Let’s begin with the obvious: leadership is difficult. Leading others requires abilities to inspire, encourage, persuade, cajole, and well, you get the point. Our nation was built on the belief that our leaders govern with the consent of the governed.

Since 1776 much of the world has chosen democracy over the absolute rule of dictatorship (by a King or Queen, or a military leader, some other absolute ruler). Dictators ruled without needing to care about those they ruled and didn’t need leadership skills. If you doubt this, you need look only as far as North Korea.

We now find ourselves with a President who simply does not know how to lead. I’ve spoken about this several times before, but a good leader commands respect while a poor leader craves approval.

This has created havoc in our nation in so many ways. Let me focus on a few:

• On August 17th President Trump claimed that some of the White Nationalists were very fine people. He clearly sought the approval of those who came to Charlottesville to “Unite the Right.” And it worked: Former KKK member David Duke praised the President.
• As a Democrat I applaud this, but on September 6th President Trump met with leaders of Congress over the issue of raising the debt ceiling for three months. Republican leadership came to this Oval Office meeting insisting that the debt ceiling be raised until after the 2018 elections. They gasped when the President pulled the rug out from under them and sided with the Democratic leadership. This came less than a month after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) suggested Mr. Trump had “excessive expectations” about the ability of the Senate to repeal and replace Obamacare. In other words, if craving Mr. McConnell’s approval didn’t work, he would crave the approval of Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
• Finally, and most strikingly, he has shifted his views on President Obama’s executive order protecting the Dreamers several times. They are people who were brought here from other nations as children. They grew up as Americans, went to our schools, and thought of themselves as Americans. Many of them speak only English. From the day President Trump announced his candidacy he described Mexicans as rapists and murderers. When asked about these dreamers he has said many things. Two weeks ago he ordered his Attorney General to announce the end of DACA. But on the same day he announced that he has great love for Dreamers. He’s craving the approval of both sides and thinks that mixed messages will make this happen.

In the midst of all this, many of us Americans find ourselves perplexed over how he is leading us. Simply put, he isn’t. He doesn’t want to. He doesn’t want us to respect his leadership, he wants us to approve of him. On June 12th we learned just how much.

OK, I’ve been wrong in all of my predictions of President Trump. As I write this he has 1146 days left in his term but I can’t imagine he’ll finish his term. One of his most faithful supporters, Ann Coulter now demands his impeachment. Breitbart, one of President Trump’s most vocal supporters, now posts videos of previous supporters burning “Making American Great Again

Many of us look at the investigation of Russian meddling and think this may end with his impeachment and removal from office. But I don’t think he will be impeached or convicted because I believe that his need for approval will force him to resign before the investigation ends. Sometime in the next six months he will declare that he was never given a chance and that “nobody was treated worse than me.” He will attempt to make the case that “everyone was against me” and nobody could have done this job.

Speaking only for myself I’ll celebrate his surrender. He never treated the Presidential election as a mandate to lead all of us. Instead he treated his office as a reality television show that he led. Now he’s found he has a hard job and he expects us to sympathize.

He was born into a wealthy family and was given more than most of us. The fact that he turned a small fortune into a large fortune doesn’t make me think of him as a leader. It makes me look at him as a toddler who craves approval.