Today's 'Guardian' features an excerpt from Matthew Desmond's study entitled 'Evicted' in which he depicts in explicit detail the sordidness of the renters' crisis in contemporary America. When one knows that Bannon considers the current pope to be a sort of 'communist' due to the pontiff's interest for the downtrodden, it makes me wonder how Trump's base will react when the Wizard of Oz is thoroughly incapable and unwilling to enact policies which will help the disenfranchised blue collar workers in the heartland. If you read the excerpt from 'Evicted', you will set aside fantasies of uprisings, peasants with pitchforks and all that : the increasingly pauperised American majority will just die away slowly from either opioid overdoses or exposure to the elements, out in the street.
76
Anybody capable of doing math knows that Trump's Carrier act was nothning more than just that. An act.
There is no single company on the planet capable of creating enough jobs for the low-educated masses who willfully voted for him.
And when it comes to taxes, there's no doubt that everything will be done to spare the upper 1%.
And when it comes to repealing "Obamacare" (if they can), it will make no difference to them if millions are left without coverage.
And when Americans get that bill for building the wall against Mexico, and a head of lettuce costs $12.00, and a failed foreign policy has us standing alone in the world like outcasts -- maybe at this point, even the truest of Trump's supporters will start to wake up and realize they've gotten the short end of the stick.
That is, if Steve Bannon doesn't get us all blown up first.
There is no single company on the planet capable of creating enough jobs for the low-educated masses who willfully voted for him.
And when it comes to taxes, there's no doubt that everything will be done to spare the upper 1%.
And when it comes to repealing "Obamacare" (if they can), it will make no difference to them if millions are left without coverage.
And when Americans get that bill for building the wall against Mexico, and a head of lettuce costs $12.00, and a failed foreign policy has us standing alone in the world like outcasts -- maybe at this point, even the truest of Trump's supporters will start to wake up and realize they've gotten the short end of the stick.
That is, if Steve Bannon doesn't get us all blown up first.
236
Your repeated mantra of tax cuts is mindless. Tax cuts? How to make up the shortfall? What we need is tax reform and simplification. But does anyone have the political will and courage?
148
I agree with so many commenting on the cabinet picks --- I guess you reward your constituency with such appointments - this is a sick nation.
33
I never thought I would ever write this, but, I wish Ross were president right now.
This TRUMP guy is cray-cray.
This TRUMP guy is cray-cray.
19
Ross, you are hoping a light will go on in the Public who vote for these characters year after year, thinking they will do something to address their day to day issues?
Wishful thinking, I'm afraid. This Republican controlled Congress doesn't want any of that. Too busy with their usual fare, abortions, bank deregulation, environmental abuse deregulation, hard working mother deportations, etc. Here in NYC, I take the new Second Avenue subway (yes, it did take 90 years to build), and I see and feel what some good old fashion new infrastructure can do to make all our lives better, even Republicans.
Wishful thinking, I'm afraid. This Republican controlled Congress doesn't want any of that. Too busy with their usual fare, abortions, bank deregulation, environmental abuse deregulation, hard working mother deportations, etc. Here in NYC, I take the new Second Avenue subway (yes, it did take 90 years to build), and I see and feel what some good old fashion new infrastructure can do to make all our lives better, even Republicans.
43
There's a simple answer to your question, Ross. No, it can't. The focus is inward and not outward. As long as that is the mode of operation it will be four years of the same. Sad.
27
I am so sick of that uncontested lie that President Obama and progressives forgot the poor heartland.
That is utter and complete nonsense.
The heartland, like most poorly educated regions, were simply tricked by the gop.
They told the heartlanders that The Second Amendment made America great and that Roe v. Wade was corrupting it...oh, and that labor unions were the work of the devil.
So while the heartlanders rallied around their guns and staked out claims on America's wombs the gop stripped their labor union protections and in so doing stripped away the good paying jobs they lament losing and the whole time the progressives were fighting for them.
Seems we progressives misunderstood their values after all.
But now those heartlanders have an adulterous, draft dodging, genital grabbing, tax cheat to better represent their values...
That is utter and complete nonsense.
