OPINION:
President Donald Trump, according to a new poll from Fox News, gets high marks when it comes to speaking his mind, decent marks for competency and not-so-great marks for displaying a “presidential” manner.
This is good news. A “presidential” manner, also known as diplomacy, at which Barack Obama soared, is a far, far overrated trait. Simply put: Who cares if America’s top leader is perceived as cooperative and — worse — nice?
Better to be seen as candid in speech and competent in deed than smooth-talking of tongue.
By the numbers: More than 8-in-10 voters agree that Trump “says what he thinks” either “extremely” well or “very” well, Fox’s poll found. Other characteristics used to describe the president? Fully 44 percent see him as an “outsider,” just as many call him “unstable.”
An outsider’s what the country wanted — someone who would “drain the swamp” and get rid of the establishment elitism in Washington, D.C. But “unstable?” Admittedly, not the best of qualities to come to mind when describing a commander-in-chief. But it’s not all necessarily negative.
It’s actually a great thing for foreign adversaries and political enemies — both overseas and domestic — to wonder what Trump will next do. Keeping the likes of Kim Jong-un on his toes and guessing actually helps secure America’s safety. Shaking the boots of Capitol Hill’s Deep State globalists slows their shadowy goals from solidifying.
But back to the poll.
Thirty-five percent labeled Trump “competent” and a “strong leader.” Slightly less, 32 percent, saw him as a “problem solver.” And on the low end of the scale, voters were least likely to see Trump as “presidential,” a “moral leader,” or even “compassionate,” with only about a quarter of respondents checking these titles as applicable to the president.
Hurricane Harvey and Trump’s response to the disaster may change his compassionate rating some. But even if it doesn’t — well, so what?
Obama was worshipped by the leftists of the world for what they dubbed his golden gift of speech. Yet this was the president whose diplomatic, erudite, caring and concerned manner of speaking — of conducting White House business — brought us, say, national embarrassment with an ever-shifting Syria red line; or, an Iran treaty that virtually guarantees Tehran’s nuclear weapon development within the decade; or, cold relations with Israel; or, domestic race relations that exploded on the streets of America in violence, killings and lasting bitterness; or, a schism between the Democratic and Republican parties that’s resulted in ongoing vicious attacks and an inability to work for the common good of the citizens.
Obama brought about all that while earning adoration for his compassionate style of advocating for the little people — for all the little people, of all the world’s countries, not just in America.
So Trump’s poll numbers find him high on speaking his mind, low on presidential mannerisms and diplomacy?
Well, good on that. That’s truly cause to cheer. One need only look to the previous administration to see where silk-smooth talk leads. The smart American will take candor and competency in a president, any day of the week.
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