Washington - Donald Trump's first news conference
Wednesday since November's election contained a string of stunning statements
from the president-elect. Regarding his tax returns, he said "you know,
the only one that cares about my tax returns are the reporters." About his
business, he said he would retain ownership while shifting assets into a trust
managed by his sons, but that "I could actually run my business, I could
actually run my business and run government at the same time." And
referring to himself in the third person, he said "if Putin likes Donald
Trump, I consider that an asset, not a liability."
And then there was this statement, which he reiterated
from his campaign, about creating jobs: "I said that I will be the
greatest jobs producer that God ever created. And I mean that, I really -- I'm
going to work very hard on that. We need certain amounts of other things,
including a little bit of luck, but I think we're going to do a real job."
Twitter, of course, had fun with the grand promise, with
some mocking his statement that a divine power creates "job
producers." Others tried to guess who the greatest jobs producer ever
created really was. (McDonald's founder Ray Kroc? The inventor of the steam
engine?) Fact-checkers reminded readers about economists' long-standing debates
over how much presidents actually influence job creation and the relatively
strong job market Trump will inherit: Unemployment, for instance, is already
less than five percent.
Read also: Trump policies create financial-crisis risks
But beyond the economic argument against such a lofty
statement is the leadership one. It defies the usual "under-promise,
over-deliver" mantra for leaders in new roles: Set expectations high
enough that they inspire people to work harder and move forward, but low enough
that they can realistically be met. Instead, Trump is making a soaring promise
about himself with plenty of potential to fall short - one that's tailor-made
for opposing campaign ads unless job growth rises exponentially under his
watch.
Towering
commitments
Of course, Trump - never one to lack in bombast or ego -
made such towering commitments the entire campaign. He made promises about
providing the "biggest" or the "best" of many things, from
tax cuts to equipment for troops. He has said he will make the auto industry in
Michigan "bigger and better and stronger than ever before" and
indeed, he has said already that he would be "the greatest jobs president
that God ever created" when he formally announced his campaign in 2015.
But why stop at jobs or tax cuts or stronger industries? In May, he promised
voters "I will give you everything. I will give you what you've been
looking for for 50 years. I'm the only one."
In other realms, new leaders treat such big promises more
warily. CEOs of major corporations are typically more cautious, managing
expectations each quarter to the penny with the people who judge their
performance: Investors. When CEOs take new jobs, particularly ones defined as
turnarounds, they often speak about the challenges they face in measured, if
confident, tones.
Politicians, of course, are particularly fond of big
pledges, promising during campaigns to deliver everything from job growth to
tax cuts to lowering crime to stopping terrorism. On the campaign trail in
1992, Bill Clinton promised his economic strategy would "create millions
of high-wage jobs and help America compete in the global economy."
In his acceptance speech in 2000, George W. Bush said
"we will extend the promise of prosperity to every forgotten corner of
this country." And during the 2012 campaign, Barack Obama promised he
would create a million new manufacturing jobs by the end of 2016.
But Trump claiming that he will be the greatest that God
created at producing jobs goes well beyond the usual campaign pledge. Not only
does he make grand promises; many are concerned about how impulsive he'll be
when he makes decisions regarding them. A Pew Research Centre survey released
earlier this week found that a majority of Americans - 58 percent - think Trump
will be too "impulsive" in his decision-making as president.
Thirty-four percent said they thought his approach to decision-making would be
"about right," and just 4 percent said he would be too cautious.
Unsurprisingly, the survey's results broke down along
party lines, with just 22 percent of conservative Republicans saying it was a
concern. But 40 percent of respondents that identified as moderate or liberal
Republicans said they were worried Trump's decision-making style could be too
impulsive, and an overwhelming percentage of Democrats said the same.
Making the promise that he will be God's greatest creator
of jobs again now, as he transitions from the fervour of the campaign trail to
the more sober work of governing, gives Trump's promise much more weight. Even
if we don't take that pledge literally - as we've been warned not to do - it
still sets expectations very, very high. And that's not a place many leaders,
at least if they take promises seriously, usually like to start off.