I Don’t Blame Trump For Anything

“Every nation gets the government it deserves.”

- Joseph de Maistre

Our President loves to blame others and refuses to accept responsibility for anything that goes badly. Blame is central to his outlook on life.

So far, in his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, this character trait is on full display. Of course, he didn’t cause the health crisis. By definition, leaders don’t cause an existential crisis. But his handling of it – denying it, mischaracterizing it, trying to politicize it – has been bad for the entire country.

Yet, ultimately, I don’t blame him. He is in a position of great authority because American people put him there. Our flawed, but brilliant form of government gives us all a say in who leads us. We decide who our leaders are. We are to blame.

I take full responsibility for my part.

In 2016 I vowed I would never vote for someone that was unfit to be president. For the first time in my life I didn’t check a box on the ballot for president. I wrote in the name of John Kasich, former governor of Ohio. I was, and still am a Never Trumper.

But I couldn’t bring myself to vote for Hillary Clinton either. I recognized her experience and intellect, but I thought there were too many examples of her not being truthful and lacking good judgment. I now view that as a mistake. She would have been a much better leader than Donald Trump has been.

That’s because Trump is not a leader. He never has been. He’s a businessman. By most accounts, a very successful businessman. It doesn’t take a leader to make a lot of money. A selfish, dishonest, unscrupulous person can make a boatload of cash in America.

The good news is that we still have the power to choose our leaders. Let’s hope we learn our lesson. I certainly have.