What Qualities Should a Good Leader Have?

A Saturday Prompt

For crying out loud, America can do better than this. (Photo by Andrew Harnik via Getty Images)

The last few days have offered a rich display of bad behavior by the man that more than 77 million Americans chose to be president. Of course, rarely does a day pass when Donald Trump doesn’t remind reasonable people why he should never have been allowed anywhere near the levers of power again. But three things he did on Friday struck me because they collectively offer a useful model—by negative example—of the kind of leader that a great or good or even a somewhat decent nation should demand.

You may have heard that Trump is removing 5,000 active-duty soldiers from Germany, an act of petulance because he didn’t like German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s criticisms. Earlier this week, Merz said Iran had “humiliated” the U.S. When asked how Trump planned to end the war, Merz said, “The Americans obviously have no strategy.”

This draw-down will still leave more than 30,000 soldiers in Germany, the largest presence anywhere outside the United States. But Trump’s childishly peevish behavior ignores the fact that the U.S. presence in Germany has significant strategic value for the U.S. Germany serves as a critical logistics hub for troops, equipment and freight and as the largest medical hub outside the U.S. for soldiers injured in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

It only hurts the U.S. to escalate this feud, a fact that would be obvious to a competent and rational leader who recognizes the importance of healthy relations with an ally, particularly one which is a NATO member. Any decision to withdraw troops should result from productive policy, not the whims of a thin-skinned narcissist who expects total loyalty.

Yesterday the U.S. hit the 60-day deadline for the removal of forces in Iran, according to The War Powers Resolution of 1973, because Congress has not authorized the conflict. The response by America’s reckless leader? He announced in a letter that hostilities with Iran have been “terminated.” He also ridiculously claimed to reporters that the 60-day requirement is “totally unconstitutional” and—echoing what Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at a Senate hearing Thursday—“we had a ceasefire, so that gives you additional time.”

A real leader would respect the law, respect Congress and its authority, and not make up bogus arguments for his foolish actions. He also wouldn’t go into a war without clear justification or without a real strategy for how to conduct it and end it. The two-word response of Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, to Trump’s arguments: “That’s bullshit.”

And here’s how New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, put it in a statement:

President Trump declaring the war with Iran ‘terminated’ doesn’t reflect the reality that tens of thousands of U.S. service members in the region are still in harm’s way, that the Administration continually threatens to escalate hostilities or that the Strait of Hormuz remains closed and prices are skyrocketing at home. President Trump entered this war without a strategy and without legal authorization and today’s announcement doesn’t change either fact.

A great or good or somewhat decent nation should also expect its leaders to not be lazy and to actually care about the needs of the citizens they were elected to serve. That includes developing productive policies and actually understanding them. But the guy currently in the White House? He can’t be bothered with all that, including on something as fundamental—that can be the difference between life and death—as health care.

In what the typically soft-pedaling Washington Post described as a “profane speech” yesterday at The Villages, a retirement community in Florida, where the audience surely cares about programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, Trump said this:

We have a man here who knows more about Medicaid, Medicare, medical crap than any human being. Where’s Dr. Oz? [Oz is responsible for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.] Where the hell are you? Stand up. It’s the most boring trip I’ve ever made. He’s telling me about Medicare, Medicaid. All I want to do is take care of you, I don’t care. I said, ‘You work out the details.’

This is the lazy, careless, indifferent and nasty human that was elected to the highest office in our land (and who needs be removed). Yes, it makes me angry and it frankly disgusts me. And it also vividly displays what bad and terribly wrong leadership looks like.

But it reminds me how important it is to have leaders who work hard, care about the people who they serve, treat people with respect, and perform their duties with intelligence and compassion. That’s just a baseline, the least of what we should expect.

What do you think? What qualities should a good leader have? Please do share your list. I’d also welcome your examples of leaders that you admire. Perhaps they are currently in office or perhaps they are men or women throughout history who have exemplified real leadership and made our country better.

As always, I look forward to reading your observations and the opportunity for our America, America community to learn from each other. Please do be respectful in your remarks. Trolling will not be tolerated.

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