Eisenhower’s Presidency Offers Lessons for Trump
By John Shaw MAGAZINE DIPLOMAT (USA)
President Donald Trump reportedly studied the inaugural addresses of Presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan as he prepared his speech for Jan. 20, 2017. This was reasonable. Both Kennedy and Reagan delivered stirring speeches that outlined their worldviews, framed their agendas and readied their contemporaries for the stern challenges ahead. The Kennedy and Reagan inaugural speeches are still read today for perspective and inspiration.
Trump’s inaugural address, however, shared only Kennedy and Reagan’s brevity. It lacked their lift and poetry, presenting a grim, dystopian vision of the United States while slamming the establishment and any nation that gets in the way of the 45th president’s “America first” populist agenda. Instead of unity and optimism, it capitalized on the division and anger that has roiled U.S. politics. And it offered the world a clenched fist rather than an extended hand.
Trump has not shown much regard for studying history, but if he wants to successfully lead the United States over the next four years, it would make sense for him to review the record and especially the governing style of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th president. Eisenhower served in the White House from 1953 to 1961 following a stellar military career that included leading the historic D-Day invasion of Normandy in 1944 that turned the tide of World War II.