Maverick Trump showing he will be different kind of president

Donald Trump was a maverick candidate on the campaign trail, eschewing traditional campaigning methods for his own style of getting voters' attention.

Now that he has been elected, he is showing signs of carrying much of that maverick style into the White House.

Trump on Friday held talks with the leader of Taiwan, an unprecedented move that is bound to irritate China, since the U.S. broke diplomatic ties with the island nation more than 30 years ago in favor of dealing with mainland China and its leaders in Beijing.

But it is just vintage Trump. He breaks convention whenever it suits him. We have a feeling we are just beginning to see what the new president will be like once he takes office.

Trump has openly courted the friendship of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, another unprecedented move, and has announced his Cabinet picks in a public manneer befitted a TV reality show, sometimes surprising even his own staff, as he did when he announced the selection of retired Marine Gen. James Mattis to lead the Pentagon at an arena rally.

But doing things unlike other politicians is just Trump's style. He seems to delight in the unorthodox. What that will mean to America over the next four years is not completely clear as yet, but it is sure to be interesting.

Americans voted for Trump because they wanted change in Washington. They certainly are getting it.

Published in Editorials on December 4, 2016 9:54 AM