It’s been just shy of three months since the administration took its first action to fight off the coronavirus spread, and historians are already sizing up President Trump’s leadership.
Most have focused on what they view as his “offensive” use of the term “China virus.”
But author, historian, and former presidential adviser Doug Wead, who has followed every president since Gerald R. Ford, has been doing a back-of-the-envelope comparison of how the seven most recent presidents would have handled the crisis — and if they would have been successful.
The current fight favors a president quick to decide, willing to let businesses help out, friendly with the media, and with “a deep desire to do it right,” said Wead, whose latest book is Inside Trump’s White House: The Real Story of His Presidency.
Of the seven, he told us none had everything going for them, but two had three of four needed traits: Trump and Bill Clinton.
Here are his findings.
Gerald R. Ford
Ford was a policy wonk. Having lived his life in Congress, he knew all the moving pieces of what had to be done and why and what was possible. Remember, Bismarck said that politics is the art of the possible. Ford personified that. He was into the weeds on all of the issues. He could lose you in the details. Ford had many presidential qualities that Trump doesn’t have. His humility, for example. “I’m a Ford, not a Lincoln.” But Ford was not nearly as strategic as Trump.
Jimmy Carter
He was brilliant, patient. It was how he found solutions between Israel and Egypt. But Carter was slow to act. He does not have Trump’s breathless, dazzling speed. Nor his guts.
Ronald Reagan
Perfect for the Cold War. Relentless. Even-headed. Like Trump, he was not swayed by the majority but saw things realistically. He had an iron will to stand up against evil and a soft heart for the weak. And the media could not sway him from either course. Like Trump, the media hated him. But he would not be on top of this crisis. It demands too much decisive action that he just would not take.
George H.W. Bush
Smart. Very political. Kind. But he deliberated endlessly and couldn’t make decisions. He liked lots of options. Trump does, too, but finally makes up his mind.
Bill Clinton
He seems to have some of the emotional qualities needed to deal with this current crisis. Of course, if it had happened on his own watch, with all that was going on in his personal life, it could have been disastrous.
But if he were the president today, like Trump, he would have a deep desire to do it right, and, like Trump, he would know how to merge some of the best of the private and public sectors. He also would have media allies.
George W. Bush
He was the anti-father son. He was very decisive, although many of his decisions were bad, and he never looked back. I see GWB stumbling into this current crisis the way he did the economic crisis of his time.
Barack Obama
His presidency was over as soon as he was elected. He was given the Nobel Peace Prize. As the first African American president, he is assured a huge place in history. He had no drive to do anything. Obama saw everything as the responsibility of others. He blamed everything bad that happened in his administration on his predecessor and then tried to take credit for all the good that happened under Trump.
Donald Trump
He was born for this moment. He has a strong desire to handle it well. He knows how to bring back the economy in a way that Obama couldn’t. He has the confidence and optimism of Reagan and no help from the media. A more establishment Republican would hesitate before committing to a large government program. Trump has no qualms about it. As a former businessman, Trump also set corporations free to help.
There is one other element to understanding Trump. He was on the motivational circuit. I was too. We all expect our leaders to be winners. We want our surgeon, our airline pilot, our accountant, our attorney to all be winners. He wants to be a winner as a president. He wants to live up to the speeches he gave onstage as a motivational speaker.
