President Donald Trump’s first nine months in office have been unconventional in every sense, according to Bangor native William Cohen, a Republican who served more than two decades in Congress before becoming Democratic President Bill Clinton’s secretary of defense.
From the way the president treats members of Congress to his fondness for “tweetstorms,” and his taunting of everyone from the National Football League to North Korea, Cohen said, “President Trump has really rejected the norms in virtually every aspect of his presidency.”
The current “unconventional” administration was the topic of this year’s Cohen Lecture at the University of Maine, presented by the William S. Cohen Institute for Leadership and Public Service at the Collins Center for the Arts. Cohen was joined Friday by Andrew H. Card Jr., former chief of staff to President George W. Bush, and Ambassador Marc Grossman, former undersecretary of state for political affairs.
Since leaving Bill Clinton’s Cabinet, Cohen has largely stayed out of public political spheres, although he did draw attention in 2016 when he endorsed Democrat Hillary Clinton for president over Trump.
Cohen, who served in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, shared his opinion that Trump tries to intimidate members of Congress in the way he publically criticizes them. Cohen specifically cited the president’s public criticism of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell during the recent health care debate.
“What I want to see is a little more love,” Cohen said. “And a sense of civility and respect for each other that I think has been absent for the first 10 months or so.”
Trump’s criticism of U.S. allies, notably German Chancellor Angela Merkel, also concerns Cohen. But Trump’s silence on certain topics, such as Russian President Vladimir Putin, should spur people to take notice, Cohen said.
The combination of Trump’s use of Twitter and his degradation of the traditional news media, according to Cohen, is dangerous because it undercuts the credibility of information ― creating a danger of forming a “fact free” universe. Cohen believes the damage that the president has done is this regard is irreversible.
Trump’s habit of taunting those who oppose his positions or get under his skin harms not just his presidency but nation as a whole, especially in the case of North Korea, Cohen said. The former secretary of defense said he does not think Trump is trying to provoke Kim Jong Un “to do something stupid,” his habit of taking to Twitter to bash the North Korean leader unnecessarily elevates the risk of conflict and compromises the U.S. position in global relations.
“I would like to see the banning of the taunting at the geopolitical level,” Cohen said. “I think it lowers respect for us.”
While Cohen criticized Trump’s communication style as president, he did say he supports what the president has done in assembling his national security team and in choosing Rex Tillerson as secretary of state.