On Donald Trump’s Virtues

Alexis de Tocqueville wrote, “Virtues of any kind are rare enough that those who have them should not be harassed about their type and relative importance.” With leaders who carry vast responsibility, that’s not enough. But in order to understand and critique political figures, it is important to grasp both their strengths and their weaknesses, their virtues and their vices. A decade into Donald Trump’s political career and nearly half a century into his career as a front-page newsmaker, his vices are well-documented, and I’ve written on the topic many times myself. Yet, he is not without virtues.