How Trump can still make America great: Paul Brandus

Are we great again yet?

President Trump, closing in on his first 100 days, says things are going just fine. "I think we've had one of the most successful 13 weeks in the history of the presidency,” he said not long ago. It was only 11 at that point, but whatever.

The truth is that Trump has had one successful week. His April 6 attack on Syria sent a message not just to President Bashar Assad but to other “bad hombres” like North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and the mullahs in Tehran, that he’s willing to use force when in his view it advances our national security. And the next day, thanks to a parliamentary sleight of hand by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, 49-year-old Neil Gorsuch was confirmed for the Supreme Court, guaranteeing that Trump’s influence will be with us for decades to come.

As for the other weeks, here’s what comes to mind: Trump weakened regulations that let companies dump toxins into the water supply. His budget and tax proposals offer not a helping hand but a kick in the teeth to those less fortunate than him. He was disappointed that his health care plan, which would have denied coverage to 24 million Americans over the next decade, sank without a vote. And, despite claiming after Assad’s chemical attack that “no child of God should ever suffer such horror,” he’s fighting to keep those very same children from escaping Assad’s hell and coming here.

Ask yourself, honestly: Do those things make us great?

I don’t think so. I think they reflect what much of our nation has become: fearful, intolerant and increasingly devoid of confidence or compassion. Two wars, two recessions, two stock market crashes and a psyche-shattering terror attack, all in just the span of a decade and a half, will do that to you. Stir in an immature, narrow-minded, petty and tone-deaf political class and you’ve got quite a toxic stew.

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Let’s face it: We’re one-sixth into the 21st century and it’s not going particularly well. Our setbacks have left us scarred and scared. Trust in our institutions is down. We spend more time arguing with one another than working together for the common good.

Trump’s rise has roots in much of this, and since he’s now head of state, much of the responsibility for turning things around starts with him. How to become great again? I say he can start with the basics:

First: Presidents set the tone and provide an example for others. The best of them reached out in earnest, and with humility, to those who didn't vote for them. I believe Trump has an added responsibility to do this, given that most Americans didn't vote for him. In this regard, and like Barack Obama before him, Trump’s “I won” mentality isn't helpful. If, after the carnage of the Civil War, Lincoln could speak of “malice towards none” and “charity for all,” what’s Trump’s excuse?

Second: Use more — not less — soft power to advance American interests abroad. Our openness, pluralism and so much more has long been part of our global appeal, and brings enormous economic and national security benefits. Yet this seems beyond Trump’s grasp. “Speak softly and carry a big stick,” Theodore Roosevelt said. Trump just likes the stick part. Big mistake.

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Third: Speak and act with honesty and transparency. Trump seems unaware that his failures here are harmful well beyond his own reputation. They further erode public trust and send the wrong message to impressionable younger Americans about public service which, call me naive, ostensibly remains an honorable profession. Speaking to the nation for the first time after taking over for the disgraced Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford put it best: “In all my public and private acts as your president, I expect to follow my instincts of openness and candor with full confidence that honesty is always the best policy in the end.” Americans will always respond to and respect a president who speaks with honesty and good faith. Trump’s a failure in this regard, but has an opportunity, if it is within him, to do better. It is in his and more importantly the national interest for him to do so.

Fourth: Honor the pillars of our democracy. Trump swore to preserve, protect and defend the constitution, but talks down parts of it, like that pesky First Amendment that safeguards the media when they challenge or criticize him. The same protections that allow Trump to spout off on Twitter cannot be watered down for others. The president must also stop questioning the integrity of federal judges and congressional opponents who challenge him. The art of disagreeing without being disagreeable has faded; such decency and civility must be restored.

Want to make America great, Mr. President? You can start here.

Paul Brandus, founder and White House bureau chief of West Wing Reports, is the author of Under This Roof: The White House and the Presidencyand a member of USA TODAY's Board of Contributors. Follow him on Twitter @WestWingReport.

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