The heartland, like most poorly educated regions, were simply tricked by the gop.
They told the heartlanders that The Second Amendment made America great and that Roe v. Wade was corrupting it...oh, and that labor unions were the work of the devil.
So while the heartlanders rallied around their guns and staked out claims on America's wombs the gop stripped their labor union protections and in so doing stripped away the good paying jobs they lament losing and the whole time the progressives were fighting for them.
Seems we progressives misunderstood their values after all.
But now those heartlanders have an adulterous, draft dodging, genital grabbing, tax cheat to better represent their values...
238
"Not a war with the judiciary. Tax cuts. Not CNN or Nordstrom’s perfidy. Jobs....Not Bannon’s theories about Islam or the crisis of the West. Bridges and roads and tunnels."
No kidding, Douthat! But where's the juice in all that for a raging, power mad narcissist with a 3-minute attention span?
All of that takes work. Application. Disciplined thinking. Following through.
The smart money (that's real $$, not Trump $$) knows that those jobs aren't coming back without a massive clean energy plan. And infrastructure takes
putting real money where your mouth is, not back in billionaires' pockets.
This presidency will implode, or this president will implode, in the first term.
Ladbroke's of London odds are:
Serve full term: 8/11;
Leave office via impeachment or resignation during 1st term: 11/10
https://sports.ladbrokes.com/en-gb/betting/politics/american/specials/do...
Trump
No kidding, Douthat! But where's the juice in all that for a raging, power mad narcissist with a 3-minute attention span?
All of that takes work. Application. Disciplined thinking. Following through.
The smart money (that's real $$, not Trump $$) knows that those jobs aren't coming back without a massive clean energy plan. And infrastructure takes
putting real money where your mouth is, not back in billionaires' pockets.
This presidency will implode, or this president will implode, in the first term.
Ladbroke's of London odds are:
Serve full term: 8/11;
Leave office via impeachment or resignation during 1st term: 11/10
https://sports.ladbrokes.com/en-gb/betting/politics/american/specials/do...
Trump
80
Bannon, in his storm trooper coat and scowling face, is waiting for the opportunity to whisper in trump's ear that Marshall Law is next on his play list. Perhaps, just perhaps, the Republican lead Congress at that point will take off their sycophantic grins and remove this clear and present danger from office.
81
"This is not going to work. (In the end, it didn’t work out that well for Cheney and Rove, either.)"
But not before getting us into a disastrous war based on lies and leading to the deaths of thousands of Americans and countless Iraqis. Let us hope it doesn't take something as horrendous to "out" Bannon and this so-called president as the incompetent frauds they are.
But not before getting us into a disastrous war based on lies and leading to the deaths of thousands of Americans and countless Iraqis. Let us hope it doesn't take something as horrendous to "out" Bannon and this so-called president as the incompetent frauds they are.
118
If one needed another example of the man's mindset, it was contained in a statement he made when he signed one of his many executive orders; the one dealing with getting rid of Dodd-Frank, in which, he said, "my friends are having trouble getting loans."
It was under reported, in my opinion, and was the biggest clue as to his thinking about his presidency. He's there to help his already rich friends get richer, and, in the process enrich himself and his family. He wanted the law repealed so he and his friends could prosper. He cares little about the rest of us.
Add to that the he is not mentally sound and Mr. Douhart's hopes are dashed on the rocks of Mar A Largo.
It was under reported, in my opinion, and was the biggest clue as to his thinking about his presidency. He's there to help his already rich friends get richer, and, in the process enrich himself and his family. He wanted the law repealed so he and his friends could prosper. He cares little about the rest of us.
Add to that the he is not mentally sound and Mr. Douhart's hopes are dashed on the rocks of Mar A Largo.
64
There's a problem you just can't come to terms with: Trump's utter lack of character, sanity and honesty. It's time to stop pretending that Trump has any deeper thoughts than how much hair spray he needs to convince himself that he doesn't look like he's wearing a Pomeranian on his head or how HUGE his profits are now that he is the grifter in chief. He is so dim that he had no idea that running a family business where his was the final word on everything was different than being president. Time to stop kidding yourself that it will ever be otherwise with the world's best con artist.
