On being an "outsider": From Ike to Trump

We were recently discussing the possible reasons why the media seem to be so hard on Trump, and why he has responded in kind. Thinking about past presidents it occurred to us that former presidents like Eisenhower, Truman, and Carter also had strained relations with the media. Why would that be the case, and what might it have to do with Trump? Our speculations took us to a view of Eisenhower, Truman, Carter, and Trump as "political outsiders;" that is, they did not have political careers that would have properly "socialized" them for their new job. If you have a political career in Washington, DC, you would have learned about the proper respect that should be shown to media elites, and the conventions of Congress and the proper respect that is shown to persons in various leadership positions.

Lacking this prior political socialization people like "Ike" Eisenhower were treated as a "mental midget" when he first assumed he could be president of Columbia University. How could he possibly become the leader of this elite university when he lacked any academic credentials that might give him credibility with the faculty? Moreover, he had the audacity to want to become President of the United States. The media somehow didn't give him credit for leading the Allied invasion of Europe and driving the German Army out of Western Europe.    

Next we have Harry Truman, who had the misfortune to be Vice President when a beloved President (who was a political careerist) died in office. The press frequently reminded us that Truman was a "haberdasher" from some Podunk town in the Midwest. When they weren't beating up on Truman, the media focused on his daughter Margaret's musical talents, and reported that she had none. Truman's experiences with the media led him to refer to them as "prostitutes of the mind."

And then there is Jimmy Carter, who could not escape the fact that he was a rube peanut farmer, and totally out of his element in Washington. Rarely mentioned was the fact that the "rube" had a degree in nuclear engineering, but then, he talked funny.

So we offer the theory that what Trump has in common with Eisenhower, Truman, and Carter, is that he is a "political outsider" who has not learned the tribal customs of the political and media elites. As an "outsider" he is fair game for the media and the careerist politicians to reject someone who is not a political careerist.

Now it is your turn. See if you can apply this theory to your favorite past presidents.