Writing in the Atlantic, former Bush 43 official Jack Goldsmith asks "Will Donald Trump Destroy the Presidency?" We have survived some pretty bad presidents, but Goldsmith sees Trump as a composite of the worst of them:
Trump is a Frankenstein’s monster of past presidents’ worst attributes: Andrew Jackson’s rage; Millard Fillmore’s bigotry; James Buchanan’s incompetence and spite; Theodore Roosevelt’s self-aggrandizement; Richard Nixon’s paranoia, insecurity, and indifference to law; and Bill Clinton’s lack of self-control and reflexive dishonesty.
Most of Goldsmith's comparisons are immediately familiar. We can all see Jackson's anger, TR's braggadocio, and Nixon's paranoia as their defining characteristics. But Millard Fillmore is more famous for obscurity than bigotry. Yes, he signed the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, but he was actually somewhat reluctant about it. And his enforcement of the Act was more out of duty than prejudice.
A much better exemplar of presidential bigotry would be Andrew Johnson, John Tyler, James Polk, or Woodrow Wilson. (Tyler has the added advantage of having left the party that elected him.)
[h/t Jonathan Adler]
[UPDATE] It occurs to me that Goldsmith may have been referring to Fillmore's later affiliation with the anti-Catholicism of the American Party, better known as the "Know Nothings," who nominated him for president in 1856. But that still seems like an inapt comparison. Trump has many failings, but, to my knowledge, anti-Catholic bigotry is not among them.
The most troubling aspect of Trump's presidency is his unprofessional demeanor and behavior. As an adult, I know that Trump is not normal and I can just "ignore" him as a temporary aberration. Children have a different sense of time. What experiences do children born in the '00s have with a President? Will they remember Obama? What do we tell them? How do we handle it so that they will nominate candidates endowed with civility and class when they turn 18? Children are highly impressionable and Donald John Trump could very well wound them...
Posted by: Deep State Special Legal Counsel | September 13, 2017 at 11:39 PM
I don't speak for Jack Goldsmith (nor am I he), but sharing the attribute of "Millard Fillmore's bigotry" hardly means he has to be bigoted in exactly the same way, any more than sharing "Andrew Jackson's rage" means they have to lose it over the same subjects or perceived slights.
Posted by: Ani | September 14, 2017 at 07:36 AM
Trump may very well be the Greatest President of all time if he stops America's descent.
Over the last 20 to 40 years our once great nation has lost its hegemony and direction. Who is responsible?...not Trump.
Posted by: Partner | September 15, 2017 at 06:14 AM
Partner:
What damaged our credibility and standing in the World was the Iraq invasion.
Tell us what piece of legislation has the putative "Greatest President of all time" signed as of 9-15-17?
Posted by: Deep State Special Legal Counsel | September 15, 2017 at 12:04 PM
Maybe we need less government and less intervention and less interference?
Posted by: Herr Deep | September 17, 2017 at 09:24 AM