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Democracy can be diminished by demagogues. Historian Henry Adams (1838-1918), who wrote The Degradation of the Democratic Dogma and other works, worried that American political culture was in decline. "The progress of evolution from President Washington to President Grant, was alone evidence to upset Darwin" (Adams, 1918, 410). And now we have President Trump, a man who has tapped into things unsettled, unsettling and dangerous in himself and his supporters. How would Henry Adams compare Trump to Grant, let alone Washington? Candidate Donald J. Trump appealed to prejudices and stereotypes, was uninformed on the details of policy, had a wild disregard for facts, and made dreadful tweets and statements about most anyone who criticized him, including that his Democratic opponent should be jailed, called her the devil, and alluded that others might assassinate her.
Given the uniqueness of the 2016 Presidential election, it is important to place the campaign in historical and psychological context. As Trump displayed the excesses of his personality for all to see, how these were overlooked by so many voters, raises the question of what in our politics, history, and culture allows such a candidate to be elected President. This paper examines Trump's fitness for the nation's highest office and what enabled him to become politically prominent and win in the Electoral College.
DONALD TRUMP
First, are Trump's actions that raised questions as to whether he was qualified to be President.
He is the first President in American history without prior government experience. During the campaign, he was not interested in obtaining the requisite knowledge a President needs. When a CEO of a major company offered to present a report of over a hundred pages on China to him, Trump said send either three pages or do it orally for, "I have a lot of common sense and I have a lot of business ability." He claimed to be so busy he had no time to read books, though others who had more demands than he did manage to stay well informed (Kranish and Fisher, 2016, 347).
He gave few speeches with detailed proposals; nor were many policy statements displayed on his website. His focus was on political rallies, slogans, branding and demeaning his opponents, speaking off the cuff, and...