I’d like to point out reasons why Donald Trump is a bad leader in 2024 and why he’s ultimately failing the United States of America (and the world). This is not a politically oriented post in the sense that it has nothing to do with Trump’s political affiliation. Rather, it’s about Trump as an actual person and leader.
I’ll stick to the facts and things that actually happened – not speculation or my opinion. My goal in sharing this is so we can learn from some of Trump’s mindset and behavior, so we can be better leaders in our families, jobs, and communities.
From the bottom of my heart, the intention of this post is: here’s how Trump is acting and what he’s doing. How can we learn from this? How can we be better authentic leaders ourselves?
Reasons Why Donald Trump Is Falling Short as a Leader
Here are ten reasons why Donald Trump falls short as a leader:
Bullying Others
Donald Trump bullies others, which is childish. In his tweets, he will often insult and put down others. I saw one tweet where he called someone a nobody. In a speech, Trump made fun of someone’s physical disability by sarcastically mimicking the disabled person’s uncoordinated bodily movements.
This is the type of behavior you’d expect from an immature kid, not from the leader of one of the most powerful countries in the world. When I see Trump put down others in his tweets, speeches, and other communications, I wince. Leadership is about leading by example, and by treating others poorly he is sending a clear message to the world: it’s OK to put down others. The truth is it’s not OK. As an anti-bullying advocate, I’ve seen that one of the reasons bullying is still prevalent is because of the bad example set by people in positions of power.
Whether you like it or not, when you are a leader people look up to you and mirror your words and actions. By being a bully, Trump is propagating the idea that bullying is an appropriate action.
Egocentric Point of View
Trump has a high ego, and this prevents him from reaching his leadership potential and being the best person he can be. He somehow makes everything about him, which is actually quite sad. For example, he’s disinvited certain championship-winning sports team to the White House (a tradition that dates back a number of decades). His fragile egoic perspective is unable to handle people who don’t support him, so he avoids these situations instead of dealing with them like an adult.
Lacking Inhibition
Piggybacking off of the fact that Trump is a bully, Trump also lacks inhibition. He doesn’t know how to control himself and will often say off-the-cuff remarks that simply aren’t true. Trump denies saying things he previously said, which shows his lack of inhibition, lack of integrity, and lack of consistency. He’s erratic, unpredictable, aggressive, and easily riled up. It’s difficult to feel safe around him because there’s always the possibility he’ll undeservedly flip out on you.
Lacking Empathy
This is a big one. You won’t often hear Trump saying things like, “I acknowledge you”, “I understand you”, and/or “I get you”. Instead, he often refuses to acknowledge perspectives outside of his own. I’m not saying Trump is supposed to sing “kumbaya” and agree with everyone, but there’s a middle ground here that he continually refuses to see (Trump surrounds himself with people who agree with him, not with people who challenge him).
Empathy is the bridge that allows leaders to relate to the people they serve.
Easily Feeling Attacked
I have empathy for Trump on this one – this is something I struggle with at times as well, as I’ve had moments where I misinterpreted people’s words and actions.
With that said, Trump is very quick to feel like he’s been attacked. Taking things personally is not necessarily a bad thing if you have high empathy, but the challenge is that Trump doesn’t have empathy either. This leaves him lashing back at others without taking the time to understand where they were coming from.
If you’re the President, there will be some people who dislike you no matter how likable and charismatic you are. That’s a fact. I admire that Trump had the balls to become President, choosing to not let the opinions of others stop him. At the same time, if you’re occupying your time with how to best put down others, you have a problem.
I understand there are times when defending yourself is appropriate, but it seems like this is Trump’s default reaction to everything.
Tearing People Down
We’ve touched on this sentiment above – I wanted to mention it again and expound on it further because it’s important to understand that leaders are meant to support, serve, and inspire others, not tear them down. Are you encouraging others? Is someone better off because of their interaction with you? Then you’re a leader. Trump doesn’t seem to get this.
Trump has made some absurdly disrespectful, calloused, rude, and derogatory remarks about others. Trump referred to women by saying “grab them by the pussy”. Also, Trump called Mitt Romney a loser and has mocked him. Why? Because Romney voted in favor of impeaching Trump, which I admire Romney for doing. Do you see what I’m saying about Trump being unable to handle people who don’t suck up to him? Trump hides behind a mask and tears other people down to make him feel better about himself.
No Authority In Himself
Trump has an external locus of control, not an internal locus of control. This means he thrives off of external validation. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying praise when it’s done in balance and when you don’t need it to feel good about yourself. But this isn’t the reality of Trump’s leadership style.
True power comes from within, not from the validation of others. Trump uses aggression to express his authority, a low-consciousness tactic that represents Trump’s deep insecurities. When someone is aggressive, it represents a deeper unhealed pain inside themselves. In Trump’s case, he’s fearful and emotionally sad, unable to deal with the pain of people who challenge him.
Caring About the Wrong Things
Trump cares about things like image, money, power, and fame, instead of things like healthcare. Trump has some kind of vendetta against Obama, and he made it a point to undo some of Obama’s work.
Trump is too busy belittling and discrediting people to focus his time on more important challenges in our society.
Taking the Credit and Pointing the Blame at Others
The best leaders take all the blame and give away all the credit. Trump has this backward.
One example is the coronavirus pandemic. Trump blamed other countries for their poor management of the crisis, saying how their decisions led to additional outbreaks. Yet he fails to see his own poor management of the crisis. Where’s the self-awareness? Trump is a textbook hypocrite.
At first, Trump downplayed the severity of the crisis in the United States. Then he denied facts. Additional outbreaks have occurred in states like California, Texas, and Florida, with record spikes months after the lockdown began. When it comes to a crisis, leadership is the difference between success and failure.
This is no joke; lives are ruined and people are dying because of Trump’s leadership failures.
Another example is how Trump has taken credit for the growth of the economy as if it’s all because of him. Ironically, the growth we saw in the economy during Trump’s time in office (before the coronavirus hit) was in part due to Obama’s efforts – it took some time for Obama’s efforts to kick in. Trump incessantly criticizes Obama for anything and everything, while choosing to steal the credit for Obama’s hard work.
The truth is that the economy moves in periodic cycles over time. I know this as a fact because I studied economics in college and graduate school. Once again, Trump has his facts mixed up, taking credit for something that has very little (if anything) to do with him.
Trump will do anything to make himself look good and others look bad – especially those who challenge and disagree with him.
Mentally Ill
I know of a number of psychologists who directly said with 100% certainty that Trump has Narcissistic personality disorder. Unfortunately, people like this are getting elected into positions of authority.
There’s a book written about this if you’re interested: The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 37 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President.
Trump is not only a bad leader, but he’s also mentally ill in need of serious psychological help.
Donald Trump Is Literally Out of His Mind and Doesn’t Know What He’s Doing as a Leader
Let’s be transparent here: Donald Trump is missing the boat in just about every way when it comes to leadership. But we can use his failures as a leader as a way to see how NOT to lead.
When you flip Trump’s mindsets and behaviors on their heads you get authentic leadership. Do the opposite of what Trump is doing and you’ll be succeeding as a leader.
If you have a different perspective, or if I missed something here, please let me know. My purpose with this post is not to say I’m right and you’re wrong. I simply shared some observations I’ve made on Trump as a person and leader based on facts, case studies, real examples, and proven research. I’d love to spark some further conversation and hear your thoughts.
Keep leading by example and being the best authentic leader you can possibly be.
Jeff Davis is an award-winning author, most recently publishing The Power of Authentic Leadership: Activating the 13 Keys to Achieving Prosperity Through Authenticity.
