President-elect Trump faces a difficult task in unifying a divided nation, but it is not an impossible task, according to Ohio Northern University faculty member Robert Waters, who teaches courses on the U.S. presidency.
“Early on, it would be smart for President Trump to propose policies that could have bipartisan support,” said Waters, assistant professor of history at ONU. “The infrastructure bill he has talked about is a good example. As long as he does not include his immigration wall as part of that particular bill, I think you will see some Democrats get on board. For example, [Ohio Senator] Sherrod Brown could go along since he has always connected with blue-collar workers.”
Waters notes that Trump faces challenges that are uncommon to other incoming presidents.
“Even [President Richard] Nixon got a honeymoon with Democrats and the press when he took office, but Trump is not receiving that treatment.”
For Trump, achieving any level of harmony will depend upon his generating an equal amount of success, Waters says.
“It he can get Congress to pass his legislation, the economy improves and there are no major foreign policy slip-ups, at that point some of the wavering Democrats who oppose him will fall in line and support what he is doing. There are 25 Democratic senators up for re-election in two years, and 10 of them are from states that went for Trump. They may feel it is wise not to oppose a successful Trump on every issue.”
Trump’s governing style may favor outcomes over political convictions.
“He is very goal-directed,” Waters said. “In many ways, Trump represents what political scientists call the Hamiltonian model of presidential power in which the president does not have a strong ideological base but instead puts together a different coalition for each issue. Results are more important than ideology, which seems to mirror Trump’s stance. This is similar to the last six years of President Bill Clinton’s presidency and is the exact opposite of President Obama’s.”
