According to an AI listing, January 6, 2018, was the day Donald Trump stated, “I’m very consistent; I’m a very stable genius”. The remark was in response to concerns about his mental fitness for office, following the publication of “Fire and Fury”. The book by Michael Wolff questioned the President’s behavior and decision-making. Predictably, the liberals mocked his response and it’s likely even his supporters winced a bit. I don’t recall anyone rushing out to protect him from the attacks or rationalizing his comment.
Agree or disagree; what he told us is probably a clear representation of how The Donald self-identifies. Therefore, it provides a reasonable foundation for evaluating his presidential body of work; for supporters as well as critics. I suspect he would determine that a performance scale erected upon those characteristics would be legitimate and appropriate.
Most people will define an individual as stable if that person is interactive, productive, and appears to be at peace with self. Stability implies a kind of consistency in thoughts, words, and actions, but doesn’t necessarily denote near-perfect predictability. We’re not speaking about purchasing a lawnmower, hiring a production worker, or constructing a science lab. Indeed, during his decades long career as CEO and elected president, Donald Trump has been required to function in a world where conflict is the norm, adversaries vary, situations change, agreements are hammered out, and other people are impacted by the results of decisions. If the executive is highly eccentric, random, unreliable, or irresponsible he’ll be ineffective; he won’t earn trust, build partnerships, maintain relationships, or deliver on promises. If a president is totally transparent or perceived to be “inauthentic” the opposition will override him; international foes will exercise their capacity to severely harm, incapacitate, and even destroy the system and country he’s been elected to lead. Since Trump’s increased the number of votes received after his political win and loss, while expanding support for his party, it’s sensible to conclude citizens of The United States perceive him as stable enough to follow.
Determining whether Trump’s a genius is a bit more difficult, but let’s give it a try. It’s clear that a person can be exceptional in one area but mediocre or even inadequate in other parts of their lives. A specific and singular talent or skill isn’t automatically transferable to other arenas of action. It’s not unknown to learn about a person with genius capabilities who dramatically fails at being a decent human being. When taken to extremes, savants often display signs of autism, which prohibits their ability to communicate or interact effectively with others. Substantial and brilliant people like Leonardo da Vinci and Benjamin Franklin, born over 250 years apart, are members of an extremely small club.
While most of us struggle to excel in one career, Trump bounded to the top in three. As a real-estate maven he achieved a proven record of success while becoming, arguably perhaps, the best-known national figure in his field. As a rookie TV personality, he led The Apprentice for 14 years. That doesn’t happen unless millions of people continually tune in to be entertained. More incredibly, he overwhelmed more than eight other Republican primary candidates and upset Hillary Clinton in his first run for President of the United States. You’re aware of his remarkable comeback in 2024. The guts, planning, and execution it takes to triumph like Trump doesn’t, and won’t, occur for anyone lacking an exceptional will, a creative mind, laudable work habits, all blended with an ability to influence opinion.
The purpose of this article was to test the self-declared utterance by a confident and aged public figure, loved by some, hated by others, and impossible to ignore. He’s just a man; not a god. He may or may not be the president you want, but he’s legitimately the one you’ve got. In testing the hypothesis of Trump’s self-opinion while seeking truth, I’m willing to state I agree with his premise. If you believe he’s closer to being an erratic boob, I’d really like to learn more about your point of view.
Stew Bolno is a chronological peer of Donald Trump. He’s been a student, college professor, and consultant on leadership during his 50-year career. He’s followed politics longer than that time. His recent book is “Leadership Lessons And You: From A to Z – featuring Donald Trump” and he’s written scores of essays about him since he descended the Trump Tower staircase. You can contact him directly at his e-mail address or purchase a paperback version of his book at Amazon.