interests. <\/p>\n\n\n\n (Shortform note: In November 2019, a New York judge ordered Trump to pay $2 million in damages<\/a> to a group of charities to settle claims that the foundation misused funds. The foundation is in the process of dissolving.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s clear that Trump doesn\u2019t possess the moral quality of justice, in the sense of treating others fairly. Instead, his focus is self-promotion and destroying anyone who stands in his way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To Cicero, courage means<\/a> standing up for what is right. Trump sees himself as fighting for a number of issues. But while leaders take both credit and blame for the way their initiatives turn out, Trump only takes credit. When he loses a fight, he blames someone else for fear of being labeled a loser. For example, he promised repeatedly to repeal and replace Obamacare. When the effort failed, he blamed \u201cweak\u201d senators and his staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When it comes to true personal courage, Trump failed a significant test by dodging the draft during the Vietnam War<\/a>. He avoided service with four deferments for education and one for questionable medical reasons\u2014bone spurs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Additional components of courage, according to Cicero, are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n In foreign policy, he opts for chest-thumping, like comparing \u201cnuclear buttons\u201d or the size of U.S. nuclear forces with the missiles of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. However, these eruptions tend to distract at best and, at worst, threaten to escalate a problem into a crisis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Also writing about courage, Aristotle warned of the danger posed by a leader who is overconfident, rash, a braggart, and \u201ca pretender to courage,\u201d which is a fair description of Trump and the antithesis of Cicero\u2019s calm, stable leader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cicero described a person who is temperate as showing restraint, modesty, and seemliness, or \u201cconducting oneself in an inoffensive manner.\u201d Also, such a person isn\u2019t careless, and he doesn\u2019t do things rashly or randomly without thinking them through. He or she can handle criticism<\/a> and isn\u2019t easily triggered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Again, Trump is the opposite of inoffensive. He\u2019s also completely lacking in restraint\u2014 he erupts unpredictably. His behavior is unseemly, from his vulgar comments to grandiose public bragging.<\/p>\n\n\n\nTrump\u2019s Wisdom<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Trump\u2019s Sense of Justice<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Trump\u2019s Courage<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Trump\u2019s Temperance<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Misogyny<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n