Sarah is an internationally published journalist, photographer, and writer at Refinery29. She writes about social issues and politics as well as the music industry. The views expressed are her own.
Bethenny Frankel, Real Housewives of New York star, made helping Americans after this hurricane season her mission after two massive storms destroyed Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Some of her fans have started a Twitter campaign to get her to run for office. Frankel's social media feeds showed images of the reality star in Puerto Rico just 13 days after the hurricane left the entire island without power. In an interview with Vulture, Frankel admits that even she isn't completely sure why she is doing this. "I was sitting at home and I was thinking, everyone’s saying 'You can’t go there,'" Frankel to the outlet. "And I’m thinking, 'You can’t go there?' If they don’t have anything and you can’t go there, then you’ve got to go there."
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The work she has taken on is much-needed, and I am impressed by how much she has accomplished. She felt compelled to help those affected by the string of natural disasters. "Whether it’s fortunate or unfortunate, I think crisis is my calling," she explained to Vulture. She found a way to utilize her skills as an entrepreneur, then she went out and did something about it. For that, she should be commended.
After an unrelenting sequence of hurricanes devastated Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, Donald Trump's response was severely lacking. Instead of taking the opportunity to adjust the amount of aid being sent to affected areas, the only recovery Trump seemed concerned with was that of his ego. He used Twitter to call Carmen Yulín Cruz, the Mayor of San Juan, a poor leader who wants "everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort." Instead, the dire needs of many are being addressed through voluntary assistance from companies, non-profits, and private citizens.
I admire her compassion. Honestly, I would love it if more people used their influence this way, but is it enough to qualify her to be the next president?
All presidents should help people, but not all helpful people should be president.
While I don't think Bethenny Frankel should be president, and neither does she for that matter, I do think we can learn from her. She saw a need, and instead of waiting around to see how it would turn out, she did something about it. Instead of sitting idly by, we should be like Bethenny and let needs inspire action.
But, we should also have higher expectations for our elected officials. When we began describing Trump doing the bare minimum as acting "presidential," we redefined the word to mean a lot less. Using its current connotation, significantly more people qualify to be president than are actually up to the task.
We need to look more longitudinally. The president is a public servant after all. We need to reassess the qualities we look for in presidential candidates. Studies show that we choose leaders based on qualities that make them incompetent. When our president is so lacking in empathy, it is understandable that we look on Bethenny's compassionate caring and wish to see it reflected in our country's leadership as well.