Ross Crabtree: “Why President Trump Will Deliver”

Now, I understand many of you may be angry, upset, or even scared of a Trump presidency. Many of you may not like Trump’s politics. However, regardless of your political leanings, take this moment to step back, clear your mind of the ruthless campaigning by both sides, and look at the man himself apolitically.

President Trump. Those two words in the same sentence are not something many of us would have expected only two years ago before the primaries, on the 7th of November 2016 or even as we woke up on the 9th of November. Going into the election itself Trump was predicted to have a 20% chance of winning. If we forget for a moment the various scandals and outrageous comments, and look at the man himself, a picture of how his presidency could potentially play out is painted.

At the time Donald Trump announced his candidacy in June last year, many media outlets were predicting his chances of winning the nomination as 1%. Yet here we stand, shocked, gobsmacked – flabbergasted at what could be considered a monumental victory over the behemoth that was and still is the Clinton machine, backed by the mainstream media and even many prominent Republicans. When comparing campaign funding, what Trump has achieved is truly incredible. How did Mr Trump overcome such insurmountable odds? Mrs Clinton managed to raise nearly $690 million, over double that of Donald Trump’s $306 million. How could a single man who was predicted to lose by so much, win with half of the funding of his rival, and a substantial amount of his fellow Republicans against him? One could argue that it was the anti-establishment mood that is sweeping across both America and Europe, as demonstrated by Brexit, especially across the ‘rust belt’ states, or perhaps just the dislike of Hillary Clinton in the wake of subsequent scandals. While this certainly did help President-elect Trump, he demonstrated many characteristics that helped him win and cannot be ignored. However, if another candidate had faced the same sheer scale of opposition that Trump had, arguably they would have not won the election.  So what did win Trump the election? What will arguably make him a successful president?

The answer: temperament.

He is business-minded

First and foremost, Trump is a businessman. Therefore, he can be expected to take a businessman’s approach toward the presidency. To many, Trump’s unrelenting campaigning demonstrates that his work ethic is solid. By holding rallies, making speeches as well as making brash comments for media attention (all at little cost to his campaign), Trump won the presidency at half the cost of Hillary Clinton’s candidacy. In the lead up to the election the frequency of his rallies increased dramatically, until he held five rallies in five states before the day of the election, broadcasting all of them live through Facebook – again, a service of little cost to the campaign. Trump also made trips to Louisiana after major flooding and visited the Mexican president, actions which can be considered presidential. In comparison, Clinton did not hold nearly as many events until nearer the election. Trump’s efficiency during the primaries as well as the general election meant he won support in traditionally blue states such as Michigan and Pennsylvania, not easy states to win as a Republican candidate. Furthermore, whilst many people dispute his business success, it is hard to argue that he is a failure as he is estimated to be worth $3.7 billion.

Dogmatism

Although it must be said that the Trump campaign did change its platform during the general election on certain promises made during the primaries, such as the blanket ban on Muslims entering the US, he generally stayed on message throughout his entire campaign. How can anybody forget his campaign slogan: ‘Make America Great Again’? It was so simple. Trump used a simple, easy and effective message, aimed at the ‘average Joe’ that is situated on every street between New York and San Francisco, and it worked ‘big league’. His memorable message of ‘making America great again’ appealed to voters and can literally be applied to anything he does that is seen to be bettering America. He has not yet gone back on his promise to build a wall, place tariffs on companies that choose to leave the US, or his position on NAFTA. Can Trump potentially use this dogmatism to get what he wants on the world stage? Many Americans obviously think so. For them, Trump is simple and sticks to the point – something they see as needed on the world stage.

Getting Things Done

Trump’s ability to get things done links in with his dogmatic attitude. Although Trump has become bankrupt before (you have many failures before you succeed), he now has a net worth of over $3 billion dollars. At the time of his announcement to run, he was predicted a 1% chance of winning the Republican nomination let alone the presidency. He is now the President-elect of the United States, an incredible turnaround. If his current trajectory continues then perhaps America will be ‘made great again’ (if you consider it not ‘great’ already). Trump’s successful businesses have made him one of the richest people in the world. Nearly everything Trump was predicted not to be able to achieve this election, he has achieved, when more often than not it has seemed impossible to many.