89
Ross, take off your Trump colored glasses. A reasonably competent cabinet? Aside from Mattis, and perhaps Tillerson, although the jury is still out on both of them, his cabinet is filled with incompetents, neophytes and people intent on destroying the agencies they run. Campaigned on a reasonably popular agenda? His bumbling attempts to enact his popular agenda have produced the greatest protests since the Vietnam era, not to speak of the fact that he has done nothing to even attempt to unify the country behind him and the agenda. Every big promise he's made, he's walked back, repeal and replace, the stupid wall, loves hates our allies.
In spite of Trump being the smartest guy he knows, he is an incurable narcissistic sociopath that belongs on meds locked away in his tower.
In spite of Trump being the smartest guy he knows, he is an incurable narcissistic sociopath that belongs on meds locked away in his tower.
105
Tax cuts for the middle class, not the top 10%. They are the ones who would spend the extra money, bringing more economic activity, and actually increase tax revenue. Infrastructure spending, ditto. Reform corporate taxes bringing them down to match lower rates of foreign competitors, also will bring more US economic activity and less reason to move corporate headquarters to Ireland, etc.
It would be encouraging to see positive comments exploring economic proposals rather than all the venom on Trump personally.
From Dothan's mouth to God's ear.
It would be encouraging to see positive comments exploring economic proposals rather than all the venom on Trump personally.
From Dothan's mouth to God's ear.
8
Odd article. It's almost like this author thinks Trump actually cares about the things he said during the campaign. Trump was simply a con man playing a large room. His goal is to create attention and turmoil because that way he can avoid confronting his internal demons. He has neither a moral nor a political compass. He simply want to ride the wave as long as he can. No one else really matters.
61
This is actually good advice. It would work. Don't know that there's much chance of it, but any sane person would I think see the logic of it, and do it. Why in heaven't name didn't they just start with the things Mr. Douhat mentions, so as to gain support AND solve some problems. Instead, in three weeks, they've created massive difficulties for themselves and us.
14
" If you can’t figure out how to handle the hardest stuff, try something simple for a while."
"Infrastructure. Tax cuts for workers and parents. A better tax code for business."
Simple?
"Infrastructure. Tax cuts for workers and parents. A better tax code for business."
Simple?
13
The question is, "Should this Presidency be Saved?" The answer is a resounding, No.
61
Ross is wrong about Congress. The GOP caucus does not care how much damage Trump cerates over anything. It does not care about the outrageous things he does. It's a signature. McConnell fraudulently shut Warren out of the Senate while giving testimony about a candidate which was legitimate. McConnell knew this but acted with impunity anyway. He should be removed.
The congressmen and senators are just biding their time. Slowly each will promote his special interest in a bill and then ask Trump for his pen. They are sucking him in with the hope they will get payback.
America is suffering because of this. Disrespect breeds disrespect.
The congressmen and senators are just biding their time. Slowly each will promote his special interest in a bill and then ask Trump for his pen. They are sucking him in with the hope they will get payback.
America is suffering because of this. Disrespect breeds disrespect.
15
It is the top half of the first in, not even one out. He's nutty, throws alot of smoke bombs apparently fixated on the ridiculous. Everyone else's hair is on fire right now. Most of his agenda will get pushed forward. No one would have believed he would be where he is but everyone still doubts everything.
6
Some days it seems like Steve Bannon has found his ultimate stooge in Trump, our spotlight seeking blowhard who apparently needs to validate his fame every 15 minutes.
Here's the theory, which is plausible because Bannon appears craftier, wilier, and much smarter than Trump.
Bannon will use Trump to prove that government is indeed the problem. The alt-right can plow forward, destroy and remake our government and society into some libertarian dystopia. Bannon will be satisfied, but America will no longer be great again.
Here's the theory, which is plausible because Bannon appears craftier, wilier, and much smarter than Trump.
Bannon will use Trump to prove that government is indeed the problem. The alt-right can plow forward, destroy and remake our government and society into some libertarian dystopia. Bannon will be satisfied, but America will no longer be great again.
