The Random Walk Presidency. Issue 1 (15th February 2021) - Mayer, Kenneth R.
Abstract: Donald Trump's erratic and unpredictable behavior as president was, metaphorically at least, a Random Walk. Combined with an inexperienced White House staff and a near total absence of any meaningful decision‐making processes, the result was, routinely, unforced errors that both impeded the president's ability to see his policy goals implemented effectively, led to poor congressional relations and, in several key cases, failures of leadership that played a role in his defeat in the 2020 election. The worst policy outcome was his catastrophic response to the COVID‐19 pandemic, which laid bare the pathologies of poor decision‐making processes. As president, Trump's record exposed institutional weaknesses that a more skilled populist or authoritarian successor may be able to exploit.