The Problem with Trump

When you've spent 50 years behaviorally undisciplined, it's very difficult to overnight become the poster boy for behavioral discipline. Before getting to the thrust of this entry, I'd like to briefly explain my peanut gallery history.


Trumpster Fans

I grew up in southeastern Pennsylvania. Between the New York and Philadelphia tabloids and the National Enquirer, we were treated to Donald Trump stories on a regular basis, some of which he phoned in himself. He was a larger than life character who we tried to keep celebrity tabs on.

When the Trump Taj Mahal opened in Atlantic City (1990), my friend John and I rented a car and drove from Penn State for the opening. Along the way, we listened to a books-on-tape biography of Trump written by a Trump intern whose family members were gambling machine moguls. I had already read the book, but I was happy to see John's reactions as the author kept trying to present Trump in a bad light. Trump, while still married to his first wife, tells young interns that Marla is a 10, maybe more than a 10. When Trump attends the opening of a presser for his casino's new VIP lounge, he is appalled by the low ceilings. In front of the assembled press, he goes on a rant. Why are the f****** ceilings so low? Who the f*** designed these ceilings!?! And so on regarding the ceiling height, even though Trump had signed off on the architect's design (evidently without looking at it too closely). The author kept trying to make Trump sound obnoxious and bullying and bad, but at each juncture, he succeeded only in making Trump somebody with whom John and I wanted to have a beer.

John and I were also Howard Stern fans, and we enjoyed Trump's occasional guest appearances. Stern would ask him all kinds of inappropriate questions, and Trump would answer them. Trump was a rockin' circus dude. John loved his raw capitalism. And how could I not love a guy who built mega-casinos and talked sex on Howard Stern? It never occurred to John or me that one day our rockin' circus dude would wind up as president. But here we are. Here also is COVID-19. And we are in trouble.


The Main Issue

The problem with Donald Trump as our president here and now is not about policy. It's mainly about who he has shown to be and how he has behaved. This man is now a role model. He is the biggest role model on the American stage. And if Americans emulate his style and the personal characteristics he has exhibited during the previous 50 years, we are all looking at a disaster that will be worse than it needs to be.

The first basic issue with Trump-as-role-model during this pandemic is that the federal government is asking us to prioritize the health of others over our own wants and needs. The elderly, those with pre-existing conditions, and those with weakened immune systems are most at risk, with virus mortality rates several times higher than the general population. This means, basically, that the health and lives of this segment are really at the mercy, in this moment, of the rest of America. Every healthy young asymptomatic COVID-19 carrier has a kind of generalized power over the vulnerable. They hold the fate of the vulnerable in their hands. If they limit their exposure to others, they can help "flatten the curve." If they choose to put others at risk, they have the ability to do so. This power is probabilistic, not obvious or necessarily direct, so it is easy if you are young and healthy to ignore the risks that you can impose on the vulnerable. Proof of individual transmission is a murky road, so spreading illness and death is essentially a crime without consequences.

What is required to minimize the COVID-19 damage is empathy and putting others' health ahead of your own needs, wants, and impulses. We can choose to be bullies and do what we want, or we can choose to be team players and treat everyone like family.


The Wrong Role Model

I don't know Donald Trump, the man. But his public persona has not featured demonstrations of great behavioral discipline and treating everyone like family. He has said what he pleases, regardless of factual content or who gets hurt. He has done whatever he's wanted. He has lacked behavioral discipline. He is arguably the first American president to have the public persona of a pop culture villain.

In 2020, Americans are going to require more discipline than these generations have ever exercised. We are going to spend months on behavioral lockdown, led by a man who simply has not shown the ability or inclination to lock down his own behavior.

It's a tough spot for him, and a tougher spot for the American people.


March 18, 2020
Bob Dietz