This is why implementation details matter

A very interesting weekend.  The protests and backlash has already started over Trump's executive order that temporarily bans letting refugees into the USA from certain countries.

This order and it's effect caught many people off-guard and resulted in tons of people being held up at airports over the weekend (and that continues).

What was Trump doing there?

Yes, it's true that he promised to do this very thing during his campaign.  And yes, it's true that Obama did the exact same thing in 2011, when he put a hold on allowing refugees from Iraq from entering the country for half a year.

So why is there so much outrage when Trump did it, but very little anger when Obama did the same thing?

The answer is in the way it was done.

If you're going to make a major change to immigration policy, you need to announce it, set a date, and give people time to prepare for it, so that they know it's coming and can take appropriate actions in advance of the change.   That's what Obama did correctly in 2011.

Trump, on the other hand, did not.  He just issued the order, and as a result, no one had time to plan for it.  People were literally in the air on a flight, and their immigration status was changed by the executive order, leaving them in trouble when they landed.

What resulted?  Complete and total chaos.

So why would Trump do it that way, instead of announcing it, having it go through proper channels, and then giving time for people to prepare and adjust for it?  In other words, the normal and sane way of making a change like this?

We have to remember that Donald Trump is not a politican; he's a CEO.  And in business, when you want something done, you give the order and your people make it happen.  That's what he's used to, because that's how it works in the in the business world.   Trump is not used to following proper political process, and this event just showed that: CEO Trump's lack of political experience was made very clear.

Now, even if you agree that a temporary ban to improve the vetting process was necessary, one would hope that you can also agree that it was implemented incorrectly.  In fact, because it was implemented so poorly and has caused so much chaos and trouble for travellers, the whole question of whether or not the ban was a good idea or not has become a secondary issue.  It's like the old saying says: "the operation was a success, but the patient died."

To repeat: whether or not it was the ban was right thing to do has become completely irrelevant.  The resulting problems have become larger than the original issue.

It's not clear that Trump understands that yet.  Even if, in his mind, he thinks he has done the right thing, can he see that he "did the right thing", but in the wrong way?  And that because it was done in the wrong way, all of his "good intent" behind it does not matter?

So yes, Trump has made a huge mistake here.  One can only hope that he learns from it and comes to realise that running the country is not the same thing as running a business.  As a CEO, he gave immediate orders, but as President, he first needs to think of the impact of an order before he signs it.  And if it's an order like this one, that will create a huge change that people will need time to adjust to, he needs to give people that time.

Despite what Trump thinks, it's not about doing the right thing.  It's about doing the right thing correctly.  Whether or not you think the ban was the "right thing" to do or not, it's clear that it was not done correctly.  And THAT is the problem.

LKvi