One of the big distractions in the news this week, other than how Kellyanne Conway sits on a sofa, has been the fiasco with Best Picture at the Oscars. I’ve already shared my thoughts on why this happened; instead, I’d like to look at what PWC did immediately afterwards: they accepted responsibility. That is the mark of a responsible CEO and business leader. When their business screws up, as the leader at the top of the food chain, they accept responsibility for the action, and clearly state they will find the cause and correct the system so it doesn’t happen again. I’m sure you can think of numerous examples (one of the best known). With respect to government this principle is clear, and it goes back to Harry S. Truman, who had the sign on his desk: “The Buck Stops Here.”
President Trump was supposedly elected because of his experience in business and as a CEO. One would think he would have learned this.
Obviously, one would be thinking wrong.
Just this week, there have been three egregious instances where President Trump has blamed anyone but himself or his administration for problems in the country:
- Yemen Raid. With respect to the raid in Yemen that President Obama declined to initiate, and President Trump authorized — a raid that yielded no useful intelligence and resulted in the death of a Navy Seal — Trump has blamed the Generals.
- Antisemitism. To date, there have been over 100 bomb threats against Jewish Community Centers. Two Jewish cemeteries have had headstones topped. In Rhode Island, a swastika was drawn in human excrement. What is President Trump’s response to the latest series of threats, after condemning them weakly just once, and refusing numerous times to address the issue? He claimed the threats were a false flag — attempts to make others — namely him — look bad. (another reference) This is beyond reprehensible: Hate Crimes — and there is no doubt these are hate crimes intended to create terror — must be rejected in the sharpest language possible, and immediately investigated. He needs to forcefully indicate that they are not acceptable in this country. Update: He did so at the start of his speech tonight, although he didn’t refer to his campaign’s role in encouraging antisemitism.
- White House Leaks. We all know how much information is leaking from the White House — much more than ever leaked from Hillary’s servers. It is people working for Trump who are obviously doing it, likely out of dissatisfaction from how the transition and the first month is going. Yet instead of taking responsibility for the chaos and leading, what does President Trump do? He blames the previous President, who has been out on vacation. He asserts that Obama is taking an active role in sabotaging him, for some unknown purpose (as the election won’t be overturned at this point, and he can’t come back into office).
The President is a leader — someone who leads in words and by example. Mr. Trump is failing to do that. Update: He started his speech tonight by condemning the antisemitic violence — which is good.
