On Monday, President Donald Trump spoke in front of hundreds of U.S. servicemen and women in Virginia to update the country on the state of the Afghanistan War, as well as flesh out his administration’s strategy for the future. Throughout his campaign, Trump proclaimed that he would swiftly bring the war to an end and bring home the thousands of soldiers currently stationed in the war-torn country. However, several months into his tumultuous presidency, Trump’s stance has pivoted. In his speech, the president laid out a new strategy that will result in more troops and resources being used in the war.
Trump critics will look at the shift in military plans as they do with every move he makes — with intense criticism and hypocrisy. Maybe Trump’s statements during the campaign were a little shortsighted and pathologically heavy, but a change in plans is not a sign of weakness. Instead, I believe it to be a new sign of maturity of the president.
A continual criticism of Trump that has been present since the infantile stages of his presidential campaign, is his massive ego. It is undeniable that Trump is one of the most confident men in the public eye. The gigantic and bold letters of T-R-U-M-P placed on the outside of his most lavish properties do not suggest any semblance of timidity or reservation.
The concerns about Trump’s ego continued into the early stages of his presidency as he was selecting his cabinet members. In May, after the U.S. withdrew from the Paris climate accord, Slate Magazine published an article titled “Trump’s Climate Decision is a Reminder That He Doesn’t Heed Expertise.”
Leaving the Paris climate accord might be looked upon as a mistake, and I certainly hope that Trump will always listen to expert advice, but policy aside I believe that Trump’s speech Monday was a very good sign. It revealed that Trump is capable of moving past his rhetorical campaign plans and being receptive to the advice of those more experienced and knowledgeable, in this case the military generals in command. He showed he can scrap ideas he had previously proclaimed if said ideas were ill-informed or not the optimal course of action for the country.
Whether you are president of the U.S. or a third-grader on a playground, it takes a certain level of maturity to back off of a previously held stance in favor of a superior one provided by someone else. The action itself shows the acknowledgment that your own idea was inferior and that you are capable of setting your own ego aside for the greater good.
In a few days, nobody will be talking about Trump’s speech. Why? Because serious, presidential business is being conducted, and frankly, it probably doesn’t bring up ratings. It involves Trump simply doing his job, and doing it well, if you ask me. It seems that all of the energy, attention, and focus of the media and much of the public is being directed in the wrong places — at things that do not relate directly to his performance as president, but instead to him as a person.
Every media outlet will appear to have some sort of political leaning, since they are run by humans, not robots, but it is starting to seem that once reputable news organizations are covering news more akin to TMZ than to actual, meaningful news.
I am all for criticizing Trump when he is wrong, but I also believe in commending him when he is right. It’s a shame that when Trump does his job well, as with his speech this week, the majority of media coverage remains focused on the negative. In a world of “fake news,” it takes a considerable amount of effort to find objective reporting, and it is a shame that more time is spent discussing tweets than actual speeches.
Andrew Hall is a UF management senior. His column appears on Fridays.
