The latest Pew Research data showing a slip in the President’s approval ratings and a decline in perceived “personal traits” is a predictable outcome for any administration rooted in the cult of personality. From a Libertarian perspective, however, the real story isn’t the fickle nature of public opinion—it’s the inherent danger of a system that invests so much power in a single individual that his “personal traits” become a matter of national stability.
Statists obsess over approval ratings because they view the President as a national CEO or a secular savior. Libertarians see the Presidency for what it truly is: the head of a bloated, unconstitutional executive branch that has usurped the power of the people and their local communities. When a leader’s “likability” slips, the state’s response is often to pivot toward even more aggressive populism or interventionism to “win back” the base.
The slipping poll numbers reflect a growing realization that the promise of a “strongman” to fix the economy or secure the borders is a fantasy. Real prosperity and order come from the bottom up—through the market, the family, and voluntary association—not from the top down via executive orders and charisma. The Libertarian Party’s critique is simple: we don’t need a President we can “approve” of; we need a Presidency so diminished in scope that we don’t have to care who holds the office. The obsession with a leader’s personality is merely a symptom of a society that has forgotten how to rule itself.
