Richard Neustadt, after serving as an advisor to the President, felt the need to convey the reality of the presidential power. He felt many Americans over-exaggerated the Presidents formal power, and I’d like to explore the informal powers and their influence in our lives. Fortunately we have a strict system of checks in balances that prevents the President from taking full control, and this is the primary reason as to why the President doesn’t have significant power. A growing issue today is the bellicose rhetoric our President is spewing out towards the rogue state of North Korea. Many people today are worried the presidents actions will result in a war. In reality the President can not formally declare war without the consent of Congress, however he can most certainly instigate one. Trump may very well be “kicking the hornets nest” with his onslaught of insults towards the North Korean leader. Trumps words have caused increased military build up along the demilitarized zone of North Korea, and as commander in chief he ordered a carrier fleet to be deployed right of the coast of the rogue state. There is now a very real possibility of armed conflict be it nuclear or conventional, and a primary source is the presidents reaction to the growing nuclear threat. Whether or not his actions are appropriate or not is of no consequence to the issue being discussed. We can see very clearly that by simply making a few comments very real actions take place. The increased tensions allow us to see how the President acts as a key diplomat. By touring through Asia and talking tohis peers across the ocean Trump has increased relations between several Asian countries. Simply by visiting he is able to bring diplomatic change. He is responsible for how other nations perceive us which could change anything from our economic status to whether or not we have allies in a potentially very bloody conflict. This power doesn’t derive from the constitution, but from the informal power the President carries. He’s what Americans elected to be a key representative. He’s someone the United States feels best reflects their beliefs. He’s shown the entire world the he, along with the rest of the nation, will no longer tolerate increased aggression and will meet any such aggression “with fire and fury.” The world is left to believe that we as a nation completely agree with his statements. The international community sees the entire nation not because of our policies, but just by the presidents way of speaking. His incredibly informal tweets may be what sends the world into a third world war where millions of lives are to be potentially lost. Several nations would be engulfed in a bloody and vicious war if his statements were to provoke an aggressive response. Earlier this week Trump made inaccurate comments about the United States nuclear arsenal. He claimed we had hidden nuclear silos(there’s no reason, once the missles launch it doesn’t matter from where they launch) and that a standard Air force bomber was capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Unfortunately those bombers are used frequently in exercises along the Korean border. There is a very real possibility that North Korea would see this as a possible nuclear attack and war would break out almost immediately. Every word Trump tweets is heavily analyzed and the possibility of misconstruing his statements is very high(or just taking them too seriously). Trumps words have increased tensions and turned up the heat on international tensions showing that by simply making statements the President receives an informal power that can be used to make real changes.
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21st Century Citizenship 