The idea that presidents are powerful is no more than fiction.

When it comes to the president of the United States of America, the notion that "presidents are
powerful is no more than fiction" is a fallacy. In America, the position of President is arguably
the most powerful elected office in the world. As the leader of the world's largest economy in
terms of nominal GDP, the president wields significant domestic and international hard and soft
power. Unlike in many other countries where the president's position in parliamentary
government is merely ceremonial, the chief executive office in America plays a central role in
national and international decision making and is vested with enormous authority. However,
the president's entitlement to exercise certain powers is contingent on a variety of factors,
including social influence, prestige, and the president's personal morality. In comparison to its
early days, the presidency has grown an increase in undertaking authority over time. Many
presidents have attempted to set a precedent by defining the boundaries of those powers,
although others have gone above and beyond to exemplify it.

The president's powers have gradually increased over the decades. Initially, the presidency was
considered to be a restricted institution. The nation's founders distrusted executive powers
owing to their experiences with colonial governors. The actions of George III deepened their
mistrust, and executive powers were viewed as a threat to people's liberty. The republicanism
espoused in the Declaration of Independence (1776) was incompatible with giving the excessive
executive power. As a result, the constitution provided for a nominal executive, and the Articles
of Confederation (1781-89) did not establish an executive branch. Even after the president's
restricted executive powers, the office wielded enormous control over the affairs of the
congress.

The dual nature of the presidency, with the head of government serving as the nation's chief
administrator and the head of state serving as the nation's symbolic embodiment became
apparent after the inauguration of Washington. It almost became a hindrance to the
president's ability to carry out his functions but it did not limit president Washington. He was
one of many presidents who wanted to strike a balance between overt displays of power and
keeping a fair image in the eyes of the public. Americans adored Washington, and he played his
role with skill, finding a balance between “too free an intercourse and too much familiarity,”
which would diminish the prestige of the office, and “an ostentatious show” of aloofness, which
would be inappropriate in a republic. (Wroe and Herbert, n.d.)

The issues raised by the office's dual nature remained unresolved in the years that followed,
but each president formulated his or her own approach to dealing with the issue, one more
skillfully than the other. A few presidents, most notably Thomas Jefferson (1801–09) and
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–45), have shown the ability to play both positions. The examples of
John F. Kennedy (1961–63) and Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–69) were more popular. Although
Kennedy was an excellent symbol of a strong nation—Americans were captivated by the picture
of his presidency as Camelot—he was ineffective in having legislation passed. Johnson, on the
other hand, forced through Congress a massive legislative agenda, including the Civil Rights Act
of 1964, but he was such a disappointment as a king proxy that he decided not to run for a
second term.

The ability to influence other's behavior is often defined as power and it became evident when
Washington's administration established precedents for the presidents to come. For example,
he retired after two terms, setting a precedent that was followed until 1940. He also managed
to incorporate significant changes in the function of the government. During his first term, he
elevated the presidency from a mere office to a full-fledged branch of government. During the
American Revolutionary War, he was accustomed to surrounding himself with trusted aides and
generals and soliciting their advice. Gathering the department heads seemed like a reasonable
extension of such a procedure, but the Constitution only allowed him to “require the Opinion,
in writing” of the department heads; taking the text literally would have prevented them from
being converted into an advisory council.

In America, the president is also authorized by the Constitution to make treaties “by and with
the Advice and Consent of the Senate,” which many felt would convert the Senate into an
executive council. When Washington appeared on the Senate floor to seek guidance on
ongoing treaties with American Indian tribes, the senators shocked him by revealing themselves
to be a hostile deliberative assembly, not an advisory board. Washington was enraged, and
neither he nor his successors took the clause's "advice" provision seriously after that. Around
the same time, an act of Congress provided that, although the president had to obtain Senate
approval for major appointments, he could terminate his appointees unilaterally. This power
remained a source of contention and was crucial to Andrew Johnson's (1865–69) impeachment
in 1868. (In Myers v. United States, the Supreme Court reversed an 1876 statute that allowed
the president to obtain senatorial permission to dismiss a postmaster, thereby affirming the
president's right to remove executive officers without Senate approval in a decision written by
Chief Justice and former president William Howard Taft.)

