SCORE
Harris (-1.5 *2) = -3 Trump (-2.5*2)=-5
On Sunday we celebrated the 166th birthday (posthumously) of Theodore Roosevelt. Few presidents personified America as well as TR. In the next week, we will elect a president that will have to fill that role over the next four years.
As I said four years ago during the 2020 version of this index, the American presidency fills two discrete functions that are usually separated in other democracies – chief of state and chief of government. The chief of state is a unifying figure, such as a king or queen, who symbolizes the history and values of the nation. In short, he or she symbolizes its character. In contrast, the chief of government is usually a prime minister elected through a partisan process tasked with advocating and implementing certain public policies.
The previous articles in this series concerned the policies an American nationalist president should pursue in their role as prime minister. However, the chief of state role is equally important. Indeed, an American president who cannot symbolize the nation and its character cannot really be said to be nationalist. Thus, the score for this role will be doubled to reflect its importance.
Sadly, neither Kamala Harris or Donald Trump appear to be capable of being a unifying chief of state. They are both running two of the most divisive campaigns in history. Whether it’s Harris calling Trump a fascist or Trump calling her retarded, both clearly see this election as a kind of personal vendetta against the other. They allow their supporters to demonize and degrade each other with no condemnation or apparent concern. Both concentrate on holding rallies in front of thousands instead of engaging in civil debates. In light of this contempt for the American public, the question before us may actually be “Who is the least divisive candidate?.
The Harris candidacy has energized women and people of color but seems unable to connect to men or other groups. She has a reputation for imperiousness and a history of high staff turnover. Her inability to articulate a coherent thought without the help of a teleprompter can be maddening. We can only hope she will accept more substantive help in governing. As a result, she rates a minus 1.5 for unifying skills, which, after doubling, becomes a minus 3 .
Meanwhile, Donald Trump‘s arrogance has only worsened since he left office. He seems to believe that unifying means threatening his adversaries and engaging in vulgar epithets and insults. He has condoned the January 6 insurrection and refused to safeguard and return highly classified documents, showing a disgraceful contempt for the law and the national security. He has been found liable for sexual assault, for financial fraud and campaign finance violations in New York, though the latter two cases are legally questionable. Nevertheless, his attacks against the judiciary during those cases showed a further contempt for the law. Yet the most damning indictment comes from many staffers of his prior administration, including his vice president, who are on record saying he is unfit for office.
Trump thus rates a minus 2.5 for his own unique failures as a unifier, which, after doubling, equals a minus 5. Only the endorsements of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and former congressmember Tulsi Gabbard prevent him from reprising his minus 6 score of 2020. They have vouched for Trump and hopefully will inject some patriotic unselfishness into a second Trump Administration. Otherwise, we would be guaranteed another four years of juvenile meanness, personnel turmoil and a frightening dictatorial approach.
There is an old cartoon of a boy looking up at a portrait of Theodore Roosevelt and wishing he could be like him. Few Americans would look on the two presidential candidates today and say that. Let us hope that these ratings are wrong, or we will have to look for someone else to unify America over the next four years.