The United States has three branches of government: the legislative, the judicial, and the executive branch. The President of the United States is the head of the executive branch, of which he does indeed have many underlings under his power, as well as the fact that the President is the Commander-In-Chief of the armed forces That said, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the President is the most powerful person in America despite his great power, because in actuality, the President is under the restraint of not only the legislative branch, as well as the judicial branch, but also the political party that the President is aligned with.
Indeed, when it comes to politics it needs to be recognized that some of those elected in the Congressional branch have been in their position for over thirty years, which makes a material difference in their effectiveness and their influence, because of the fact that they have been there for so many years, which means they have developed numerous contacts and connections, which make them to have a lot more influence and usefulness over anybody else that has just been elected. So too, the judicial branch of the government has judges that have been appointed for life, so that they can serve for well over thirty years and beyond, which signifies that both of these branches have senior members who are well-positioned, to therefore to have their say when it comes to those things that are part of their domain.
Further to the point, Presidents come from different walks of life, so that a President, who was formerly a well-seasoned member of Congress, is going to already have the contacts within government as well as private enterprise that they can call upon, which is wholly different than a President, such as someone known as a successful businessperson or celebrity would have at their disposal. In other words, those who have not served their country faithfully in the political arena, no matter their image or competency outside such, just aren’t going to have the type of influence and power that someone on the inside who has developed governmental and corporate relations has achieved, which they have obtained and developed over the years.
So too, it has to be recognized that the President is only one person, so that, the numbers of all those that are in great positions of power and influence in aggregate considerably outweigh what the President brings to the table, signifying that the President in order to wield real power is going to have developed agendas that have broad public as well as inside political support or else the President will find it difficult to pass into law or through Executive Order the items that means the most to him and his desires.
No doubt, the President is powerful, but to a large extent that power must be combined with others that in aggregate are far more powerful, or else the President will not be able to put into effect the changes that the President richly desires to see changed, which is why, those that talk the talk, aren’t when they become President, necessarily able to walk the walk, unless they are in harmony with those that are in agreement with what that talk so signifies.