30
Every morning I wake up in a fairly positive mood. I have learned not to look at the Times before I'm fully awake. Check email, check the weather,even Facebook.
Only then check the NYT. It takes five minutes and my mood has turned sour. Its sad, disappointed, angry, negative. I'm not this way. Its Trump,Trump,Trump all the time. It was bad enough when he was yet another semi-crooked real estate developer. At least he catered to the rich and had little or nothing to do with me.
Now he is everywhere, doing harm not to his rich cronies, who can afford it, but everybody. I can't afford him. I am repelled by him; his lack of class, his vulgarity, his bad hair.
But the bottom line is, I can't afford him. His grandiose fantasies. his tax the middle, not the rich, all of his schemes. No plans, schemes.
Where has America gone?
Must we stand mute for four years while he gleefully sells us out, not to the highest bidder, but to himself, under a different corporate name of course.
He's proud of it!
What have we become?
Idiots and fools.
I don't expect this to be printed. Thanks for the opportunity to rant.
Only then check the NYT. It takes five minutes and my mood has turned sour. Its sad, disappointed, angry, negative. I'm not this way. Its Trump,Trump,Trump all the time. It was bad enough when he was yet another semi-crooked real estate developer. At least he catered to the rich and had little or nothing to do with me.
Now he is everywhere, doing harm not to his rich cronies, who can afford it, but everybody. I can't afford him. I am repelled by him; his lack of class, his vulgarity, his bad hair.
But the bottom line is, I can't afford him. His grandiose fantasies. his tax the middle, not the rich, all of his schemes. No plans, schemes.
Where has America gone?
Must we stand mute for four years while he gleefully sells us out, not to the highest bidder, but to himself, under a different corporate name of course.
He's proud of it!
What have we become?
Idiots and fools.
I don't expect this to be printed. Thanks for the opportunity to rant.
78
I get the feeling the world has already seen enough of Trump and his half-baked imprudence, his pathological untruths and his rapid-fire flip-flops. Now the world is settling down to wait it out and try to mitigate the damage Trump and his minions might do. Trump could redeem his presidency and do some good if he remembers that Americans need decent jobs, but he will likely forget. He doesn't have the attention span to remember and his own party clearly doesn't care about jobs for normal people anyway. No help there.
31
I am not so sure he risks becoming so unpopular the government cannot get anything of substance done. You get it wrong because you look at it from the point of view of governing, not the point of view of Trump, Inc (POTUS).
From that point of view, all that matters is building his real estate empire and ensuring that his family can keep the riches. All the other elements, although bloviating about them may be personally gratifying for Trump, are theater. No matter the meaning to the government. As theater, the chaos they produce serves as cover for the few things he needs to do to ensure the wealth of his name in perpetuity. All those things are GOP principles, so look for them to get through, no matter the rest of it.
If he ever comes to understand what backs his riches, look for a move to take us back to the gold standard, as he is creating country through his theatrics whose full faith and credit is losing its argument for being trusted.
From that point of view, all that matters is building his real estate empire and ensuring that his family can keep the riches. All the other elements, although bloviating about them may be personally gratifying for Trump, are theater. No matter the meaning to the government. As theater, the chaos they produce serves as cover for the few things he needs to do to ensure the wealth of his name in perpetuity. All those things are GOP principles, so look for them to get through, no matter the rest of it.
If he ever comes to understand what backs his riches, look for a move to take us back to the gold standard, as he is creating country through his theatrics whose full faith and credit is losing its argument for being trusted.
8
Mr. Douthat should be asking, "Can our country, the United States of America, be saved?" Certainly not the travesty that the current occupant of the White House and his band of destroyers is inflicting.
40
Mr. Douthat, here's what isn't complicated, kind of easy. The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.
19
If this nation is relying on republicans to save it the answer is no.
16
All the post-it notes with "Create Jobs," and "Tax Cuts for Not-So-Rich," remain on folders and reports Trump will never read.
9
All Trump has to do is get Gorsuch on the Supreme Court and the GDP up to 4%, and it will become obvious to even willfully obtuse people like Douthat that it's not a good idea to step in front of steamrollers.
