President
Trump
The White
House
1600
Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington
D.C.
12 June 2017
Dear
President Trump,
It is
perhaps presumptuous for me, a regular citizen, to give advice to the president. It is a hard job you have and I readily
acknowledge that. On the other hand, our
country was founded on the principle that the chief executive is a citizen, no
more, no less. So please allow me to
offer you some suggestions.
Sir,
according to today’s Gallup poll, nearly two thirds of the American people
disapprove of your actions as president.
While there are certainly plenty of policy reasons for this, I believe
that much of it comes down to a matter of not being able to trust you. And I think much of the reason that they do
not trust you is that you are not being honest, particularly with yourself.
This morning
you held an open cabinet meeting in which you asked every cabinet member to
tell the reporters present how great you are.
However, because they are your cabinet, appointed by you and beholden to
you for their jobs, this is not a particularly convincing tactic. Last week, James Comey testified about his
meetings with you. While I am not sure
that he is completely trustworthy either, when you immediately tell the
American people that his testimony was false without conceding that some of it
may have had some truth in it, it makes you seem on the defensive and less
trustworthy.
Sir,
everyone makes mistakes, and almost everyone who has held office has admitted
to making mistakes – starting with George Washington (read his final address
and you will see he leads off with that theme).
You seem incapable of conceding that you too are fallible. Your repeated claims that you are the best at
everything, that your efforts have been record-breaking, and that everything is
going wonderfully – all that rings hollow when considered in light of what you
have actually accomplished and failed to accomplish.
You have
failed to appoint people to fill a great many positions in your administration. You have failed in your attempted travel ban,
which was found unconstitutional on the grounds of discriminating against a particular
religion. You have failed to propose any
significant new legislation – including a replacement to the health care system
you wish to get rid of. You have had a
series of foreign policy mishaps, most recently alienating our NATO allies by
demanding they unilaterally increase their payments, In fact, most of what you have done has been
cutting protections, regulations, and laws designed to protect the American
people.
Now
actually, since you are only near the beginning of your presidency, it is not
like anyone would have expected you to have accomplished that much -- but by refusing to acknowledge that you might
not be perfect, you are setting yourself up for failure. Hubris brings about its own demise. Humility would serve you much better.
One of the
best ways to turn that situation around might be to start listening to what the
American people have to say – not only those who are devotees of Fox News, and
not just those who you know will flatter you -- but everyone. Listen to the concerns that Americans have
for clean water and air, for the risk of climate change, for health care
issues, for the rising tide of racist incidents, and for other issues. Then take those concerns seriously, admit
that the problems are complex, and try to do something about them that will
benefit all Americans.
If you did
that, you might discover the difference between popularity and respect. Please consider these words.
Regards,
Bill
Boerman-Cornell
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