WaPo’s Ignatius questions Trump’s ‘manly virtues’

Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, who has repeatedly criticized President Trump, in his weekly column Wednesday said Trump could learn several lessons from former President Harry Truman.

Ignatius states that while Truman, like Trump, came into the White House with “little knowledge” of the problems facing the world, he exhibited qualities in his personal character that helped him build trust with the American people.

Ignatius refers to Truman’s “quiet leadership, fidelity to his beliefs, a disdain for public braggadocio” as the “manly virtues” that Trump could emulate.

“He never took credit for things he hadn’t accomplished,” Ignatius wrote of Truman. “He never blamed others for his mistakes.” 

{mosads}Ignatius has penned multiple columns critical of Trump, but he has also offered the president praise. Last week, he commended Trump for conducting military strikes on the administration of embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad and for embracing a warmer relationship with China.

This week, Ignatius offered the president advice, drawing on Truman’s actions during his presidency and comparing his experience during the Korean war with Trump’s current conflict with North Korea.

“Truman was grieved by North Korea’s invasion in 1950. The war went badly, his popularity plummeted, his commander, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, defied him,” Ignatius wrote.

“But the public stuck with Truman for a simple reason: He had built a reservoir of the trust that is essential for a successful leader.”