Questions About President Trump

Trump and Ivanka

President Trump has been in office for five months. He has not had any legislative accomplishments, but he has (1) dramatically changed the enforcement of immigration law and (2) symbolically reduced our commitment to global efforts against climate change.

My primary takeaway is not about policy, however. I fear that Trump has brought a mean spirit to our national life and permanently changed the (already declining) norms related to respectful conversation and cooperation. In this sense, Trump's negative impact mirrors the long-term effects of President Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky and his lying to the American people about the affair.

Clinton normalized the sexualization of our culture and the ability to lie and get away with it. The effects are still being felt, twenty years later. Sadly, I believe that Trump's meanness will percolate through many aspects of our society and change our culture for the worse.

601. Does President Trump even want to be President? Are certain of his behaviors (for example, firing James Comey) a subconscious way of flouting political norms so much that he brings about his own demise?

602. Did President Trump foresee himself winning the election (and did he actually want to win)? Was his victory as surprising to him as it was to the "political/media elite"? Dad maintained, throughout the campaign, that Trump did not want to win, and the more I watch and read, the more I am convinced that Dad was correct.