Personally I don’t think the missing global leadership was with the president - it’s with Congress. The president gives us a nice “name” to blame but it’s clear that since around 2007 Congress has largely abdicated their role in US politics leaving open a huge power vacuum.
Even if a president wanted to tackle climate change, a border wall or a Babylon tower they would be unable to get anything done before their term is up. I’m not old enough to know how things felt before Bush, but it seems like Congress used to actually exercise its power in the past
By "Obama" I'm referring to the era. I agree the focus on presidents is silly; GP was contrasting Trump on Covid-19 vs Obama on Ebola and I think that's a silly comparison. Trump is terrible of course, but that is not really the relevant story here.
Even if a president wanted to tackle climate change, a border wall or a Babylon tower they would be unable to get anything done before their term is up. I’m not old enough to know how things felt before Bush, but it seems like Congress used to actually exercise its power in the past