2
Competence? self control? attachment to reality? Not gonna happen ever. Chaos in leadership creates a power vacuum. It will be interesting, and I hope only interesting, to see what happens. What forces will win the manipulations for power? Self interested lions of commerce? Totalitarian mind set so called christian's? Not Trump he is just not capable or coherent; he never has been. Or, and this is what I fear, a government so crippled that this country cannot keep the lights, on or the tyrants from here or abroad, out.
5
"Can This Presidency Be Saved?"... Cute "journalistic" trick, as low brow and worn as "When did you quit beating your wife".
This is a Prime example of why a journalism degree is the second easiest degree to a Sociology degree (Self directed XYZ studies excepted).
But what else should we expect from a failing media outlet that COLLUDES with the DNC.
Sad.
This is a Prime example of why a journalism degree is the second easiest degree to a Sociology degree (Self directed XYZ studies excepted).
But what else should we expect from a failing media outlet that COLLUDES with the DNC.
Sad.
2
A better question is, does this presidency DESERVE to be saved?
9
Who is this "fairly competent" cabinet you speak of? Betsy Devos? Rex Tillerson? Not so much...
18
The peak of this Administration occurred with the ride down the escalator. How fitting.
11
Mr. Douthart's advice is basically that Trump should try playing in the shallow end of the pool. The problem is he dove in from the high board doing the "cannonball." Now he's in so far over his head he can't see the surface. And, he's likely to remain there because the problem seems to be that he's simply not up to the job.
12
Good thoughts, Mr. D. No to worry, Trump will get to all the things you mention in short order.
2
Douthat's column is little more than a hopeful memo to Trump and the Trumpsters. They might read it, but they aren't going to follow along. They like the mess they have created and they want more. The shouted threat "see you in court", at judges who spend their lives in court, set the table for more disaster.
Trump is at base a bully and bullies don't change their ways until they are hauled off to jail (actually or metaphorically) or lie down for that long nap from which they, like all, never arise. He has surrounded himself with enablers, as all presidents do, but in his case a claque of extreme enablers, people who want to push him further into dangerous territory.
One thing that bullies hate the most is backing down or the slightest appearance of it. So, Trump wants a clear court win on the immigration ban and he will likely try to get it by pushing on in the courts and, at the same time, coming up with a kinder, gentler executive order that essentially does the same things as the first one.
Trump made his name into a world wide brand by appearing to be something grand, something that always goes up, gold platted, and never comes down. He shrugged off bankruptcies, lawsuits and investigations the way other people do a two day cold. He threw 25 million dollars in hush money at Trump University the way other people pay a parking ticket. Why should we expect him to change now and go modest all of the sudden? Doesn't work for him and "him" is all that matters.
Trump is at base a bully and bullies don't change their ways until they are hauled off to jail (actually or metaphorically) or lie down for that long nap from which they, like all, never arise. He has surrounded himself with enablers, as all presidents do, but in his case a claque of extreme enablers, people who want to push him further into dangerous territory.
One thing that bullies hate the most is backing down or the slightest appearance of it. So, Trump wants a clear court win on the immigration ban and he will likely try to get it by pushing on in the courts and, at the same time, coming up with a kinder, gentler executive order that essentially does the same things as the first one.
Trump made his name into a world wide brand by appearing to be something grand, something that always goes up, gold platted, and never comes down. He shrugged off bankruptcies, lawsuits and investigations the way other people do a two day cold. He threw 25 million dollars in hush money at Trump University the way other people pay a parking ticket. Why should we expect him to change now and go modest all of the sudden? Doesn't work for him and "him" is all that matters.
13
Donald Trump, "you're fired." All doubts about the need for that reality show slogan to become real life should have been put to rest upon observing this man's weak stunned nonreassuring "I don't know what to do" verbal response, last night, to North Korea's provocative behavior. Rather than a grounded wise sound reaction (a la President Obama), we observed more utter incompetence and this time on the world stage, embarrassingly/terrifyingly for all our friends and adversaries to see.
11
Easy for you - easy for most normal people - not easy for Trump.
Trump is a rigid, paranoid, insecure, egotistical narcissist.
