Major Garrett: 'Can you honestly remember American life, politically, before Donald Trump?'

ALLIANCE − CBS News Chief Washington Correspondent Major Garrett said former President Donald Trump's impact on American politics is consequential and will be studied for a long time.

"Can you honestly remember American life, politically, before Donald Trump? I mean really remember it," he said. "What it felt like? What it sounded like? And how much politics did and didn't intersect your daily life?"

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Garrett spoke Thursday night at Presser Recital Hall in the Giese Center for The Performing Arts at the University of Mount Union on the topic of "The Unyielding Truths of Trump" to an audience of about 40 people.

The Department of Social Sciences, in coordination with the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron, is hosting its third presidential legacy conference, which started Thursday. It ends Friday.

The conference, "The Donald Trump Presidency: Legacy and Record," is billed as even-handed, non-partisan and scholarly. A similar conference on Barack Obama was held in 2016.

Garrett, who covered the 2016 Republican campaign and was a White House correspondent for CBS, wrote a book about Trump's presidency called "Mr. Trump's Wild Ride: The Thrills, Chills, Screams, and Occasional Blackouts of an Extraordinary Presidency."

Panel discussion: National media at Mount Union's Trump event reflect on tricky president

Garrett assumed most people cannot − "honestly" − remember American politics before Trump, not anymore. "That's how pervasive this is, and that's how much has stressed this country. Postively and negatively."

Trump understand emotions

Garrett peeled back the curtain on Trump, sharing stories and his thoughts on the presidency.

Garrett said Trump is extremely intelligent when it comes to emotions and how to use them, to elicit responses. He also understands social media and the power it has to captivate an audience and influence others.

"He understands how to charm people. He knows how to badger people. He knows how to push people's buttons," Garrett said. "And he knows how to own whatever stage he's on, in whatever way he wants to."

For example, Garrett said Trump never wanted a traditional presidency because he felt his voters wanted him to be different. He cared about perception more than policy.

"(Trump) says his political movement, from his vantage point, is unlike anything America has ever seen. He really means that. He doesn't find it to be a defect of his presidency to break from standards," Garrett said.

Because of that, Garrett said lawmakers − on both sides of the aisle − have always struggled to understand Trump because he has broken so many political norms.

"By the time most Republicans, and for that matter, the rest of the country, realized how serious he was (to run for president in 2016), it was too late," Garrett said. "He had found something."

Garrett believes more books will be written about the Trump presidency than Abraham Lincoln because how much it has redefined politics and personal truths in America.

"Truth to me is the truth," Garrett said, explaining personal truths.

Legal troubles could be short-term gains

Another aspect of the Trump legacy will be how his current legal troubles impact it.

The conference was planned before Trump was indicted on 34 felony charges and appeared in court Tuesday in New York. He pleaded not guilty.

Trump, who is actively seeking the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, becomes the first former president to face criminal charges.

Following the speech, Garrett said Trump could make short-term political gains with his voters. But if the legal troubles keeping mounting up, or he's found guilty of a crime, it could damage his legacy long-term.

In addition to New York, there are investigations in Washington, D.C., and Georgia involving Trump. Garrett said Trump officials are most concerned about the D.C. cases, involving Jan. 6 and classified documents.

Garrett said eventually all of these legal troubles could simply wear his supporters down.

The conference continues Friday with a panel discussion on national security at 8:30 a.m. at Presser Recital Hall.

Reach Benjamin Duer at 330-580-8567 or ben.duer@cantonrep.com. On Twitter: @bduerREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Major Garrett speaks at Mount Union on ex-president Donald Trump