And they are both right and wrong at the same time.
An American President is obviously a million times more powerful than a TT Prime Minister because he is the head of the most powerful country in the world. However, the constitutional checks and balances in the American system severely constrain him in a way that a TT Prime Minister isn't. He needs to get Congressional approval for just about every thing he does, and even when his Party controls one or both Houses of Congress an American President cannot be guaranteed that he will get his way. Powerful and influential Senators can (and often do) oppose a sitting President from their own Party. Of course, the President is there for a fixed term and cannot lose his job simply because he loses a vote either in the Senate or in the House of Representatives, or both.
Compare a TT Prime Minister:
In theory he and his Government are subject to the control of Parliament. But, (and it is a big "but") Parliament can only really control the Prime Minister by passing a vote of no confidence in him. If that happens then the Prime Minister falls. But the Prime Minister has a seven day grace period in which he can call new elections. If he does that then you'd better believe that none of those who combined with the Opposition to boot him out will ever be chosen as their Party's candidate for a particular seat as the Prime Minister is always the leader of the political Party that garnered the most votes in the last election (or at least, in the President's opinion can command a majority of votes in TT's Lower House). He (or she) who controls the Party controls everything.
But there has never been any Government M.P.'s in this country in the past willing to bring down their Government and face the polls. It just ain't gonna happen - ever!
So, the reality is that once a person becomes Prime Minister the only check on his power is the court of public opinion. Prime Ministers will bend when it becomes clear to them that a proposed course of action is opposed by a sizable and/or influential (read "money") majority in the country.
Even then, a lot depends on when the particular controversial proposal is brought up. If the proposal comes early in the term a Prime Minister might be tempted to ignore public opinion and ride the storm of protest out. If it comes late in the term then he is more susceptible to pressure. A classic example of this was the controversy over (the infamous) clause 33 and Mrs. Persad Bissessar backing down and withdrawing it. Too much political capital was being lost and there are many who felt that that particular issue was a major reason for her Party's defeat in 2015
But Mrs. Persad Bissessar is not the only Prime Minister who has backed down on a controversial issue, or who can be accused of acting autocratically. The same can be said of each and every one of her predecessors and of her successor, Dr. Rowley. The system creates and allows it. Winston Churchill once defined a Westminster type democracy (which is what we have here) as "a dictatorship punctuated by 3 weeks of democracy every 5 years."
That is why our general elections are much more "Presidential" than they might seem at first blush. Whoever we elect as Prime Minister in the next general election is going to have almost complete
power - no different from what now exists, but it is important to understand this. Further, for the second time in our history we will be dealing with 2 known entities: Mrs. Persad Bissessar and Dr. Rowley. (The first time was Messrs. Manning and Panday in 2007). Mrs. Persad Bissessar has been Prime Minister once before. We have her track record to look at and we know exactly how she she is going to behave and act. Those who think we will get something different are indulging in wishful thinking. And as for Dr. Rowley, because he is of "more recent vintage" it would be absolutely mind boggling to believe that this particular "leopard" will "change his spots".
So, in the upcoming elections (which are constitutionally 2 years away) as the dust of battle begins to settle, we will know exactly what to expect from whichever side wins. Think about it!
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