He will stick to what he's used to and what he's done for all the years in business. He cannot change.
Trump is a rigid, paranoid, insecure, egotistical narcissist.
He will stick to what he's used to and what he's done for all the years in business. He cannot change.
13
Mr. Douthat, I would have voted for YOU based on the platform you suggest. I hope our Republican leadership in the White House and Congress read and act on your prescription.
1
Ross, shame on you for comparing this president to Jimmy Carter. Jimmy Carter was a decent, intelligent, man who was the first southern governor to declare to his people that segregation was dead. Carter elevated human rights to the level of international law. Carter avoided war with Iran.
Trump is a blithering idiot who wants to destroy the rule of law, both domestically and abroad. Trump is getting America ready for war with Iran, putting Teheran "on notice." Trump is a racist who is carrying out the early stages of ethnic cleansing in America with his ICE raids.
There is no comparison between the decency and intelligence of Jimmy Carter and the incipient fascism of Donald Trump.
Trump is a blithering idiot who wants to destroy the rule of law, both domestically and abroad. Trump is getting America ready for war with Iran, putting Teheran "on notice." Trump is a racist who is carrying out the early stages of ethnic cleansing in America with his ICE raids.
There is no comparison between the decency and intelligence of Jimmy Carter and the incipient fascism of Donald Trump.
28
When will Congress write into law that current and future president hopefuls must release their tax returns so that the American people can determine if there are or will have conflicts of interest?
18
Assuming, of course, that Trump has the capability of admitting, even to himself, that he's not the smartest guy in the room. Doubtful, very doubtful.
2
Why would anyone want to save this disaster? Put it, and us, out of our misery now.
9
Mr. Douthat always loses me before I get to the end. Today, he lost me at "He has, to his credit, assembled a reasonably competent cabinet."
22
"But a White House run this way will be politically impotent long before it reaches its first midterm. Is a different scenario possible? Of course, because the president still has free will."
Mr. Douthat: To what extent does President Trump have "free will"? To what extent is he capable of reflective and deliberative decisions, actions and policies? This strikes me as a question well worth pursuing, preferably by the appropriate healthcare specialists.
Since you are a Roman Catholic, Ross, I assume you are familiar with the notion of "freedom of choice"--of "liberum arbitrium"--as set forth by St. Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century. As you may recall, (1) the will is a blind appetitive power, and (2) "freedom of choice" is a function of an integral persons intellectual ability to present and evaluate the appropriateness or inappropriateness of alternative courses of decision and action. This presupposes that the person in question is capable of distinguishing truth from falsity, fact from fiction, and reality from irreality.
Day after day, as we all watch in amazement, President Trump, demonstrates that a short attention span, narcissism, impetuosity and other habitual defects of character pose major impediments to the proper functioning of the intellect.
So to what extent does President Trump evidence "free will"? Willful appetitive responses? Yes. Freedom? Not so much.
Mr. Douthat: To what extent does President Trump have "free will"? To what extent is he capable of reflective and deliberative decisions, actions and policies? This strikes me as a question well worth pursuing, preferably by the appropriate healthcare specialists.
Since you are a Roman Catholic, Ross, I assume you are familiar with the notion of "freedom of choice"--of "liberum arbitrium"--as set forth by St. Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century. As you may recall, (1) the will is a blind appetitive power, and (2) "freedom of choice" is a function of an integral persons intellectual ability to present and evaluate the appropriateness or inappropriateness of alternative courses of decision and action. This presupposes that the person in question is capable of distinguishing truth from falsity, fact from fiction, and reality from irreality.
Day after day, as we all watch in amazement, President Trump, demonstrates that a short attention span, narcissism, impetuosity and other habitual defects of character pose major impediments to the proper functioning of the intellect.
So to what extent does President Trump evidence "free will"? Willful appetitive responses? Yes. Freedom? Not so much.
8
An infrastructure bill, you say? Funny, the republicans spent the previous eight years deriding such things as an unbearable burden on future taxpayers.
16
What our mind does not know, our eyes do not see. What our hearts do not want, our hands seldom do. You are nice Mr Douthat, not everyone in the world is.
