Obama and Trump: Unexpected shared traits
In observing the landscape of American leadership, one is struck not solely by the differences that separate men, but by the qualities that, like hidden currents, shape their actions and their impact upon the people. It is tempting to dwell upon the contrasts between President Obama and President Trump — their rhetoric, their style, their manner before the world. Yet a closer examination reveals that beneath the surface, they share certain traits that demand our careful attention: arrogance, elitism, dishonesty, and contempt.
Arrogance manifests itself in the confidence of their convictions, an unshakable belief that their own judgment is the standard by which the nation must measure itself. Obama, with his eloquent addresses and measured demeanor, exudes the certainty of moral rectitude. Trump, with his brash speech and ceaseless defiance, exudes the certainty of personal power. Both are convinced that their perspective, if properly heeded, is the path to national success, and that any deviation from it is at best a misunderstanding, at worst a betrayal.
Get Vincent Ruocco’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
Elitism, likewise, resides quietly in both. Obama’s intellectualism, his reliance upon expert councils, and his cultivated circle of advisors convey a subtle message: wisdom resides with those trained to perceive it. Trump’s version of elitism is more blunt, expressed in the consolidation of loyalty among those who share his worldview, and in the derision he directs toward those who do not. In each case, the people are invited to admire, to follow, and in doing so, to accept that judgment flows from above.
Dishonesty, whether in the form of omission, selective presentation, or convenient framing of facts, serves both leaders as a tool to achieve consensus, compliance, or support. Obama presents policies in a light most favorable to his moral vision; Trump presents events in a light most favorable to his authority. Neither is entirely transparent, though each cloaks their partial truths in very different styles.
Finally, contempt — expressed toward critics, institutions, or opposing viewpoints — is a subtle but unmistakable commonality. It is in the impatience with questioning, in the dismissal of dissenting voices, and in the assumption that disagreement is more often error than insight.
In the end, we see that style may divide these men, yet character binds them in ways the electorate must discern. For a free people, the measure of leadership is not simply in eloquence, or in showmanship, or even in victories, but in the humility to learn, the honesty to speak, and the respect to hear dissent. And in that measure, both Obama and Trump remind us that even the most gifted among us are still accountable to truth and conscience.
