As president, Dwight Eisenhower refused to use his position as a world leader to disparage another person publicly. Ike wasn’t simply being midwestern nice; he knew that any comment from the President could damage another person’s reputation or livelihood, and that was a power he would not exercise. His steadfast position caused dismay for many advisors when he declined to condemn Senator Joseph McCarthy for his tactics during the “red scare” of the 1950s.  As president, Eisenhower contended that “all you do is double the audience he (McCarthy) had the first time.”    

Those were not gentler times, despite the yearning by the current administration to return to the good old days of the 1950s. The House Unamerican Activities Committee (HUAC) was instituted in 1938 to investigate supposed disloyalty by individuals, groups, and public employees. After the end of World War II, HUAC was in a full-throated investigatory mode that destroyed relationships, careers, and trust. On the other side of Capitol Hill, the Senate eventually censured McCarthy without interference by the White House. It was an ugly time in the country, but the three branches of government usually exercised their constitutional powers independently, respecting the other’s areas of authority and function.

The contrast between Eisenhower’s ethics and the Trump White House is stark. Mr. Trump’s rude and crude comments about his predecessors, other world leaders, political opponents and anyone who disagrees with him, women (especially female journalists), and persons with disabilities are endless, and hyped by 24/7 news coverage. Eisenhower’s comment about doubling the audience was on target but he never imagined the news cycle and influencers that predominate today. Comments by an American president can create headlines around the world and serve to legitimize the daily vulgarity he uses.  

Following the removal of Trump’s name from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts facade, an acquaintance emailed an AI-generated photo of JFK and Trump, with JFK making an inappropriate finger gesture to Trump. Some saw hilarity in the photo, but if we want to change the tone of personal and political conversation today, a first step is to stop circulating demeaning commentary or observations in the guise of humor. Unanticipated social and political material flows into email in-boxes daily, and most of it should end right there. Avoid the inclination to share. Delete, delete, delete. Sharing someone else’s rude or crude comments reflects on both the author and the sharer.

At the opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago last week, former President Barack Obama noted that “people aren’t looking for perpetual anger and division. They are looking for fairness and common sense and mutual respect.” Trump wasn’t invited to the opening ceremonies, and his name was never mentioned in the speeches, but the distinction was clear. Anger is a vice; fairness and respect are virtues.

Three presidents, three-quarters of a century apart. Two presidents, of different political parties, who modeled civility and respect. Two presidents, of different political parties, who understood the enormous power of the office and the crucial need to exercise restraint. One president, elected as a Republican, who asserts that there are “no limits” to his presidential power and uses executive orders to override constitutional norms.  

The mid-term elections are less than six months away, an opportunity to change the trajectory and move the national conversation to one of civility and common sense. There are limits to presidential power, and those limits are in the hands of the individual voter. When one asks “what can I do?”, the answer is easy – vote!