Optimism for a Trump Presidency

Now that we have come down off that ledge and realized we're not actually moving to Canada, here are five optimistic reasons the Trump presidency won't be as bad as we think.

Branding

You can say that he inherited his wealth. You can say that he almost squandered his money away via bankruptcy but the banks allowed him to restructure his debt, deeming him too big to fail. But in all honesty, he is a master of branding. The only thing more shocking than how much of a ripoff Trump University was is how many people actually paid money to enroll there. Like him or not, he made his name synonymous with wealth and success.

Why is this important? Because now that he's president, America is his brand. He cares a great deal what other people think of him (almost to a fault ... no, definitely to a fault) and will want to make decisions based on how the country will look, not just himself. This is one of the reasons I think he won't fulfill his craziest ideas.

From The New Yorker:

"Trump’s Presidential plans are not shaped by ideology. He changed parties five times between 1999 and 2012, and, early on the campaign trail, he praised parts of Planned Parenthood (while opposing abortion), vowed to protect Social Security, and supported gay rights (while opposing same-sex marriage). He is governed, above all, by his faith in the ultimate power of transaction..."

The Looming Recession

Many economists are predicting a recession in the near future. Like most recessions, they happen in spite of the letter appearing after the name of the president in office. Like most elections, people still punish or reward incumbents based on economic performance, even if it's out of their control. In other words, the economy will tank, Trump will get the blame, and he probably won't see a second term.

Isolationism will be tested

This move toward isolationism/nationalism is not going away. Now that Trump is president, if rejecting open trade and closing our borders to immigrants is as disastrous as most economists agree it will be, that gives voters empirical evidence that these ideas do not work for the next election. No more speculating. It didn't work; let's move on.

Checks and Balances

Don't forget: the executive branch still has limited power. From FiveThirtyEight:

"Immediately, Trump has the executive power to do things like pull out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade policy negotiations, restart exploration of the Keystone pipeline, sign executive orders deregulating energy prices and bring trade cases against China. And much more.

Many of Trump’s major economic promises, however, would require cooperation with Congress and/or the Supreme Court. So repealing Obamacare, cutting taxes and building his infamous wall on the Mexican border — Trump couldn’t do that unilaterally. Bipartisan legislation would more likely come in the form of an infrastructure package or a bill on paid maternity leave."

Fearing Fear Itself

Part of the fear of a Trump presidency is the mystery. His policy proposals are vague and he has no prior history of public office on which to draw. Because he is such a blank slate, he allows us to project our worst fears onto him. This is human nature, survival instinct, to fear the unknown. Once we acknowledge this fact we'll realize that, in all likelihood, a Trump presidency won't be as frightening as we fear.