Tomorrow, Donald J. Trump will be inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States. For many students at Duke and around the country, the event represents a calamitous failure of American democracy and the commencement of an unflattering era that will be defined by repression, hubris and demagoguery.
Last week, President Obama addressed the nation for the final time in his hometown of Chicago. In the address, the President reflected on his progress from the past eight years and laid out his hopes for the nation going forward. For many, Obama’s final speech represented a poignant end to his presidency.
Regardless of one’s political proclivities, both sides generally respect the President’s personal character and status as an embodiment of the American dream. Obama and Trump ostensibly represent stark opposites both in their politics and personalities. Trump’s bombastic demeanor presents a profound contrast to Obama’s generally mild mannered and genteel nature.
Both during his campaign and in the aftermath of his election, many progressives have painted Trump as a categorical threat to Americans’ civil liberties and individual rights, and feel no obligation to support the President-elect when he assumes office. These dissenters cite both the illegitimacy of Trump’s election and the shortcomings of his personal character as satisfactory reasons to withhold their support for him as President. The essence of this piece is that every citizen ought to adhere to the distinctly American tradition of wishing success on the new President, regardless of which party holds the White House.
Accepting the finality of a free and fair election represents a hallmark of American democracy, and tomorrow’s inauguration will once again perform the peaceful transition of power between administrations, an aspect of our republic that indeed already is great. Even amid allegations of Russian interference in U.S. elections, which are reprehensible from any perspective, little compelling evidence exists claiming that Moscow’s hacking actually changed the result of the election.
Some others feel the obligation to withhold their support from soon-to-be President Trump due to his personal conduct throughout the campaign. Trump’s remarks about women, immigrants and a disabled reporter, to name a few, deeply offended many Americans and Duke students who value civility and common decency in their personal interactions.
These scandals represent a stark divergence from the past eight years under President Obama, whose largely scandal-free record over his two terms constitutes one of the President’s greatest accomplishments. While such conduct is obviously desirable in an administration, lapses in character generally do not negate meaningful public policy advances crafted by the President. While deplorable, Nixon’s Watergate scandal in no way invalidated the consequential accomplishments of his administration such as the United States’ diplomatic advances with China. Similarly, Bill Clinton remains a supremely popular figure in the U.S. for the substantive economic advancement of the 1990s despite his familial transgressions and eventual impeachment.
While it may be tempting to craft presuppositions about Trump’s legacy before he even takes office, a fair press and history will judge Trump by the success or failure of the policy mechanisms he will employ.
Against all odds, in one of the most shocking political upsets of all time, Donald Trump has assumed the presidency. Much to the chagrin of many members of the popular media and Duke students, Trump will be the President of the United States for at least the next four years. He will serve as the public face of our nation both at home and abroad. Regardless of political affiliation, all Americans should hope that President-elect Trump achieves success in his new role, for as the President, his actions will undoubtedly shape the future of America, for better or worse.
This does not mean that Trump should be exempt from critique or criticism, for any politician, including the President-elect, must remain accountable to the people who placed him in office in the first place. Many people across the country disagree forcefully with Trump, and it is their right in a free democracy to effusively express that discontent.
However, discontent and dissent are not equivalent to wishes of failure on the new administration. A progressive who disdained Republican obstructionist tactics when President Obama took office, yet seeks to oppose Trump at every turn, risks attaining the unenviable status of hypocrite.
Tomorrow’s inauguration will represent a symbol of the vibrancy of our democracy as the peaceful transition of power between two political parties, as it always has. The next four years will surely contain ups and downs, trials and tribulations, and every American should hope that President Trump is prepared to face them. Every progressive should resist the temptation to descend to schadenfreude and remember that a success for the President is a success for the country. History will judge Trump by the efficacy of his policies, and after four years, Americans will reconsider whether he deserves another term to govern.
In short, give Trump a chance.
Ian Buchanan is a Trinity freshman. His column, "let freedom ring," runs on alternate Thursdays.
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Ian Buchanan is a Trinity sophomore. His column, "let freedom ring," runs on alternate Wednesdays.