President Donald Trump is a mean guy — so what?
Feb 2, 2017, 4:12 PM | Updated: Feb 3, 2017, 8:33 am
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Trump, Trump, Trump! It seems all we talk about these days is President Donald Trump.
We come by this honestly because, let’s be honest, he just keeps fueling us with new things to talk about.
And what is the Trump outrage de Thursday? He’s mean to world leaders on the phone.
Oh, surely not! You can’t be serious! The leader of the free world isn’t sweet to other world leaders? Outrageous!
Look, I understand. We have had eight years of “leading from behind.” We have had a kinder, gentler White House. The previous administration was more concerned about the United States’ image than they were about our nation’s strength.
Yes, Trump is not a nice man. Here’s a newsflash for you: Most successful leaders aren’t nice men or women. I don’t want to shock your delicate sensitivities, but a mean streak is almost a requirement for successful leadership.
Do you think that the heads of major corporations around the world are worried about what other corporations think about them? Worried about what their competitors think about them?
They’re not even worried about what their vendors and suppliers think about them. They are there for one reason: the success of their business.
The same should apply when leading the nation. You need to be concerned with one thing and one thing only: The success of your nation, not what other people think of your nation.
I can already see the comments below: “But we have to be nice to our allies. They have to like us. If we ever get into trouble or there’s ever a war, they need to walk along with us.” I get that argument — to a very small extent.
The fact of the matter is none of these nations, such as Australia or Mexico, that had their feelings hurt by Trump’s treatment of them over the phone are going to turn their backs on the United States. First and foremost because they are good leaders and they have one thing in mind: Once again, the success of their nation.
Not to mention they really, really like the checks that they get from our country on a regular basis. They will not bite the hand that feeds them.
The bottom line is that we need to stop worrying about how Trump is mean to people. We’ve always known Trump is not a nice guy but we still elected him and made him the president of the United States because somewhere, deep down, we all knew that the White House was due for a little bit of mean.