OPINION:
I have been politically active for over 25 years. I have been a part of political fundraising for many worthy politicians. I was a part of the inner circle as the wife of Robert Mosbacher, former secretary of Commerce for President George H.W. Bush. I know how things are supposed to work — and I can tell when things are broken. So can Donald Trump, which is why we elected him.
President Donald Trump entered the White House promising to change the business-as-usual mentality that ruled Washington. He made clear on the campaign trail that he would not go along with doing things the way they had always been done. The American people spoke loudly with his election, telling the political world that they were unhappy with how government had been operating. They wanted an outsider to come in, shake up the system, and find new ways to get things done instead of living with endless political gridlock.
So they got their outsider. Yet from his first day in office, Mr. Trump has been criticized precisely for being an outsider and for doing things differently.
Who is to say that the way things have always been done is the right way? Obviously those who voted for Mr. Trump to “make America great again” didn’t feel served by the status quo. Some in power may be intimidated by the change that the new president brings — but those who elected him crave it.
If Donald Trump’s standard of behavior gets the job done, perhaps that standard should become the new normal. It is time to reset protocol to something that will better serve the nation. We should redefine what is presidential to take account of results, as in the business world. A businessman defines a problem, finds a solution, and acts. Yes, the president’s decisive style of action doesn’t always follow protocol, but it moves the ball.
So give change a chance. Conformity with the past will lead only to more stagnation. Instead of criticizing the businessman president who gets the job done, we should applaud him.
Mr. Trump hasn’t been in office long, but he has made the most of his time. He has withdrawn from the Trans Pacific Partnership, as he promised. He has approved the Keystone XL pipeline, creating jobs, as he promised. He has taken our country out of the Paris Accords, as he promised. He is beefing up border security with a review of our immigration policies, as he promised — and despite opposition in the lower courts, appears on the way to vindication before the Supreme Court. He is working with Congress to repeal and replace Obamacare, keeping at it despite setbacks, as he promised.
Mr. Trump came under fire for firing former FBI director James Comey, but as president, he had the authority to do it — and for a businessman president it was the right thing to do. In the private sector, if you’re unhappy with the way someone is acting, you fire the person. You don’t ask Congress. You act.
If Mr. Trump were to follow the practices of the past, he would not have social media accounts anymore. But guess what: Twitter didn’t exist in the past. Mr. Trump is a modern president. Social media is part of many citizens’ lives, so it is a part of President Trump’s life. Mr. Trump refuses to give up his Twitter account, because it is his direct link to the American people. Traditional media doesn’t like him, because traditional media doesn’t work like that.
But the Trump way is working. Supporters are happy that he is challenging the way things have always been done. They feel closer to the presidency than ever before, because this president doesn’t go through media consultants. He says it how he sees it — unfiltered.
At the end of the day, if Mr. Trump’s new way of doing things fails, Washington can always go back to doing things the way they have always been done. But first we owe it to our nation’s future to give Mr. Trump a chance.
• Georgette Mosbacher is a commissioner at the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy.
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