During his first month in office, President Donald Trump has proven to be as polarizing as commander-in-chief as he was as a presidential candidate. Given聽this polarization, the McConnell Center this week hosted a forum that posed the question, 鈥淒oes it really even matter who鈥檚 president?”
The event, the second in the center鈥檚 “Promises and Perils of the American Presidency” public lecture series, featured UofL alumna and University of Virginia government professor Barbara Perry, who said that the first month of a Trump presidency has clearly shown that not all presidents are alike.
鈥淚n 2008 I was asked to examine whether or not it mattered who was in the White House because maybe it was thought that it didn鈥檛 matter because all politicians are alike,鈥 Perry said. 鈥淚 find it fascinating because, in part, Trump won the election because he played off of that, saying that all politicians are bad or crooked and that he wasn鈥檛 one of those. But it does matter who鈥檚 in the office. That鈥檚 been made clear through the first few weeks of that presidency and it has mattered throughout our history.鈥
Perry, the director of Presidential Studies and co-chair of the Presidential Oral History Program at UV, says a president鈥檚 success depends on a combination of factors.
鈥淵ou also have to surround yourself with good people. George Washington had Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State and Alexander Hamilton as the Secretary of the Treasury,” Perry said. “It鈥檚 helpful to note that many presidents who were strong leaders were not afraid to surround themselves with the best and the brightest.鈥
