President Trump has now left office.  Unfortunately, he exits on a very sour note – kicking and screaming as he relinquishes the reins of power, even alienating some former allies in the process. I know he believes that he was cheated out of office, but you must rely on the system to give you justice – otherwise there is complete chaos.

I see that some left-wing commentators have labeled President Trump as the worst President in American history.  They absolutely detest the man. On the other hand, numbers of Trump supporters on the right think him the best President ever, and many citizens wish him back in office.   What is the truth?  Assuming that four years in the White House is all he has, and Trump slowly withdraws from the political scene, how will posterity judge this man?

Unfortunately, most Americans, including the so-called news pundits, are not well informed about history.  I believe a fair assessment of Trump’s Presidency might be as follows:

• President Trump proved to be a man of remarkable energy.  The only President who possibly exceeded him in that regard was Theodore Roosevelt.
• Trump was successful in achieving most of his stated goals despite the fervent opposition of the Democrat Party opposition and the never-Trumper Repubicans.  He was investigated, unfairly impeached, and endured the unrelenting enmity of the mainstream press, academia, moguls of social media, and many in the political establishment..  Nevertheless, he accomplished much.  Whether or not you approve him and his Presidency depends chiefly as to whether you assess his accomplishments as positive or negative.
• Trump was perhaps the most un-Presidential individual ever to occupy the White House.  Andrew Jackson was probably his closest competitor; and Jackson, like Trump, was hated by the so-called “establishment.”
• Excepting President Lincoln, who actually split the country (though not his fault), Trump may take the title as the most divisive President ever.  Part of this was because of his sometimes obnoxious persona, poor communication skills, and perceived lack of magnanimity; but much of it was fueled by the hatred and lies of the opposition.

Love him or hate him, I believeTrump to be a far better President than some do-nothing Presidents I could name.  One of them was Barack Obama, a man of fine words but few accomplishments – and also very divisive.

Interestingly, a Gallup Poll taken around election time  suggested that Trump is the most popular man in America, displacing former President Obama in that position. In contrast with how journalists rapturously enthused over former President Barack Obama when he polled in first place, the news networks ignored Gallup’s finding.  By the way, Biden polled far behind both these men.

Of course, if they retook the poll, doubtless Trump’s stock will have sharply fallen. We are a fickle people.

In my opinion, Trump was certainly not our worst President, nor was he the best.  I supported him.  Yet,  though I believe many of his policies to have been correct, he did not know how to communicate effectively and unite the people.  He often came across as churlish and mean spirited.  As he leaves office, the country is more divided than at any time since the Civil War.