The Donald is no lame duck
Contrary to his critics' predictions, Donald Trump is tearing up the political rulebook and proving to be a new radical and revolutionary President, says Peter Divey.
It is remarkable to watch. The most "unqualified" President in history is doing rather well. That criticism, of course, misses the point completely; it is why many voted for Trump: exactly because he was not a career politician. Decades of self-serving failure by the political class created the opportunity for a political experiment, and the voters took the chance. President Trump is following through with his manifesto, meeting his pledges and promises despite huge pressure. His opponents are beside themselves; it just isn't how the game is supposed to be played. Politicians are just not meant to do what they say.
Everyone expected Trump to bend to meet the expectations of the office, to become more Presidential, less Donald, but Presidential norms are bending to his will; an irresistible force. There have of course been mistakes, most notably that horrendous budget, it was the one time Trump backed down, hoodwinked by his own side as well as inexperience, since then he has already said 'never again'.
Yesterday, the U.S. embassy officially opened in Jerusalem. The economy is doing well. If he can, President Trump will build the wall – in spite of hysterical opposition – and if the meeting with little rocket-man is a success President Trump will have cemented his foreign policy credentials. His conduct and demeanour will have been validated. Obama may have had style, but Trump will be more than happy with substance.
Iran will probably use the U.S. withdrawal from the sham nuclear "deal" to agitate against Israel even more. So what is new? Iran has stated it's wish to smite Israel from the face of the Earth. All the hand-wringing by the U.K, France, Germany and the E.U. is extraordinary, even as Iran foments and finances terrorist atrocities across Europe and the World. The dismantlement of Obama's legacy continues apace and the pain is real for many.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller continues to dig for dirt to bring President Trump down, even if the whole thing now has more than a whiff of desperation. The fight to prevent the dirty dealing and machinations of the Obama regime rising in to view is hindering Mueller at every turn. The media and the Democrats are left with nothing more than a continuous smear and slander operation. Impeachment, removal of the President because he is mentally unsound, anything. President Trump is doing more than surviving, he is thriving.
There will be more stories, more Stormy Daniels, ongoing character assassination, but none of it will matter if the voter considers President Trump to be a success. Korea could be the ace in the hole that turns heads all over the world. Expectation management will need to be on point if the talks fail the barrage of told you so will be deafening.
The polls continue to favour the Democrats even if the supposed blue wave seems to have lost some vigour. President Trump cleverly continues to taunt the opposition who become so incensed that the message is all about anti-Trump and nothing else. This lack of objectivity may just be the cause of surprises come the November midterm vote. Trump will laud the economy, foreign policy, his reliability for following through on his word. At this stage of the political cycle the Democrats are right to expect gains, maybe even the House. Time will tell if Trump hatred alone is enough but it may be as voter engagement and turn-out are likely to be ramped up considerably. I suspect that the pollsters don't really know what to expect, just like everyone else. Except for President Trump.