Leadership

Trump’s personality, at the disgust of some, is brash, loud, commanding and potentially offensive. Many people view him as an ‘alpha’ type of man, who wins through domination. Although many people would see these characteristics as negative, for Trump they are crucial for his leadership. By dominating the discussion in the primary debates he came across as a leader. He used his character and personality to stand out from the other Republican candidates, of which there were many. His leadership is also efficient, he has a goal in mind and he uses all that is available to him as a means to reach that goal. Is this not something that will be good for American interests? The US president is considered to be the leader of the free world – Trump will not take this responsibility lightly. Note how in his victory speech he pointed out the size of his campaign team, which was very small, and thanked each of them individually for their work. He successfully runs businesses all over the world and is head of a well-respected family, more than most people can claim to do or be.

So yes, whilst many of us do not like President-elect Trump, we must respect not only his achievements but his right to lead the US as its president. If a man can successfully take on and beat a woman with one of the most highly respected political careers in US history, as well as survive a heavy media onslaught and the wrath of much of Wall Street, maybe he will also be able to perform as President of the United States.

Ross Crabtree is a 2nd year student at Loughborough University.

Will Butterworth: “Why we just don’t know what Trump will be like as President”

Since Donald Trump’s election as president, there has been endless debate about what sort of president he will be. Some have argued that he will be a disaster for the United States and the world, others that he will rejuvenate the United States. I think that it is almost impossible to know.

Trump’s rhetoric has suggested that he could well be a wrecking ball to the international order. He has criticised NATO, he has argued against free trade and said that he would reverse US ratification of the Paris Peace agreement. He has also threatened to ban all Muslims from entering the United States and, of course, threatened to build a wall on the Mexican border. If he truly intends to implement all of these promises, then I think that the international community has every reason to fear.

The question is whether Trump will put his words into action. I question whether he will in fact act on what he has said or be able to. Politicians promise all kinds of things during election campaigns and fail to act on them once in office all the time. Trump’s plans are vague and ill-defined. In addition, even on these vague promises, he has flip-flopped more than most.

First, he called for a ban on all Muslims entering the United States, then he said that this would only be a temporary ban, and now he has erased the promise from his official website. What this example shows quite clearly is that Trump has said things and then changed his mind on them throughout the campaign. If his campaign is anything to go by, we have reason to ask if he will in fact do what he has promised. In addition, many of his plans have been very vague, particularly with regards to trade. He said he will renegotiate trade with China, but not said how he will do so. The same can be said of how he is going to get Mexico to pay his infamous wall. Many of his policies are so vague, it is unclear what exactly they really are and how he is going to put them into place.

The motivation behind a lot of this statements, I would argue, was to increase the publicity of his campaign. Trump has said some fairly outrageous things about all sorts of different people. Part of this I think was to increase the column inches written about him, the time he would get on TV news coverage, ultimately to generate more focus on him and his message. Say what you want about the man and the things he said, but you cannot argue that he was successful in this objective. And strangely enough, when the news cycle was focused on FBI director James Comey’s controversial letter to Congress informing them of a further review of newly released Clinton emails, Trump managed not to say anything outrageous. What this all shows is how many of the comments he made were deliberatively provocative in order to increase interest in his campaign. Whether or not they become more than a campaign tactic and actually become government policy whilst Trump is in office remains to be seen.

The other factor that will affect how a Trump presidency pans out is Congress. Although both houses are now controlled by the Republicans, the Republican establishment has not been very supportive of Trump. Many senators did not even vote for him or endorse him. So despite Republican control of Congress, Trump still faces a tough task to get them to support him. However, it is plausible that they might be buoyed by Republican control and support Trump and his policies. The fact is that we do not know.

What I think is clear is that how a Trump presidency will play out is hard, if not impossible, to predict. He has said some outrageous things and he threatens to shake up the international order. The answer to the question of whether there will be a clear divorce between campaign rhetoric and actual government action is very hard to know. And the fact of the matter is that, ultimately, we do not know, and so we will have to wait and see.