GOP Gov. Gary Herbert said Thursday that Republican President Donald Trump has been “erratic” in his first ten months in office.
But speaking at his monthly KUED Channel 7 press conference, the governor quickly praised Trump for a number of his cabinet appointments, like three former governors that Herbert has served with in the National Governors Association and the Republican Governors Association.
Herbert said Trump appears to have a hard time focusing on important issues and then staying with them.
He doesn’t “need to address 1,000 issues, he can focus on five” and perhaps be more effective, said Herbert, who has served eight years as Utah’s chief executive.
“He can sharpen his game” with more important issues “and let the other stuff slide.”
While it is not an excuse for some of Trump’s more bizarre actions, Herbert said this is the first time Trump has run a large government. Working with Congress and local governments “is a skill set he is working on.”
There are a lot of good things happening, said Herbert, which may be overlooked by the media and others.
The stock market just hit a record high this week, for example.
Utah GOP officials are seeing a presidential administration paying attention to public land concerns not seen for some time.
While this may be outside of Trump’s daily purview, Utah officials are working more closely with federal agencies like never before – “They are more friendly.”
Overall, it is too early to give a judgment of the Trump presidency.
“We’ll see how it develops, and who shows up in 2020” to run for president – Herbert saying it’s not time to endorse Trump for another term.
Still, Trump needs to learn that he’s no longer the boss of a large corporation, where what he said goes.
The presidency is “not a dictatorship,” said Herbert.
