By Jeffrey A. Rendall
If his friends tell Donald Trump to be more contrite, he should accept their advice
“I screwed up.”
It’s something everyone’s uttered at one time or another, though some folks admittedly concede fault more often than others for something they’d done or left undone. Regular churchgoers, for example, recognize that the confessional occurs at the beginning of the service, so the chance to clear one’s conscience occurs early. Forgiveness ensues for the contrite.
Therefore, everyone messes up from time to time. Not everyone recognizes it. President Donald Trump is supremely confident in his wisdom and judgment, to the point where his unwritten motto must be, “Loving someone (the nation) means never having to say you’re sorry.”
But even Trump errs occasionally. Trump’s biggest supporters see his infrequent misdeeds as a sign of being human. What were his transgressions from the first year of his second term? “In a column simply titled, “Trump’s 10 biggest missteps”, Kelly Sadler wrote at The Washington Times just after Christmas:
“For [a recent] column, I wrote about the top 10 achievements of the Trump administration thus far. The good news is that as I sit down to write the top 10 missteps, most of them are superficial – having to do more with style than substance. Still, there have been some significant policy stumbles that could come back to haunt the president next year, and these may require a course correction within the administration.
“1. Too much branding. Not everything under the executive office needs to be named after the executive – especially when he’s still the president and very much alive. Last week, the Kennedy Center decided to add President Trump’s name to the performing arts center. Then there’s the rebrand of the U.S. Institute of Peace to the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace…
“2. The Epstein files. There is no doubt Attorney General Pam Bondi ‘whiffed,’ releasing the Epstein files early on in the administration. There was no need to make the Epstein files a central focus, let alone invite a group of ‘influencers’ into the White House to give them documents already previously disclosed…”
These are the first two examples of Sadler’s list of ten missteps. For the curious, the others are: 3. Pentagon press restrictions. 4. Televised Cabinet meetings; 5. Crypto conflicts; 6. DOGE; 7. Unhinged Truth posts; 8. Focus on executive orders; 9. Russia-Ukraine war; and, 10. Love affair with legacy media.
All were good points, many I agree with. Again, Sadler’s complete article can be found here. The Washington Times editor obviously put thought into her compilation of “misdeeds” and probably even narrowed the roster a bit. Much as President Trump earnestly believes in his own infallibility, a more apropos mantra for these times would be, “To err is human, to forgive, divine.” (A saying that originated with English poet Alexander Pope.)
As much as (some) conservatives and Republicans surmise Trump can do no wrong, the 47th president is very mortal, and he shows his humanity often. One example that comes to mind was when Trump spoke at the public memorial service for the late Charlie Kirk and expressed confidently about how he “hated” his enemies shortly after widow Erica Kirk said she “forgave” Charlie’s assassin because of her faith.
Whether Trump was serious wasn’t in dispute. Or whether he’d been treated badly enough to justify his raw and unrepentant feelings, he probably shouldn’t have stepped on a widow’s moment to try and win a political contest.
This would be one prevalent “misdeed” that is attributed to Trump – namely, the fact he brings politics into every situation, more or less. Listen to a Trump presentation and he more often than not includes some sort of jab at former president senile Joe Biden, a practice most presidents follow to mark a contrast from their predecessors, but doesn’t make the sitting president look very “statesman-like” in the transition.
I’ve recently argued Trump could improve his overall approval rating a (much-needed) couple points over time by simply changing the way he presents issues. This is related to Sadler’s Point Number 7 – “Unhinged Truth posts”. It’s my impression that the persuadable people in the nation, a.k.a. independents, would be inclined to support Trump’s policies but they’re repelled from doing so by the president’s acerbic (at times) style.
To put it simply, Trump is a hard person to love, and once people have made up their mind about him, they’re reluctant to change it, mostly because Trump doesn’t give them occasion to suggest he’s improved his manner.
Every politician could stand to improve; Trump is surely a case in point.
This assertion is also related to Sadler’s first “misdeed” she listed, which is “1. Too much branding.” Conservatives understand how Trump is justifiably proud of his accomplishments and anxious to provide a legacy by naming stuff after himself, but someone – perhaps Chief of Staff Susie Wiles – should remind him that the American public isn’t wild about excessive vanity, either.
Time will reveal Trump’s presidential standing in history, but it won’t be governed by him declaring himself the greatest president ever and suggesting nearly all presidents who went before him pale in comparison to the deeds he’s done. One would think Trump would win folks over by letting the statements and results stand and trust Americans to make up their own minds about his job performance.
Did we really need to rename the Kennedy Center (to the Trump-Kennedy-Center)? Did this make the country a better place? Or was pushing this type of “brand” thing simply intended to tweak or punish political enemies?
One “misdeed” I would add to Sadler’s list: “Trump too easily forgets his place”. Not a position as in ranking order, but his station in history. It’s easy to get lost in the day-to-day happenings surrounding the White House and executive branch, but too often Trump acts as though he needs to respond to every provocation or insult from his adversaries.
The president would benefit from taking the long view of current events. As Sadler wrote, the Ukraine/Russia war has consumed too much of Trump’s attention, and this is mostly attributable to the fact the president trusts everything is negotiable one way or another. Or that there is a “meeting point” between two sides that can be reached through simple dialogue.
The same reasoning goes for tariffs, too. Tariffs are means to an end, but foreign heads-of-state aren’t necessarily motivated to change their attitudes and behaviors simply because foreign trade lies in the balance. There are many factors to consider, and complex matters can’t always be narrowed down to slapping additional duties on products at the receiving port.
There isn’t an economic solution to every problem. At times, the carrot and stick approach just doesn’t get the job done. Trump dug himself a public relations hole by promising he could resolve the Ukraine/Russia conflict in one day. Economic incentives proved to be not enough. There’s centuries’ worth of antipathy to consider there.
And Trump, though amazingly effective in most strategies, can’t do everything. Proposing to develop Gaza into a resort really didn’t sway the combatants, did it? Or hinting that Canadians would welcome a chance to become the 51st state?
Some of these ideas sounded almost as though the president governs in a stream-of-consciousness way where he’s unable – or unwilling – to control his intellectual impulses. Loyal Trump fans understand how Trump’s predisposition is to fire back at opponents. But his adversaries understand this, too, and they exploit the personality flaw when they feel they can benefit from it.
Kamala Harris used her one and only face-to-face debate with Trump in September, 2024, to push his buttons. The tactic worked; Trump let his fight mentality get the best of him that night.
Thankfully, Trump’s aren’t “misdeeds” or flaws that can’t be corrected. On numerous occasions, I’ve suggested Trump refrain from sending out tweets (or Truth Social posts) before someone he trusts reviews them. It’s not censorship; it’s common sense, a form of “filter” that will end up helping him get what he wants – to Make America Great Again.
There are times when admitting you screwed up will win more favor than what a misdeed might cost you in the moment. It’s human nature to desire to get right with people, and there’s little to be gained by never conceding a point. Donald Trump is doing a great job; here’s thinking he could do even better by shifting his approach a bit.
Jeff Rendall is editor and publisher of GolfintheUSA.com and has written about golf and politics for over a quarter of a century. A non-practicing attorney from California, he moved to the east coast three decades ago to pursue and combine his interests in all things American history and culture. Jeff has worked as an intern on Capitol Hill and in various capacities in grassroots organizing and conservative organizations and publications, including a nearly two-decade stint at ConservativeHQ.com. Column republishing or other inquiries: Rendall@msn.com .