He’s been so busy in fact that I hesitate to intrude.
But, I’m an American citizen with some opinions. And there is nothing more American than offering advice---really, perhaps just mouthing off---to a President. So here goes...................
First, I understand Trump’s attachment to the world of tweets. He probably learned about its wonders under the eight years of his predecessor. Do you remember how Barack was “cool”, oh so hip, and perfectly connected to the millennials and their ways? So said the intelligentsia. Why Obama even conducted foreign policy by tweet. Do you remember the never to be forgotten “Bring Back Our Girls” tweet about the Nigerian kidnap victims of Boko Haram? Or the “leading from behind” tweet concerning the fiasco in Libya?
Trump must have expected that his own blizzard of tweets would be treated with the ecstatic reverence and applause the New York Times gave to President Obama’s brilliant utterances. Silly Trump.
Despite all the finger-wagging of the Times and other media critics, Trump should not forego his use of social media, specifically Twitter. He might not want to indulge it so frequently as to risk carpal tunnel syndrome but he should not refrain from it. In fact, his tweets allow him to communicate with his followers without the filters of editors and the many biases of the media. More power to him.
Where Trump goes off the rails and hurts himself is with his much too frequent reflex of grabbing for the smartphone. His Chief of Staff should put him in handcuffs for several hours (or days) at a time. Trump should learn that less is more. And he should know by now that incessant use of any tool renders the tool less effective.
My suggestion? The President should take a clean 3 by 5 index card each Monday morning and put it in the center of his desk in the Oval Office. Whenever an irritant thought or event crosses his mind he should make a note of it on his index card. Come Sunday night--yes, a full seven days later-- he should study the card and consider one grand tweet on those issues he finds still worthy of comment. He will find that the mere passage of a few days will render most of the irritants moot. He can then cull the serious stuff, if any, and call it The Big Tweet.
Imagine the upside for Trump. He might actually get some helpful advice from his advisers. He might ask some questions and get some thoughtful answers before he hits “send”. He would certainly gain from the eternal maternal wisdom of counting to ten before lashing out.
The smartest people I’ve ever known do not try to be the quickest with a quip. Rather, they surround themselves with smart people---“great people” in the President’s lexicon---and they seek their opinions. Listening closely is the first task. Asking questions is the second task. Actually thinking about the various responses is the third task.
Note the required ingredients. Curiosity, patience, and thought.
Donald Trump is not a dumb man. He might be impulsive and he is certainly egotistical. Those two traits do not disqualify him from the presidency. In fact, they put him in company with many of his predecessors. Fortunately for them, and blessedly for us and the nation, those predecessors did not have the technology of Twitter at hand. For them, the “pause and think function” was the only function available.
Today, it’s the “send function” which gives such irresistible temptation to so many.
Resist, resist, resist Mr. President. Resist that temptation. Hold your fire. The world can wait, wait, wait for The Big Tweet.
Tom Finneran is the former Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, served as the head the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, and was a longstanding radio voice in Boston radio.
Related Slideshow: RI Democrats React to Trump’s Budget - 2017
"Rhode Island is making strong progress to provide our people with the education and job training they need to be successful and to expand access to affordable, quality health care to virtually everyone in our state.
President Trump's budget betrays Rhode Islanders by giving huge tax cuts to corporations and the wealthiest Americans while drastically reducing federal funding for vital programs that create jobs, raise wages, and protect low-income Americans.
Even as we analyze President Trump's budget in the coming days to determine its specific impacts on Rhode Island, I appreciate the members of Rhode Island's Congressional Delegation for their leadership and advocacy, and I join them in calling on their colleagues in Washington, D.C. to stop the Trump administration from making massive cuts to health care, public schools, affordable housing, and other programs that Rhode Islanders rely upon."
“In March, President Trump released a budget outline that I strongly condemned for its drastic cuts to programs that help everyday Americans. Unfortunately, the President’s full budget proposal continues these harmful policies by gutting programs that invest in our economy, create jobs and provide crucial assistance to families across the country.
