King Herod was not a very nice man.  Many other leaders were not wonderful on a personal level either.  But, they accomplished great things – even historic things.  Herod built up the Temple – to Heordian levels.  That is the crux of the argument of this video.  Yes, character matters.  It matters alot.  But it is not the sole determining factor as to whether or not a person will be a successful leader.  

There is a more recent example of a US General that is probably a better example than most other examples.  Victor Davis Hanson points out that General Patton was considered too insubordinate, too brash, and therefore unfit to be at the highest level of the US Armed Forces.  But when General Eisenhower needed to attack Italy in very challenging circumstances, the more proper British Generals and the other US Generals were far less effective.  Only Patton seemed to understand how to advance on the enemy no matter what the circumstances were.  Then, a few years later, when Germany countered with the Battle of the Bulge, and Ally forces had to push them back, the cost in lives to the United States and the allies was enormous.  General Patton argued forcefully that they should cut off the German forces and destroy them by encircling them from multiple sides.  But he was overruled.  He was probably right and the decision to not listen to him probably cost thousands of lives.  The insubordinate guy was probably right.    

There are many decisions that people like Patton or Trump make that will be controversial.  That is not necessarily a bad thing.  In difficult times, sometimes it is a blessing to have a controversial game-changer to shake things up a bit.  The main reason that the US need not worry is that the Constitution is indeed a brilliant document that allows for many checks and balances to make sure that an autocratic leaning individual cannot amass too much power.  In other countries with less checks and balances, there is more of a problem.  In the United States, it is less of an issue.  If things are indeed as horrible as some have warned, then we can always vote them out of office.