It is difficult to imagine someone who has reached the pinnacle of world power resigning from the most coveted position our nation offers.
But if the conversation begins to go there, you can be sure Californians will be involved in the mix.
There has been only one resignation in the 229 years since the creation of the Republic, and that was Richard M. Nixon, the 37th president, who surrendered his office officially on August 9, 1974. Had he chosen to remain and face trial in the Senate, impeachment was a near certainty.
It so happens Nixon was also a Californian who as a U.S. Senator and then a Vice President under Dwight Eisenhower knew something about politics.
The circumstances which drove him to this momentous decision stemmed from the now infamous break-in at the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters in Washington D.C.’s Watergate building and the subsequent cover-up.
In the months that followed this event the evidence of criminal wrongdoing became overwhelming and even Nixon’s staunchest defenders in Congress saw no way to save him.
Ronald Reagan, another Californian who first gained distinction as a popular two-term governor, not only reclaimed the presidency for the GOP in 1981 but rescued the party from its earlier misfortunes and put a mostly honorable imprint on it which lasted well into the Bush era.
Jerry Brown, the current governor, has done what no prior Californian ever did—serving two non-consecutive four-year terms while losing several bids to wrest the Democratic presidential nomination.
For Brown there has never been the whiff of scandal and Reagan’s role in the so-called Iran-Contra affair involving secret arms sales to Iran to fund Nicaraguan rebels in exchange for the release of U.S. hostages was the only major blemish on his record.
Donald Trump, the 45th president, though the going-away favorite of California GOP voters and perhaps coming under the most intense scrutiny of any Commander-in-Chief in modern times, has yet to be accused of wrongdoings that have led to calls for his resignation.
Nor has compelling evidence surfaced as investigations continue into perhaps the most incendiary matter dogging him—the allegations of wiretapping by Trump campaign aides in the election involving possible collusion with the Russians.
Although one Californian, Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, has commented, “I do think that it’s appropriate to say that it’s the kind of evidence that you would submit to a grand jury.”
Another prominent Californian who has made no effort to disguise her distrust of Trump, is the House Minority Leader, Nancy Pelosi, who would be more than ready to rally the troops if any of these inquiries bear real fruit.
Perhaps more importantly, some of the most influential voices in the media which was arguably the singularly most responsible agent for Nixon’s demise have wasted no time since Trump’s investiture raising questions about White House activities both before and since he took office. They might cause any normal individual to lose sleep.
Perhaps not so for Trump who appears to thrive on the unrelenting criticism which he generates daily. For most people these constant attacks would have long since destroyed their inner comfort zones.
But this is not a normal presidency by any definition and whatever standards and values that have applied in the past can be thrown out. It is now common belief that this person who we designate as the free world leader is predictably unpredictable.
Enemies one day become our allies in the next. Russia’s Vladimir Putin, formerly one of the president’s best friends is now in the dog house; trade agreements scheduled for cancellation will remain intact—for now. In the latest mind-blowing reversal, Trump is offering to sit down with the North Korean despot, Kim Jong-un who might just enjoy being treated as a nuclear equal.
The jury is out as to whether in historical retrospect these actions will be good things or very dangerous ones, and history takes a long time to play out. What is certain is that every presidential decision can have major consequences.
What we are also learning is that Trump, barely three months into his term, may be having second thoughts about whether he even wants to keep the job.
In an exclusive interview with Jeff Mason, the president of Reuters, that took place as Trump was snubbing the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington—practically a ritual appearance for all presidents—he said, “I loved my previous life. I had so many things going. This is more work than in my previous life. I thought it would be easier.”
That does not sound like someone prepared to endure the extraordinary demands of this office over a prolonged period.
More troubling is the possibility that he will simply dismiss the unimaginable complexities of the task letting others in his Administration worry about them while viewing his job as a temporary caretaker leaving him free to engage in more pleasurable and no doubt more lucrative pursuits.
That may not sound like the person accustomed to imposing an iron will on those who have worked for him and were summarily dismissed at the first sign of weakness or disloyalty or were routinely fired when they did not make the grade as “apprentices” on the TV show that catapulted Trump to national fame.
However, it would not be at odds with one who is first and foremost a businessman that sees transactional success as the holy grail and who may be spending equal time monitoring the status of his vast real estate holdings and investments as he is keeping abreast of the directions of U.S. naval deployments in the South China Sea.
Savvy media analysts and students of government from all sides of the political spectrum are devoting countless hours analyzing the mind set of this very atypical—many would say unnatural— president and what exactly motivates him.
They are wasting their time.
He was elected leader, personality quirks and all and unless he is actually considering moving on to other callings more in keeping with his interests and skill sets, he is right now, like it or not, the only president of a badly fractured nation in desperate search of any common ground.
Finding it will not be easy but it is manageable if clear minds and calm voices prevail.
Resisting changes without offering acceptable alternatives loses. The Republicans learned that with the Affordable Healthcare Act. Democrats got a similar lesson by giving insufficient attention to their blue collar and middle class base.
Let’s at least agree that policy making by whimsy and guesswork diplomacy are not sound formulas for conducting an enterprise as large and significant as the U.S. government. We entrust it to people who we count on knowing better and if they do not, we have the means for replacing them.
But if this is the reality, imposing greater orderliness on a system currently in the hands of those who are at best careless, and at worst ingenuous or simply cavalier, it is the duty of congress, the courts, the media and ultimately we the people to seek ways of reigning them in.