Donald Trump Isn’t Big on Reading

The Donald’s Text Aversion Probably Won’t Change in Office

To be a capable president, one could certainly argue that knowledge is a prerequisite. Most people expect their president to be able to digest information critical to national affairs. To many, this means having a president who reads. When it comes to Donald Trump, however, that criteria may remain unfulfilled.

Per The Washington Post, Trump said that he has very little time to engage in such activities. “I never have. I’m always busy doing a lot. Now I’m more busy, I guess, than ever before.” While he does enjoy perusing stacks of magazines and articles referencing him, actual literature is much scarcer in his quarters.

Part of this aversion to reading can likely be traced back to Trump’s confidence in his own mind. He believes that he can come to conclusions “with very little knowledge other than the knowledge I [already] had, plus the words ‘common sense,’ because I have a lot of common sense and I have a lot of business ability.”

It certainly appears that “the Donald” feels like he has an adequate grip on things by himself. The true question becomes whether or not the nuclear codes will be in good hands with a man who’d rather digest, “like, three pages,” than “a lengthy report.”

Being an avid reader certainly isn’t the biggest prerequisite to being president. Past leaders, such as Dwight Eisenhower or George W. Bush, have shown preferences to receive information in a more condensed format. If you ask political historian Allan Lichtman from American University, however, there’s a deeper issue at hand with Trump.

Trump is really something of an outlier with this idea that knowing things is almost a distraction. He doesn’t have a historical anchor, so you see his gut changing on issues from moment to moment.

In a Trump administration, deliberation will likely play a secondary role to gut-instinct. Certainly, the extreme end of deliberation has already been experienced through the presidency of Barack Obama to less-than-desirable results. Former Vice President Dick Cheney referred to Obama’s style as “dithering,” and the policies speak for themselves. Both at home and abroad, Obama’s overly-analytical approach has created numerous failures.

This beings said, the pendulum should not be allowed to swing completely in the other direction. A president who isn’t grounded in anything but his own ego is destined for failure. Trump doesn’t have to become an Ivy League scholar to be a good steward of the nation, nor should he necessarily aspire to be. But he can’t take all of his knowledge in the form of a tabloid.

It could be beneficial for him to look at great presidents of the past, such as Washington or Jefferson, and realize that these were smart people who still understood the importance of reading. Reviewing unfamiliar materials is a sign of intelligence, not weakness. It shows willingness to become a competent handler of issues, even if it means ditching preconceived notions.

Ultimately, Trump’s approach would likely not change in his administration. If is shoot-from-the-hip approach gets him that far, it’s hard to imagine him finding a reason to change. However, governing a country is serious business and goes beyond debates and late-show antics. If Trump wants to get the respect associated with being leader of the free world, he better start acting the role.

 

 

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