Is President Trump the most productive president in history? That depends upon who you ask. Trump has been quick to label himself as highly productive, claiming that his administration has achieved more in its first two years than any other. Yet critics allege that President Trump is wasting away in the White House.
Reportedly, a White House staffer leaked President Trump’s schedule and it’s raising some eyebrows. Since the midterms, President Trump has had 300 hours of unstructured “executive time.” This is unusual, as most presidents have had highly structured schedules, frequently meeting with government officials and other parties throughout the day via formal meetings.
So is Trump just taking a different approach to his time in office? Could his unstructured time simply be more flexible working hours and conditions akin to how a CEO might run a business? It’s certainly possible but critics claim that’s not the case.
President Trump’s typical schedule lists him as in the Oval Office from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., but leakers claim that the president is rarely found in his office during those times. The leakers further allege that the president is spending much of that time phoning friends, watching TV, and reading newspapers.
Perhaps he’s not working from the Oval Office, but maybe that time is being well spent anyways. Still, in comparison to the 300-ish hours of unstructured executive time Trump has had, he’s spent just 77 hours scheduled for policy planning, legislative, and other meetings. Such few hours on said tasks is abnormal for a president.
It’s hard to say that President Trump is being lazy or unproductive simply based on his schedule. Senior White House aides claim that the president is always up to something, but that he prefers a more informal, off-the-cuff approach.
His schedule is unconventional. There’s no doubt about that. But at the end of the day, the president will be judged by how much he accomplished, not how he managed his schedule. And so how about the president’s accomplishments? The jury is still out. President Trump claims his administration has been the most productive ever. Critics have claimed that’s nothing but BS.
