During his 2016 presidential campaign and throughout his first four years in office, Trump has galvanized the American people by creating conflict and chaos and pinning people against each other. Traditionally, presidents are supposed to unite a nation, to lead regardless of political affiliation, to care about all citizens (even those who openly dislike him), and rise above the inevitable division that comes from a country of varied peoples, religions, races, views, and socio-economic backgrounds.
In the case of Trump, he has done the complete opposite, and somehow it has worked to his benefit. Rather than govern by appealing to everyone through compromise and high road diplomacy, Trump has stuck to his base and repeatedly called out “the dems” as if they were the unwilling enemy. Never has there been such an “us vs. them” mentality in the US Government leading to two major shutdowns, bilateral distrust, and general dysfunction. And when confronted on issues worthy of discussion, Trump’s approach has been to lash out and fight like a child rather than to empathize and negotiate as an adult — whether it be by verbally abusing political opponents or even using physical force to dissolve peaceful protests.
Trump has regularly resorted to name-calling, profanities, and angry tweets that have inspired his followers to behave in kind, and this has energized his base to an almost cult-like level. To their great amusement, he had the audacity to award the Medal of Freedom to Rush Limbaugh, a narcissist just like Trump, also of brash and boorish persona, born of German-American descent into affluence and privilege, who ardently supports aggressive military action despite having avoided service, and who built a national brand by promoting hate and divisive speech against Latinos, immigrants, African Americans, Asians, and people with disabilities. Unfortunately, to elevate Russ Limbaugh on a par with Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela is pure blasphemy.
Bottom line, Trump’s antagonistic approach to governing, likely the result of his own psychological insecurity, has been detrimental to the mood of the country, with cases of conflict, stress, and depression way up. He threatens our collective productivity, trust in government, and security as a unified nation.