The presidency's powers and duties evolved for the better over the 20th century. President
Theodore Roosevelt (1901–09) saw the presidency as a "bully pulpit" from which to preach
morality and mobilise his fellow citizens against "malefactors of great wealth," and he weaseled
from Congress a generous fund for railroad travel to place his pulpit on wheels. Other
presidents followed in Roosevelt's footsteps, with varying degrees of success. Woodrow Wilson
(1913–21) led the United States into World War I to make the world "safe for democracy," but
he was unable to secure congressional support for American membership in the League of
Nations. Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first president to successfully use radio, and he greatly
improved the country's morale during the Great Depression.

The president's ability to deal with national threats also accounts for the influence he has in the
Congress. Ronald Reagan (1981–89), credited as the "Great Communicator," used televised
addresses and other public appearances to reestablish national trust and commit the country to
combat the Soviet Union, which he referred to as a "evil empire." In addition, Theodore
Roosevelt pioneered the idea of issuing substantive executive orders. While the Supreme Court
ruled that such orders had legal force only if they were justified by the Constitution or approved
by Congress, they covered a broad spectrum of administrative activity in practise. 50,000
executive orders had been issued by the early 21st century. The Supreme Court's decision in
United States v. Belmont (1937) that such arrangements had the constitutional force of a treaty
significantly increased the president's authority in international affairs.

It was Woodrow Wilson who pioneered the concept of the president as chief legislator. While
he considered himself a Jeffersonian supporter of limited government, he felt the British
parliamentary system was superior to the American system, and he abandoned Jefferson's
precedent by addressing Congress in person, writing and proposing legislation, and using
pressure to get it passed. Franklin D. Roosevelt completed the presidency's transition. In the
middle of the Great Depression, Congress gave him extraordinary powers, and when Congress
refused to grant him the powers he desired, he merely assumed them; the Supreme Court
agreed to the changes after 1937.

Equally significant was the shift in public opinion of the presidency; people turned to the
president for solutions to all of their issues, including those that were well outside the ability of
any level of government. Anything good that happened was attributed to the president's good
will, and everything bad was attributed to evil advisors or enemies. From the 1950s to the mid-
1970s, presidential influence was at an all-time high, until Richard Nixon (1969–74) was forced
to resign as a result of his part in the Watergate scandal. The Watergate scandal heightened
public scepticism of politics and elected officials, and it sparked legislative efforts to limit
executive authority in the 1970s and 1980s.

Several innovations since World War II have made the president's role more complicated and
vested more authority in the president. In 1951, after Roosevelt died and Republicans took
control of Congress, the 22nd Amendment, which restricts presidents to two terms, was ratified.
Two decades later, in response to alleged violations by Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and
Richard Nixon, Congress passed the Budget and Impoundment Control Act to reestablish its
control over the budget; the act instituted impoundment limits, established the Congressional
Budget Office, and established a timeline for passing budget bills. In the midst of the Vietnam
War, Congress overrode Nixon's veto of the War Powers Act, which sought to reestablish
Congress's statutory war-making authority by subjecting all military ventures to congressional
oversight. Subsequent presidents, on the other hand, argued that the resolution was illegal and
largely ignored it. Confrontations over the constitutional boundaries of presidential authority
became more prevalent in the 1980s and 1990s, when the presidency and Congress were often
dominated by opposing parties, resulting in stalemate and the virtual paralysis of government.

Throughout the process, the president's unchecked powers became so apparent that the office
began to lose public confidence. The lack of credible sources of knowledge was one of the
challenges that presidents faced starting in the late 20th century. Any individual or organisation
attempting to gain the president's attention had a special interest to plead, and misinformation
and disinformation were rampant. Furthermore, as the executive bureaucracy grew, filters
were developed that restricted or skewed the knowledge flowing to the president and his staff.
Presidents increasingly relied on public opinion polls, which were often skewed and deceptive.
Another issue that arose as a result of the expansion of presidential primaries after 1968 and
the widespread use of political ads on television was the high cost of presidential elections and,
as a result, the increased influence of special interest groups.

Although presidential power was nominally still immense at the start of the 21st century, it was
institutionally stifled by legislative changes and the evolving relationship between the
presidency and other institutional and non-institutional actors. Furthermore, the Cold War's
end fractured the long-standing bipartisan consensus on foreign policy and reignited tensions
between the executive and legislative branches over the limits of executive war-making
authority. The presidency had already become vulnerable again as a result of scandals and
impeachment during Bill Clinton's second term (1993–2001), and it appeared to be further
weakened by the surrounding the presidential election, in which Republican George W. Bush
(2001–09) lost the popular vote but narrowly defeated the Democratic candidate, Vice
President Al Gore, in the electoral college. However, it is possible that the public embraced this
trend. Because, as polls consistently show Americans admire powerful, activist presidents, they
also mistrust and fear them.

