By: Madison Trent

On January 20, 2017 America officially inaugurated Donald Trump as our new president.  The question is what type of president will Donald Trump turn out to be, a populist leader or a progressive leader?  A populist is a member of a political party that seeks to represent the interests of ordinary people.  Someone who puts the people’s ideas before their own and does their best to make it happen.  In my opinion Donald Trump is not a populist leader, but only a popular leader.  I don’t believe that Donald Trump is exactly for the ordinary people, which includes the overlooked, underprivileged, and working class of our society.  Donald Trump’s slogan, “Make America great again,” is just a statement that people are drawn to because they want to hear it when in actuality it's a very broad statement that means nothing when it's not supported.  Being a populist is actually a very good thing because it shows that you care about the people you are representing and you are not concerned about being the face that everyone sees.  As a populist you are willing to go beyond the established political system to the “little guys” made up of common people.  By being a populist you are actually upholding a principle created by our founding fathers that included all people in the statement “We the people.”

The definition of a progressive leader seems to fit Donald Trump more appropriately.  A progressive leader is someone who moves the organization forward while looking more toward the future.  Donald Trump is a big picture type of guy that feels America has gotten away from the things that made us prosperous.  He looks for a distinction between what Washington celebrates as progress and the progress his supporters seek.  Donald Trump is also a fix it person who looks at a problem and tries to make it succeed.  He sees that America has lost its shine and is facing a dark moment in its history and he is taking it upon himself to find a better way. Being a progressive leader is also not bad, it is great to have goals set and even better when you achieve them.  By being progressive you are not willing to settle for just the “okay”, but looking beyond to what more you could achieve.  It means that you are willing keep going even when you get knocked down.

As president of the United States I’m sure that Donald Trump will make a positive impact on America.  Overall I think that finding the right balance between being a populist leader and a progressive leader is the best.  If we can strive to put the people’s interest first while seeing how it can benefit us better in the future we will be in good hands and might actually find America great again.