What Trump Should Learn From Washington

In 1783, Washington was the epitome of leadership and a beacon of hope for America. He had won a war that seemed nearly impossible to win and achieved victory against tyrannical authoritarians abusing their political power. But after this long, exhausting war, Washington just wanted to retire. George Washington felt that he had performed his noble duty and feared that further political pursuits would tempt him towards the paths of Ceasar and Napoleon – starting out heroes but ending as tyrants. Washington did not want to sully his legacy with accusations of aggrandizement or that he was pursuing an American Monarchy. However, the good advice of his friends and confidants drew Washington out of his “retirement” and set him on the path to lead this new Constitutional Republic into the land of freedom, pulling it from the downward trajectory of anarchy that the Articles of Confederation had set it on. Washington rose to the occasion and set the bar for many presidents to aim toward. Today, much rests upon Trump’s shoulders. Our country is in need of a revival of founding principles. How can our President-elect learn from the example of Washington and establish all of these lofty goals in his second term?

As the head of the Continental Army, Washington had firsthand experience with the inadequacies of the Articles of Confederation. This experience, and subsequent actions of Congress after the Revolutionary War, concerned Washington that the war might have been in vain and that the government would collapse. He knew change was necessary and his advisors knew that he had the political clout to make change happen. Washington’s concern for posterity, and not his own political gain, is what finally got him back into the game. His concern over the future of the country outweighed his self-imposed promise of political retirement. Trump would do well to embrace a similar mode of operation – be guided by concern of the future of the country and not personal popularity. There are many issues politicians deem unpopular to touch, but our country cannot ignore them any longer: social security, entitlement programs, governmental debt, and wholesale immigration reform. Tackling these issues is necessary for our posterity. Washington is remembered for the actions that had a lasting impact on what our country became, the challenge now is for Trump to live up to such an example.

There was a reason that Washington’s mere presence was necessary at the Constitutional Convention: he was deeply popular and politically powerful. Madison and Hamilton courted him because they knew that his attendance would legitimize the entire proceedings and would gain merit to their intentions to completely revise the guiding charter of the new country. By all metrics, Trump is also at the peak of his popularity in the country. The people have glaringly voiced their faith in his leadership. He now has the unique opportunity to cash in on this popularity to make good and necessary changes to the government. He has campaigned on slashing the size and scope of the government and now is the time to make good on that promise. But he must do so on a scale and in such a way that it cannot be reversed in 4 or 8 years. Slashing at such a scale could strain even his deeply held popularity among his base, especially if he eliminates entire departments such as the Department of Education. But with his popularity loss he would gain the future generations of America. Just like Washington, he must use the height of his fame and influence to legitimize good and proper causes.

A likeness between Donald Trump and Washington is that both seem to have the special knack for collecting influential and intelligent people around them. Washington deliberately recruited Hamilton as his aide-de-camp during the war, and thus started his collection of the veritable who’s who of the American founding. He frequently corresponded with Hamilton and Madison and even brought in Jefferson to be a part of his cabinet. He did not necessarily bring in people that only agreed with each other or him. He encouraged thought and debates about all the issues. Trump has likewise started to assemble a group that may disagree with each other but can push for thoughtful debate and meaningful change. Trump needs to encourage his advisors to disagree with him and each other and be able to choose the side that will benefit posterity. He needs to use the experience and hard work of his advisors to point the country back towards the lofty goals set forth by our founding documents.

Despite publicly proclaiming that Washington was stepping away from power, he was dragged back in through convincing arguments by Madison, Hamilton, and other personal advisors to use his power to legitimize the Constitutional Convention and affect the necessary change to the useless Articles of Confederation. Washington ushered in a period of Liberty that had never been seen in the history of the world. We all stand to gain from learning from an atypical and heroic person like Washington and Trump is in the unique position to use these lessons to cement his legacy and secure the future of our American ideal. The politicians in D.C. have allowed cowardice and a fear of unpopular actions to punt the issues of the country’s debt, immigration, and entitlements down the road. Instead of thinking of their children or grandchildren, they instead sacrificed the future of our country’s citizens for their political popularity and success. Our country will continue to hemorrhage all that makes it great if in 4 years these issues have yet again been pushed to the wayside. Trump’s campaign has made Americans believe in something bigger than themselves, much like Washington and the fellow founders did 237 years ago. May the future president chart our country toward the timeless principles and ideals set forth by our courageous founding fathers.