Letter: ‘Businessman’ in White House is something to fear

So now we have a “businessman” in the White House, and many people actually believe that’s great. It might be a good idea to take a closer look into the tactics of our particular businessman and decide whether that’s something to applaud or to fear.

First, he has found that it’s effective to stiff contractors, creditors and undocumented construction workers, because they are often powerless to seek redress, knowing that legal costs of enforcing any agreements would outweigh the benefits of winning a legal battle.

Then there’s bankruptcy, a tactic where a shrewd “businessman” can walk away with the assets of a business while leaving co-investors holding an empty bag. And of course, there’s the tax return thing that hides all these shenanigans.

We were already aware of these characteristics in our president’s way of doing business, but even during the campaign, he suggested that the national debt was “negotiable.” He walked that back quietly when the ramifications of that action were explained to him, but to many people that revealed at least one major difference between a businessman and an American president.

Business knowledge might generally be useful in a leader, but we’re stuck with an unscrupulous, thin-skinned bully for the next four years. God help us.

This story was originally published March 19, 2017 at 4:23 AM with the headline "Letter: ‘Businessman’ in White House is something to fear."