A Snapshot of the Current Presidency

The Headlines Tell The Story

What Does America Want In A President?

Clearly, the answer to that question can vary a lot, as divided as the country is these days. Still, I think the majority of us could agree on a few traits and attributes we would like to see in whomever is occupying the White House at any given moment.

How about this as a short list of what most of us would like to see:

• A bit of class
• A sense of stable, calm leadership
• Someone who seeks to unite us, including those who voted for the competition
• A sense of generosity for the less fortunate
• Willingness to engage civilly with those in disagreement
• One who leads our key alliances and builds partnerships
• One who goes the extra mile to insure no corruption or conflict of interest, even the appearance thereof
• Someone who makes big changes in a professional, transparent way

So, Let’s Take A Look At How Trump Is Doing

I thought one interesting way to address this would be to survey the headlines across media on any given day. Here is what I found for just one single day:

• Trump Rages Over Qatar Jet Fiasco as GOP Angst Worsens: “Humiliating”
• Trump Tells Gulf Hosts He’s ‘Not Thrilled’ With Their Gift
• Trump Whines About How His Gift From UAE Isn’t Good Enough
• Early signs of tariff price hikes hit U.S. shoppers
• Trump Suggests He’ll Set New Tariff Rates Without Making Deals—Latest Big Tariff Flip-Flop Since ‘Liberation Day’
• Trump panics in overnight rant on ‘sleazebags’ manipulating Supreme Court
• Trump Freaks After SCOTUS Trashes His Birthright Citizenship Arguments
• Trump Sends Thinly Veiled Warning to Supreme Court Justices
• Bruce Springsteen calls Trump “treasonous;” Trump responds by criticizing the rock star’s skin
• Trump Resurrects His Beef With Taylor Swift in Weirdest Way Possible
• Apple CEO’s business plan provokes US president
• Trump’s firing of FEMA director unsettles GOP senators
• Trump blasts former FBI Director James Comey over Instagram post
• Trump’s changes to broadband rules would favor Starlink.
• Europeans consult Trump, then agree on a joint response to Russian foot-dragging in truce talks
• Social Security Benefits Could Be Slashed To $750 Under Trump’s Student Loan Wage Seizure Policy
• DOGE said 40% of the Social Security Agency’s calls were ‘fraudulent.’ Data suggests it was actually less than 1%

Starting To See Any Trends Yet?

• ‘Mad King’ Trump Torched Over ‘Especially Jarring’ Claim To U.S. Troops In Qatar
• Trump mocks France on WW II victory celebrations in Qatar army speech
• The Big Takeover: Secret Plans for Trump Command of America’s Police
• ‘Scandal’: Internal documents show Trump admin massive Social Security lie
• Trump’s Trade Deals Endanger Farmers and Our Food System
• FEMA ‘not ready’ for hurricane season, internal review finds
• Trump suspends asylum, leaving immigrants to face an uncertain future
• Donald Trump’s Legal Framework Mirrors Genocide Historical Architectures
• ‘Stop talking!’ Trump loses cool as he rages against House Republicans
• Trump’s Birthday Military Parade Is Offering Top Donors ‘VIP Experience’
• Trump Rants After Slamming ‘Nasty’ Reporter’s Question
• Donald Trump: The Symbol of the Decline and Fall of Just About Every

Conclusions

Well, we seem to be coming up short in a few areas, aren’t we?

And that is just some selected headlines for one single day. Going to be a long four years, folks.

Let’s hope the intervening special elections and midterms provide some moderation and a check on the power being so clumsily wielded.

See You Next Week

And a footnote on last week: I very much enjoyed the comments and emails on cities I liked. A number of you pointed out some places that surely belonged high on such a list, and a few commented along the lines of “Are you kidding me? You included THAT City?” Great fun hearing everyone’s choices; thank you. Keep up the conversation, friends. Where else should have been on such a list?

If you find this blog worthy of your time and curiosity, I invite you to do three things:

(1) Join the conversation. Your voice counts here. If you wish to share COMMENTS anonymously, make the last word in your comment “PRIVATE.” I will assure your privacy via anonymity.

(2) Share the word about this post with friends and colleagues. Share a link in your emails and social media posts (https://agentsofreason.com).

(3) You are welcome to share this post with anyone. It is easy to pass on via email, of course, but also on Facebook, Blue Sky, LinkedIn, or Reddit; simply click on the links for these services at the end of this article.

Let’s grow our circle.