Recently I had the honor to meet a former US Army Colonel and current non-profit CEO at a prestigious leadership awards event in San Diego (he won!). Our conversation turned to the coming election, and I wondered aloud if this would be our last time celebrating Independence Day as a functioning democracy.
The Colonel paused thoughtfully for a moment and then responded in a way that offered some hope for America’s future. He said that if he’d learned anything after 24 years of active-duty service in two different conflicts, that when it comes to great leadership, character truly matters. I couldn’t agree more.
Any reasonable person who is not blindly partisan will admit that former President Trump is sorely lacking in the character department. Even those who support him know that he falls dramatically short there. If you have a high level of moral character and personal integrity, it’s unlikely you’ll…
- be sued by the federal government for racial discrimination (1973), or
- found liable for sexual abuse (1996), or
- claim you cangrab women by the private parts (2005) without consequence, or
- have engaged in defrauding your students (2018), or
- fined $355M and banned from doing business in New York for real estate fraud (2024), or
- Called white supremacists “<a ” target=”_blank” href=”https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/06/28/what-trump-said-with-his-very-fine-people-comments-vs-what-he-meant/”>very fine people,” (2017) or
- have been credibly rumored to have had numerous adulterous affairs (1980, 1991, 1997, 2006, etc.) while married to three different women, and sexual encounters with a porn star (while your wife was pregnant!), and
- then found guilty on 34 felony counts (2024) for trying to cover up those alleged adulterous affairs in order to win an election.
In the leadership style that we at CRL call “Respectful Leadership™” character truly matters. Being a Respectful Leader means, among other important traits, doing what’s right no matter how difficult, apologizing sincerely when you make mistakes, and treating everyone with respect and decency no matter who they are.
Regardless of where you stand politically, it is important to accept the fact that Trump has and continues to campaign by being openly disrespectful of major groups of Americans and American institutions. Liberals, women, gays, Democrats, Republicans, Blacks, Latinos, Asians, Native-Americans, active-duty military and veterans, Gold Star parents, the Capital Police who fought off the insurrection he fomented, journalists, legal asylum seekers, immigrants, the CIA and the FBI, our judicial system – all (and many, many more) have been publicly and shamelessly disrespected by Trump at one time or another.
Today, there are many who served in his administration – including former Vice President Mike Pence – who refuse to support him due to his behavior before and during the January 6th assault on the Capital, his disrespectful leadership style, his lack of moral character and integrity, and his lack of respect for our democratic values and institutions. In fact, even his former Secretary of Defense, Mike Esper, called him a threat to democracy during a recent interview.
There can be no equivocating – Donald Trump is the exact opposite of a Respectful Leader. He is fundamentally lacking in character, in moral decency and civility. In short, to use two archaic yet entirely fitting descriptors, Trump is a repugnant scoundrel.
There may be many Americans who simply do not care about his horrific character. He has stoked their grievances, hatreds and outrage so effectively (which is by the way what despots, dictators, and authoritarians do) that they will support him no matter what, no matter how disrespectful he is, even if his policies will hurt them in the long run.
But, I would argue that there are many more Americans, like the good Colonel, for whom character really does matter.
So yes, this Independence Day let’s celebrate and honor and respect the founding of our great country. And let us also remember as we go to vote in what is arguably the most important election in modern American history, that character truly matters.
