Politico global editor John F. Harris argued in a new piece that President Donald Trump’s second victory proves that he has so thoroughly dominated American politics that he is likely to be ranked among the country’s most influential leaders.
Harris clarified that he was not describing Trump as having a righteous or evil character, nor did he say Trump has been a successful president, but he reiterated that his impact is monumental either way.
“He is a force in history,” Harris declared his column published on Tuesday.
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TOPSHOT – US President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on January 20, 2025. (JIM WATSON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
The editor-in-chief said that about Trump second inauguration on Monday casts the president in a “whole new light” — he now “holds power under circumstances in which reasonable people cannot deny a basic fact: He is the greatest American figure of his time.”
Harris explained that Trump’s assessment is “an objective description of the extent of his record,” noting how the president began “dominating” Republicans nearly a decade ago and now “destroys any discussion of the American politics in the broadest sense’ dominates.
He noted that Trump’s second victory proves he is “no fluke,” despite his opponents in the media harping on his shortcomings for nearly a decade. “He is someone with the ability to see opportunities that most politicians don’t and to forge powerful, lasting connections with large groups of people in ways that no contemporary can match,” the editor-in-chief said, adding that he himself been. slowly” to see this power.
Harris said Trump’s political opponents must end their strategy of portraying Trump as a political aberration. “They cannot push Trump to the margins by treating him as a temporary anomaly or simply denouncing him as lawless and illegitimate,” he declared.
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“Opponents have no choice but to recognize that he and his movement represent a great historical argument – and then muster equally great arguments to defeat it.”
Harris went further by comparing Trump’s individual traits to those typical of “the most consistent presidents.”
‘Like influential predecessors, his arguments have changed the terms of the debate in ways that resonate within both parties – in this case on issues such as trade and Chinaand the role of big business,” he said, adding: “Like other great presidents, Trump has been a communications innovator and has exploited technological shifts more effectively than his rivals.”
The author also pointed to Trump’s “unusual psychological toughness” as a “signature shown by the most consistent presidents.”
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President Donald Trump departs for an indoor presidential inauguration parade in Washington on Monday, January 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
“Imagine running for president in the midst of major civil lawsuits, criminal charges, and even… misdemeanor convictions – and then emerge from this swamp a greater figure than before. No one has to admire this achievement to recognize that Trump is possessed of some rare qualities of denial, combativeness and resilience.”
Harris noted that several of the great unifying presidents of American history also came to be seen as controversial and somewhat divisive in their time, suggesting that Trump could also be cast in this light in the years to come.
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Trump has yet to prove he can be the unifier, however, he added, writing: “What he didn’t show in his first term, or on his unlikely path to a second, was the ability to resolve these conflicts.” to resolve, to unite. This would require Trump to reveal a new insight about himself and how to use the next four years.”
