Presidential Management Styles

The Difference Between Biden and Trump as Presidents Depends on How You View Their Management Style; and They Couldn't Be Any More Different

On Thursday Night, Joe Biden appeared on camera in a press conference to address the fallout of the Special Prosecutor’s report on how he handled classified documents. For purposes of this conversation, the reason for the press conference, the content of the report and the politics of it all are unimportant. No, I want to talk about Presidential Management instead.

Biden appeared before the cameras and gave his 2 cents on what he thought of the report. He mentioned at one point he sat down with the DOJ Special Prosecutor over 5 hours across 2 days while the world was in crisis mode over Gaza and the subsequent Israeli invasion. Answering questions from reporters, he misspoke and said “Mexico” instead of the southern border of Gaza in “Egypt” (he still managed to name the President of Egypt correctly). He looked relatively exhausted, but still working hard for America, trying to get things done at home and abroad. In major events, Biden is engaged and hands on, not going through intermediaries and not delegating things he can do on his own. This is a guy who wants to actually do the job and work. What he can’t do hands on, he has around him a group of smart, pragmatic individuals who have the interests in the country at heart, that three are no qualms about delegating matters to. Biden instinctively understands that the root to all effective management is building relationships and having a good team around you to help in your goals.

And look what he has been capable of doing so far. He united NATO against Russia on behalf of Ukraine. He has the economy booming. He managed to get through a litany of bills through Congress on the smallest of margins. Say what you will about Biden’s age, but he does the job well, better than most, even in his 80s. He gets politics. He gets a carrot can be just as effective as a stick, even moreso. He understands the best deals have everyone coming away with something, instead of a select few getting everything. The adage “You can keep all the people happy some of the time” rings true to Joe.

Contrast that with Donald Trump.

First off, I doubt Donald Trump could even find Egypt on a map, much less know who the President of the country is. When his hand picked Secretary of State referred to him as a “f**king moron” it was this kind of rudimentary general knowledge information he was referring to, of which Trump has none. In his mind, people will tell him what’s important, and if he needs to call the President of Egypt he’ll have someone dial the number, give him the name of who he is talking to and its more a chore than something to proactively consider. Remember that when you consider his staff may not have the best interests of the country in mind.

Relationships? In Trump’s mind, they should all be sucking up to us, and if they don’t well we just won’t consider them friends in the future.¹ And getting into the weeds to do “work?” Donny boy doesn’t do that. He’s more likely to kick his feet up, get a couple Quarter Pounders with Cheese and fries and watch old re-runs of The Celebrity Apprentice, mentioning to everyone how fat Gene Simmons has gotten or how odd Gary Busey was. You can even get a sense of his whole management style from the show— everyone else did all the work and he would show up at the end, nod and hear people argue about who should be kicked off and then just make a decision 50/50 decision along the lines of “Ok tails, you’re fired.”

Trump’s answer to Gaza would be to let Israel do whatever they wanted, consequences be damned. He doesn’t see how that approach essentially creates a mass war theater in the Middle East. He doesn’t think that far ahead. He’s a guy that looks at the ends of what he wants and never contemplates the means, or how those can be counterproductive. Donald’s not the guy who builds anything; he’s the guy who makes decisions and then puts his name on things if it turns out OK.

Donald couldn’t get shit done in his first two years in office, when he had control in both chambers. It took them over a year to get a GOP Tax Cut THROUGH THE HOUSE, and then they had a huge photo op and party as if it were the finish line. His idea of relationships is that everyone should kiss the ring. However, if you are from a district with a large moderate voting bloc, you’d want to keep your distance. No matter, he’ll sic his MAGA hacks on you and politically shoot himself in the foot in the name of getting a redder GOP. He doesn’t understand politics is about addition, bringing people in; to him it’s my way or the highway.

Worst of all, while there were some rational Republicans within the administration serving as guardrails against Trump’s worst instincts in his first term (e.g., using a nuclear bomb to diffuse a hurricane?) those people in those key roles won’t be there next time. Without a moral center in the heart of the administration, it would be run by political hacks and some of politics’ worst moral characters. One of the things Trump learned is that he doesn’t even need to get them confirmed, he can just reissue a revolving carousel of acting and interim officials to do his dirty work. And worst of all they will use the levers of power to go after people who stand in their way. All checks and balances will be gone.

If Joe Biden’s Presidential Management style is that of pretty much every President before him, one of collaboration, achievement, and the best interests of the country, Donald Trump’s is that of a mob boss, only out for himself, and a King of the Neighborhood. He’ll stock jobs with stoolies and hooligans. He’ll only be as good as his intellect will take him, and based on everything seen in 30 years, there isn’t much there.

I don’t know about you, but if given a choice between someone who wants to help (oh, and a smart capable VP waiting in the wings), and someone who wants to break you and everyone else to kneel, I’m not going with the guy with the stick in his hand ready to thrash your kneecaps. This should be a complete no-brainer.

Getting back to the issues with President Biden’s memory; the goldfish has the shortest memory of all vertebrates. It can only retain a thought for a few seconds and its gone. It goes without saying that I would choose a Goldfish for President before I would select someone who would actively harm our country like Donald Trump.

PurpleAmerica’s Obscure Fact of the Day

We’ve had all sorts of management styles in the White House over the years. The overall trend has been as follows:

• Those that are hands off and let their underlings do what they want tend to result in corrupt or seriously mismanaged administrations. Harding, GW Bush, even Grant’s Administration were rife with corruption and scandal.

• The best administrations have a combination of smart, competent people in key positions that are delegated to, and a President who sets the tone, direction and helps build necessary relationships that get things done. They don’t micromanage, but they do play active roles in what is going on for important issues.

PurpleAmerica’s Final Word on the Subject

I can’t say this any more clearly. If you vote for Trump, you’re a “fucking moron.”

Period.

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Footnotes and Fun Stuff

1. He never considers the consequences of that, adding to a growing list of enemies and skeptical parties.