I am a Never Trump person. Mostly this is based on the fact he incites bigotry against some of our fellow Americans. He is also a narcissist, not particularly bright, utterly incompetent in dealing with domestic crises, has made a hash of America’s relations with the rest of the world and undermined some of the key foundations of American democracy. That said, is Donald Trump the Worst President Ever? He certainly has some tough competition for that dubious distinction.
Thankfully, none of the post World War II presidents incited bigotry like Donald Trump. On the other hand, the sometimes revered Woodrow Wilson certainly did. He re-segregated both the Treasury and the Post Office Department. The first movie ever shown in the White House was “Birth of a Nation.” The film valorized the Klu Klux Klan. In fact, the film actually quoted from Wilson’s academic tome, “The History of the American People.” He also referred to those with close ties to Europe (frequently first and second generation immigrants) who opposed his World War I policies as “hyphenated Americans.” That is: “Any man who carries a hyphen about with him carries a dagger that he is ready to plunge into the vitals of this Republic whenever he gets ready.”
John Kennedy launched the Bay of Pigs invasion against Cuba, a humiliating failure. Kennedy supported a coup against President Diem of South Vietnam, part of a tragic process of entangling the U.S. in a long and bloody war.
Lyndon Johnson lied about the Gulf of Tonkin incident, leading to major U.S. military commitment to a war that the U.S. didn’t need to fight. Richard Nixon cynically undermined peace talks to assist his election prospects in 1968. Between the two presidents, about 58,000 Americans were killed.
George W. Bush Went to war over “weapons of mass destruction” in Iraq that weren’t there. His post-war planning was negligible. Iraq is now under Iranian influence, undermining American security and destabilizing the Middle East.
On international relations, on war/peace issues, who’s worse? Trump seems to believe that the attorney general should be his personal consigliere. John Kennedy appointed his own brother Bobby to be attorney general and key adviser.
Trump has shown himself utterly incompetent in dealing with the hurricane-made disaster in Puerto Rico. Bush was incompetent in Katrina.
Donald Trump likes autocrats, which is repugnant. Franklin Roosevelt established diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union while Stalin had already murdered by starvation millions of Ukrainians and enslaved millions in the Gulag.
Richard Nixon established diplomatic relations with Communist China, knowing full well that Mao, a ruthless totalitarian dictator, had already murdered millions of Chinese. George Bush looked into Vladimir Putin’s eyes and saw a good man. Under Barack Obama, his secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, literally pushed the reset button to warm up relations with the same Vladimir Putin.
Donald Trump is a wannabe autocrat himself. Some of his predecessors undermined the democratic process and suppressed the right to hold opinions unacceptable to the president. Lyndon Johnson reportedly used the FBI as a tool against his political opponents. Richard Nixon burglarized the offices of the main opposition party.
Woodrow Wilson signed the Espionage Act, putting those who said anything negative about Wilson’s war policies at risk of arrest. His most frequent targets were German-Americans and Irish-Americans. Under Wilson, the Palmer Raids targeted Italian-Americans and Eastern European-Americans.
It seems to me that Donald Trump as a person lacks basic human decency, empathy and intelligence. Other presidents may have meant well, demonstrated empathy and were among the best and the brightest. Some may even deserve praise for accomplishments like the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965. But none of Trump’s predecessors were without serious moral faults and major policy failures.
I hope that we will change presidents in 2020. Perhaps the new president will have an unquestionable moral integrity that many other presidents have lacked and avoid the policy disasters over which many presidents have presided. Perhaps the next person will be a candidate for Best President Ever. Whoever that person will be, of whatever party, it would be a blessing that America sorely needs.
Richard Fein retired from the Isenberg School of Management as the Director of the Chase Career Center for undergraduate business students. He is the author of nine books on job search skills and holds an MA in Political Science and an MBA in Economics.