Written by Frank Li
The field of the 2016 Presidential election is effectively set: Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton! As a voter longing for change and hence a staunch Trump supporter, I am not even sure what a Trump Presidency would look like. So let me spell out three distinct possibilities, by comparing Trump with three well-known transformational world leaders:
- President Trump could be an evil leader like Adolf Hitler!
- President Trump could be a total disaster to America like Mikhail Gorbachev was to the USSR!
- President Trump could be a peaceful transformational leader as great as China’s Deng Xiaoping!
Let me elaborate on each …
1. President Trump could be an evil leader like Hitler!
This projection comes from the Trump haters (e.g. It’s not the 1930s. But Donald Trump should scare us all the same). It is invalid for one main reason: the 3-branch structure of our government limits the power of the Presidency, no matter who occupies the office! In other words, no American President has ever been, nor will be, a dictator like Hitler was! Specifically,
- Domestically, the American President is almost powerless without the support of the other two branches. Here is a recent example: Deadlocked Supreme Court deals big blow to Obama immigration plan.
- Internationally, several recent American Presidents have indeed gone out of the way to upset the world order, with Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama being the worst examples. However, President Trump would likely be neither of them, largely because of his isolationist foreign-policy instincts. For more, read: America’s Post-WWII Foreign Policy.
In short, President Trump would not be Hitler-like, at all!
2. President Trump could be a total disaster like Mikhail Gorbachev!
Contrary to his popular image in America, Mikhail Gorbachev will perhaps eventually be recognized as a traitor by Russian historians! One main reason: he irresponsibly surrendered to the West by allowing the USSR to disintegrate, resulting in many disasters not only for Russia, but also for its former satellite states (e.g. Ukraine). For more, read: Crimea, Ukraine, Russia, and the U.S.
Very notably, today, his Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 is as laughable as President Obama’s in 2009! For more on Mr. Gorbachev and the Cold War, read: Correctly Assessing President Ronald Reagan. For more on President Obama and his Nobel Peace Prize, read: President Obama and War.
In short, would President Trump fail as spectacularly as Mikhail Gorbachev did? Highly unlikely, thanks, again, to the 3-branch structure of our government!
3. Could President Trump be as great as China’s Deng?
In stark contrast with Gorbachev (Mikhail Gorbachev vs. Deng Xiaoping), Deng has proven to be, in my humble opinion, the greatest peaceful transformational leader in human history!
What did Deng do to deserve such a great honor? He laid the foundation for China’s spectacular success over the past 38 years, with no end in sight! Specifically,
- Economic reforms: Deng successfully transformed China’s economy from communism to state capitalism. For more, read: “Communist China”, Really?
- Political reforms: Deng transformed China’s political system from communism (or more precisely, feudalism, with Mao being the de facto last emperor) to a new form that is best described as “a dictatorship with a new dictator every 10 years†(Chinese Presidency: An Earned Kingship for 10 Years). Overall, this system appears to be the best available in today’s world. For more, read: Towards an Ideal Form of Government.
Unfortunately, it’s highly unlikely that President Trump would match Deng in greatness, thanks, again, to the 3-branch structure of our government! However, I certainly hope President Trump would strive to be Deng-like!
4. How could President Trump be Deng-like?
First off, Mr. Trump should study and recognize the value of my most accurate diagnosis for America (Diagnosis for America (Version 3)), as well as the best solution (Solution for America (Version 3))!
Bottom line: our biggest problem is neither terrorism nor the wall along the borders with Mexico, but our failed political system!
Therefore, President Trump must set out to reform our political system first! Three must-fix examples:
- Limit the American Presidency to one term (e.g. six years). America can simply no longer afford to have a President who, throughout his (or her) first term, works solely towards his own re-election, while causing enormous damage to America! For more, read: American Presidency: Why is One-Term a Must (Version 3)?
- Raise the statutory requirements for the Presidency, such as the minimum age to 55 and only after having served as a state governor for one full-term, at least. America can simply no longer afford to have a President who is inadequately prepared for the top job in America – On-the-job training for the President has proven to be enormously expensive! For more, read: American Presidency: Starting at Age 55-65!
- Introduce strict term limits for Congress, preferably one term (e.g. six years) as well. America can simply no longer afford to have career politicians dominating in Congress, who together enjoy a disapproval rating of some 85%!
Secondly, as the GOP Presidential nominee, Mr. Trump must commit to the following three action items upon becoming the President:
- Reform the American Presidency as I have suggested above, with the promise to serve only one term (i.e. four years) as the starting example. In other words, should President Trump seek to be re-elected to the second term, he would tremendously damage America along the way, thus becoming yet another bad President, guaranteed!
- Issue an executive order to undo JFK’s Executive Order 10988, thus dissolving all public-sector unions and banning them forever! For more, read: Detroit, Public-Sector Unions, and JFK.
- Set term limits for Congress!
Finally and most importantly, Mr. Trump must win the Presidency first by balancing the messages between campaign rhetoric and realistic promises as the President!
5. Discussion
America is desperately in need of a peaceful transformational leader as great as China’s Deng! Will that be Donald Trump? Perhaps not, but I hope he would try his best!
Now, a key question: with the reformed definition of the American Presidency, would Donald Trump define himself out? For example, Mr. Trump has never served as a state governor and he is already 70 years old before taking office in January 2017.
The answer is “yes, he would”! However, unusual times require unusual measures. President Trump should optimally re-define the American Presidency for future generations, just like what Deng did in China! After all, not only did Deng start reforming China when he was in his 70s, he was also a bloody communist before that!
Mr. Trump, be great! The path to greatness has already been shown to you! For all our sakes, please listen and just do it!
6. Closing
Give Donald Trump a chance to make America great again!
Now, please sit back and enjoy the video below.
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