- Position‹2 of 3›
- Trump has not changed what acting presidential means
- Argument‹2 of 2
Being presidential means being trustworthy
The President is the person the public looks to in times of crisis. Trump’s response to the pandemic and his dismissal of scientific evidence has reduced peoples' respect for him as their leader.
The argument
Many of Trump’s supporters acknowledge that the president is unconventional in his words and use of social media. They voted for him for the policies he promises to implement and to further their own agenda. The majority of Americans agree that Trump is self-centred (80%), and 59% view him as prejudiced. The pandemic and his response to it has brought his unpresidential behaviour to light in a new way. His dismissal of the more than 220,000 Americans who have died from Covid-19 by saying “don’t let it dominate your life” has disenfranchised many voters. They want a leader who will understand their plight and do more to support their families. A true leader’s skills shine in times of crisis, and Trump’s response to the pandemic has given Americans a measure of the competence of their commander-in-chief.
Premises
Counter-arguments
There are other desirable leadership qualities that voters see in Trump. 47% of responders in a survey say he “fights for what they believe in”. The figure raises to 87% in Republican responses, and 71% say he is honest.
Rejecting the premises
[Rejecting P1] Polled impressions record what respondents think of a person, not what the office requires, so the premise measures the man against a standard rather than establishing the standard. Both figures come without source or date, and the observation that supporters voted on policy is compatible with the opposite conclusion — that voters had already revised what they expect of the role. [Rejecting P2] A single remark is thin evidence for a claim about presidential norms, and "disenfranchised" is the wrong word for voters who were displeased, since none lost their vote. The premise also asserts an electoral effect without any of the evidence such a claim requires. [Rejecting P3] The final step assumes what the question asks. If a president behaves in ways previously thought unpresidential and is nonetheless elected and governs, what is in dispute is precisely whether the standard has shifted, so pointing out that he fell short of the old one cannot settle whether the old one still holds. The counter supplies the competing account: that supporters are measuring a different set of qualities.