This schism was compounded by events during George W. Bush's presidency. The September
11, 2001, terrorist attacks shocked and terrified Americans, prompting Bush to declare a "global
war on terror." The subsequent US attack on Afghanistan, whose Taliban government had been
suspected of harbouring al-Qaeda, the terrorist group responsible for the September 11
attacks, was backed by a majority of Americans. In 2002, the administration shifted its focus to
Iraq, accusing the government of Saddam Hussein of possessing and actively developing
weapons of mass destruction (WMD), as well as having ties to terrorist organisations such as al-
Qaeda.

The US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 quickly deposed Saddam Hussein but failed to uncover any
WMD, prompting critics to accuse the administration of duping the country into war.
Meanwhile, many Americans watched with concern as an insurgency against US troops and the
Iraqi regime grew stronger. The ensuing presidential election campaign of 2004, the first in
more than 30 years to be held during a time of war, was marked by extreme acrimony between
Bush supporters and opponents, which persisted even after Bush's reelection. As Bush
proclaimed democracy's spread (particularly in the Middle East) to be an essential aim of his
second term, the institution of the presidency appeared to be once again linked to the
Wilsonian idea that the United States' job was to make the world safe for democracy.

Lawmakers dominated the early 20th century before, confronted with existential crises—the
Great Depression and then World War II—President Franklin D. Roosevelt rode roughshod over
Congress to act. Since then, "we have seen a gradual rise over time in the autonomous powers
of the presidency," according to Mark Rozell, dean of George Mason University's Schar School
of Policy and Government. "Presidents are motivated, I believe, to grab as much power and
make as much of a difference as they can during their one or two terms." "This is not just a
Republican thing; it affects presidents of both parties," Rozell said. The terror attacks of
September 11, 2001 significantly increased executive authority. Republican George W. Bush
went far beyond his legislative authority to order acts such as covert surveillance of Americans
and the capture and torture of foreign fighters, claiming the right to do so in order to protect
the country.

Congress did require him to seek congressional authorization before going to war against Al-
Qaeda and Iraq. They did, however, give him wide powers, allowing the "War on Terror" to
spread to Syria, Yemen, and Africa under Bush and his successors. Nearly two decades later,
Congress was concerned that Trump will use the same forces to launch an attack on Iran.
Barack Obama took the oath of office in 2009, promising not to misuse his powers like George
W. Bush and to uphold Congress's equal authority. But, faced with Congressional Republicans
determined to stymie everything Obama desired, he announced his "We Can't Wait" initiative
and started leading by executive order within a couple of years. Obama used his executive
authority to enact environmental regulations, protect undocumented immigrants, implement
gun control, and raise the minimum wage.

Obama's use of executive orders, according to Trump, amounted to "power grabs." But he
himself wielded the power even more forcefully. He bypassed Congress by designating senior
officials as "acting"; declared a "national emergency" to redirect billions of dollars from the
Pentagon to build a border wall; and invoked national security to effectively ban Muslims from
entering the country. If Trump's allegations of near-unlimited power are not discussed, it would
"permanently and dangerously change the balance of power" in the nation, according to
Democrat Adam Schiff, who headed the impeachment investigation. Trump was the third
president in U.S. history to be impeached by the House of Representatives (after Andrew
Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998), and the only president to be impeached twice—once
(in 2019) for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress in connection with the Ukraine
scandal, and once (in 2021) for “incitement of insurgency” in connection with the storming of
the White House. Both of Trump's impeachment proceedings resulted in his acquittal by the
United States Senate. (US presidency gains more power with Trump's acquittal, 2021)

The presidency's power has increased significantly since its formation and the president has the
power of the federal government as a whole. Some presidents have recognised the gravity of
such unrestricted powers and attempted to remain within their bounds, while others have
abused them. But one thing that all type of presidents have in common is that they have both
used their enormous influence for political advantage at some stage. Although presidential
influence has ebbed and flowed over time, the presidency has figured prominently in American
political life since the early twentieth century, with a significant expansion during Franklin D.
Roosevelt's presidency. As the leader of the world's remaining global superpower, the president
of America is regarded as one of the world's most powerful political leaders in modern times.

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