This proposal slashes funding for education, food assistance and health care for low-income seniors, children and people with disabilities. It makes cuts to worker training, environmental protection, and investments in medical research and advanced manufacturing. These are not mere luxuries, but programs that make meaningful differences in the lives of Rhode Islanders.
Congress must reject this cynical and misguided budget. Instead, we should work together in a bipartisan manner, as we did on the recently passed 2017 funding bill, to find a balanced approach to funding priorities that will support families, promote economic growth and provide for our national security.”
“If a budget is a statement of your priorities and values, then Donald Trump’s budget shows he doesn’t understand the challenges facing honest, hardworking Rhode Islanders. This is a budget written by the wealthiest Americans for the benefit of the wealthiest Americans. But it’s a setback for the middle class. It makes life harder for anyone who’s trying to punch a ticket to the middle class.”
Donald Trump has already proposed a huge tax cut for billionaires. But the budget he released today says everyone else is on their own. This budget eliminates hundreds of millions of dollars for job creation. It zeroes out funding for workforce training and good-paying manufacturing jobs in Rhode Island. And it makes it even harder for young people to succeed by cutting teacher training, eliminating afterschool funding, and making it harder to pay off student loans.”
This budget does nothing to address Rhode Island’s crumbling infrastructure. It eliminates the TIGER grant program, which is critical to supporting local infrastructure projects like the new commuter rail station in Pawtucket. And it cuts funding for public transit by $928 million.”
And most worrisome of all, this budget makes our towns and cities less safe. It actually cuts funding for firefighters. It cuts billions from the EPA and other resources to protect the water we drink and the air we breathe. And it slashes $978 million from the Army Corps of Engineers – meaning Rhode Island will be less prepared for hurricanes and have fewer resources to protect the quality of our waterways.”
Plain and simple, this is not a budget that any Member of Congress should be comfortable supporting. Along with my colleagues in the House Democratic Leadership, I will do everything I can to reverse these devastating cuts and shape a budget that invests in the future of our country and puts honest, hardworking families first.”
“This budget is reckless, plain and simple. The President proposes massive cuts to Medicaid, breaking yet another campaign promise. He seeks to decimate the federal government’s central command in the battle against the opioid crisis affecting communities from Burrillville to Westerly. He pursues tens of billions of dollars in cuts to student loans and loan forgiveness programs.
His plan would slash funding for research into life-saving cures; lay waste to endowments that support Rhode Island’s world-class cultural institutions; hamstring the EPA so big polluters can poison our air and water; and weaken NOAA, sapping critical resources for coastal economies like Rhode Island’s. The list goes on.
These senseless, irresponsible choices serve one purpose: to pave the way for tax cuts for the very wealthiest. The good news is that this extremist proposal will go nowhere in the Senate. I look forward to moving past this political stunt of a budget and working on one the American people will support.”
“President Trump’s budget is bad news for Rhode Island because it weakens our economy and places new burdens on families, businesses, and communities across the country.
The Trump budget takes a less is more approach: less investment in education, health care, transportation and safety for the general public and more pollution, outsourcing jobs overseas, and tax breaks for the wealthy and well-connected.
This irresponsible budget would be a real setback for middle-class families and seniors in particular. The $800 billion in Medicaid cuts could cause over 10 million low-income Americans to lose their health coverage. If this budget were enacted, more elderly Americans could be forced to go from assisted living to living on the streets. That is immoral and ill-advised.
The Trump cuts also threaten federal funding for public education, medical research, job training and economic development. These cuts are counterproductive and won’t achieve real cost-savings. In fact, they would impede economic growth.
Families with limited incomes who are trying to make ends meet get hit hardest by the Trump budget. It takes food, health care, and retirement security away from children, seniors, and people with disabilities while adding funds for an ineffective border wall and tax cuts for millionaires. It eliminates the LIHEAP energy assistance program, Community Development Block Grants, and many other critical, cost-effective programs that have a positive impact on Rhode Island.
While our military deserves to be well-funded, cutting diplomacy and foreign aid won’t help prevent war. These are the wrong priorities for America and don’t reflect our core values.
I will work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to fight these disastrous cuts and enact a more balanced, fiscally responsible budget that focuses on job creation and strengthening the middle-class.”
