Why Donald Trump Would Get an F (in my class)

The Donald is Not The Researcher

This article is not about politics; it's about veracity and logic. (Yes, it's sad that these words together - politics with veracity and logic - should seem so oxymoronic.)

One of the courses I teach at NYU is Research Process & Methodology for students in the M.S. program in Public Relations and Corporate Communication. An objective is to help them prepare a comprehensive proposal for their thesis projects. After they complete their degree, a few may go further into the research realm. But I'm satisfied if they leave with the tools and confidence to be competent purchasers and evaluators of research.

We're nearly at the end of the semester, and I like to remind students of the original objectives and discuss whether or not we have reached them. That's when Mr. Trump popped into my head. With his rise in the political polls tied to his investigation into the president's birthplace, just what kind of purchaser and evaluator of research is he?

As a purchaser, he hired "people" who were deployed to Hawaii to determine if a birth certificate (the "certificate of live birth" in that state) existed or was altered. On one occasion after another, he told the world, "You're not going to believe what I'm hearing" and "I'm hearing that it's missing." 

I wonder if his research team will get paid now that the state has released copies of the certificate from the official bound volume of documents at the president's request.

As an evaluator, he ignored previously released certified documents, hospital birth announcements, and a mountain of facts from the government of Hawaii and investigators from the news media. As of this writing, he still has not given his blessing to the "long form" certificate of live birth that he sought so doggedly these last few weeks.

Of course, I couldn't have fired Mr. Trump if he were in my class. However, based on his performance and disregard for the research process and ethics, he would have received an F.

With his F, though, he's still one clever guy. As the citizenship issue dies down (but kept alive at some level, I'm sure), Trump is ramping up the next crusade - the president's grades and whether he truly earned his way into Columbia and Harvard. By finding new platforms to question the credibility and legitimacy of the president, he remains in the spotlight - whether it's for political gain or TV ratings. If there were a class on self-promotion, he'd get an A.

Between blog posts, you can follow me @pauloestreicher.