How would you describe your relationship with the President of the United States?

There exists a special relationship between the President of the United States and the general public. Chapter 12 discusses how this relationship has evolved over many years, and that it has actually become more powerful. Before either agreeing or disagreeing with this statement, there are several aspects of the relationship to consider.

The framers created the executive branch in order to have a person of elite status that represents the people but doesn’t often interact with them. In the nineteenth century this deemed true- the President seldom made any speeches and there was not any televised addresses to the state. As time evolved, so did this. Presidents and Presidential Candidates wanted to address the public directly to help win passage of legislation and win elections. We now see the usage of twitter and social media platforms that allows the President to connect directly with the public.

The power of Presidents to shape public opinion has also increased over time, with the help of these modern day technologies such as television, social media, the internet, etc. Although the Presidents have the power to do this, we have not seen them be very successful in doing so, because of the control Congress has in passing legislation. As we saw in Chapter 10, there is a divide in Congress between Republicans and Democrats that makes agreement on an issue very difficult. However, it is very clear that the President can fully control what information the public receives on certain issues, specifically foreign affairs. The press secretary may withhold certain aspects of a story with orders from the President so it doesn’t hurt ratings. This allows for a disconnect between the President and the general public.

There is historical evidence that the President usually responds to public opinion, and pays attention to what they are thinking. There are polling operations that take place in the White House to respond to public opinion surveys. However, these polls can offer a different use to the President, like what words they can use in order to sell a program to the public. There is an unclear usage of the polls here depending on the President but could offer a potential connection to the public.

Lastly, Presidential job approval ratings affect how influential the President is in representing the public in Congress. Most presidents have a wide range of low to high ratings, as we can see in the chart below, but usually start their term with a high rating. Ratings are very volatile and one day’s rating does make or break the President’s overall all term rating. However, these ratings are a good representation, and they do impact the current relationship the President has with the general public.

I do think the President of the United States has increasingly created a more powerful relationship with the public. Each President handles their affairs differently, but with the help of modern day technologies it makes the establishment of a relationship much more capable. I believe we will continue to see a development in this relationship, and that a good effective relationship will not be forgotten.

6 Responses to "How would you describe your relationship with the President of the United States?"

Elizabeth Curland says:

April 11, 2018 at 4:24 pm

Maddy,
I appreciated your post. I agree that the President of the United States has increasingly created a more powerful relationship with the public. However, often times it’s hard for the President to maintain a strong relationship with the majority of the public when party polarization is so prominent. Many people think it’s a bad time to be an American because of the relationship many have with our current president. Often time the president leaves us in shock, disbelief and distress – and it’s very hard to be patriotic about our government and nation as a whole when one feels these repeated feelings. Many feel that the president has disrupted their lives for the worse both professionally and personally. However, our President doesn’t seem to care much about the large divide in America, because he keeps feeding it through his actions and words.
Gwynna Ryan says:

April 12, 2018 at 1:41 pm

Madeleine,

I really appreciate this post. The relationship between the president and the public is one of the most important in this country. I agree with your point that modern day technology has helped strengthen this relationship. Regardless of personal opinion about President Trump, it is almost impossible to ignore the effect of his Twitter presence. By utilizing such a popular and accessible social media platform, Trump was and still is able to reach out to the population in a way that no other presidents or presidential candidates have truly been able to do. I think that it will be extremely interesting to see how President Trump has changed the game, so to speak. I think whoever the Democrats nominate to run against Trump in 2020 will need to reach, if not surpass, Trump’s accessibility on social media.
Timothy Miller says:

April 15, 2018 at 7:31 pm

Madeleine,
The president has absolutely created a more powerful relationship with the public over the last several year through multiple methods of communication. Social media has a very strong impact on how people perceive their president and with it becoming more relevant every year it is important to follow along with what is being said on these platforms. I think the relationship created through Twitter can be either positive or negative. For example, Trump tweeting about Kim Jong-un, calling him “short and fat” does build a great relationship with the public. Who wants to vote for a guy tweeting things as ridiculous as this? Trump can also use his Twitter account to promote ideas and congratulate people throughout the government which the public can find to be respectable and encouraging.
The establishment of modern technology helps the public learn much more about the president and develop a relationship with him, but there’s no telling whether that relationship is a good one or not.
Thanks for your post!
James Hulbert says:

April 15, 2018 at 7:46 pm

Dear Madeleine,

Thank you for this post. Social media is such a useful tool for all to use, especially the president. People seem to get mixed reactions out of Trumps Twitter. Recently, he has called out former VP Joe Biden and basically asked to fight him. Additionally, he called out former head of the FBI James Comey and referred to him as a “slime ball.” However, it is believed that Trump helped his chances in the 2016 Election through social media. Trump hired a tech team to help him reach voters that he couldn’t reach without social media. Trump himself said on 60 Minutes that his social media presence made up for the lack of funding his campaign had in comparison to Clinton’s. Trump also used social media in a borderline illegal way. He used the information that Cambridge Analytica got from Facebook users and then paid for what they essentially found to help him effectively campaign.
Calum Johnson says:

April 15, 2018 at 10:31 pm

Madeleine,

Great post. The internet has vastly changed our relationship with the president, especially as Trump continues to be active on twitter. However, I think our relationship is becoming more constant, but less consistent. When it comes to issues the president continues to pose, we see new problems so quickly that we quickly move onto to something else. It seems like when the president does something wrong, it is talked about for a few days to a week, then we forget and look to something else. This may be in part because we see new problems all of the time and must follow the most recent happenings, but it is also because we are becoming desensitized. It is so constant and redundant that disinterest increases. We are becoming used to what the president does and how his actions are presented online. Hopefully, as we get used to this new relationship with our president we will find more ways to have an honestly involved relationship.
Carlin O'Neill says:

April 15, 2018 at 10:59 pm

Thanks for your post, Maddy! I agree that social media has created a bridge that makes a relationship between the people and their president a lot more capable than in the past. I also think that outlets like Twitter and Facebook can be used for the president to glean a more unofficial approval rating in a certain sense. The official rating and opinions on the president and his capabilities is gathered through political surveys and polls and is certainly a more reliable source to use when making conclusions of the public’s opinions on the president and certain policies. However, I think that because Twitter and Facebook make it so easy for millions of Americans to “comment” and “like” in response to President Trump and other government action people can get a sense on how the public feels in addition to looking at the official polls and ratings. By scrolling through tweets and posts, the president, government officials and citizens can all get a general sense of what the others are feeling without looking at technical data and I think that this is beneficial because it just adds to bridging the connection between government and the people.

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