3
"He has, to his credit, assembled a reasonably competent cabinet."
Really? I guess if you don't count Jeff Sessions, Betsy DeVos, Rick Perry, Etc., Etc. As a progressive, I've appreciated Ross Douthat (and David Brooks) for their usually reasonable and often thoughtful opinion pieces, even if I don't agree with them.
Sorry, Ross, I'll keep reading your columns, but can't agree that we will have a "reasonably competent cabinet" in place, being nominated by a totally unreasonable President.
Really? I guess if you don't count Jeff Sessions, Betsy DeVos, Rick Perry, Etc., Etc. As a progressive, I've appreciated Ross Douthat (and David Brooks) for their usually reasonable and often thoughtful opinion pieces, even if I don't agree with them.
Sorry, Ross, I'll keep reading your columns, but can't agree that we will have a "reasonably competent cabinet" in place, being nominated by a totally unreasonable President.
20
"He faces no immediate foreign policy or economic crises."
And why is that? Because for the past eight years the US has had stable, mature leadership coming from the Oval Office. The White House has gone from the pragmatic, realistic No Drama Obama to the petulant, nihilistic All Crump Trump.
And why is that? Because for the past eight years the US has had stable, mature leadership coming from the Oval Office. The White House has gone from the pragmatic, realistic No Drama Obama to the petulant, nihilistic All Crump Trump.
15
When Puppets Trump and sidekick Pence get impeached.
7
He has, to his credit, assembled a reasonably competent cabinet? Your credibility is shot with that comment alone. I do appreciate your optimism. What you should be doing is supporting the resistance at all costs.
10
Let me get this straight. Mr. Douthat is saying that Trump needs to dramatically cut revenue and dramatically increase spending? It is always fascinating to me how Republican budget deficits do not matter to Republicans. Balanced budgets are their entire raison d'etre right up until they get control.
12
Wow, Ross Douthat! Did you really write the words "He has, to his credit, assembled a reasonably competent cabinet." DeVos, Perry, Price, Mnuchin, Tillerson = reasonably competent? By what standard is this group "reasonably competent? The absence of experience, the absence of expertise?
This "so-called president" has assembled the most unqualified cabinet in the history of cabinets, truly a "Cabinet of Deplorables."
To paraphrase the late Roger Ebert, calling this cabinet the bottom of the barrel is an insult the barrel.
This "so-called president" has assembled the most unqualified cabinet in the history of cabinets, truly a "Cabinet of Deplorables."
To paraphrase the late Roger Ebert, calling this cabinet the bottom of the barrel is an insult the barrel.
23
All these positive scenarios for Trump are about as likely as the Cleveland Browns carrying off the Lombardi Trophy at the 2018 Super Bowl. Yes, it could happen. But don't count on it.
4
Who is the boogeyman all you R's are afraid of? Or is it simply R mind control of the masses in flyover country?
Does america stand for anything other than warmongering and stupid people?
What crazy-cracker war are yawl all planning? War is good for the economy you know? Lots of rust-belt mindless jobs. Or they are cannon-fodder. Either way they gettin' paid.
Does america stand for anything other than warmongering and stupid people?
What crazy-cracker war are yawl all planning? War is good for the economy you know? Lots of rust-belt mindless jobs. Or they are cannon-fodder. Either way they gettin' paid.
7
" .... a reasonably competent cabinet?" Really? Is the New York Times going to be satisfied with reasonably competent journalism? Let's demand a higher standard Mr. Douthat.
16
Who gives a flying fig about Trump's presidency? It is the country I fear cannot be saved.
16
There will be tax cuts. As with Bush, the bottom 90% may receive an insignificant benefit, 90-99% will be nicely rewarded, the top .1% will rake in millions.
10
Why should this Presidency be saved?
If Trump succeeds only the 46% minority who voted for him, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, FBI Director James Comey, Wiki Leaks Julian Assange, Saudi King Salman and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi will be happy.
But the happiest of all will be the Trump family corporate and personal business interests who are converting our White House into their private casino.
Who will rid us of this troublesome Siberian President? And by what means? Impeachment? Incapacity? Illness? And when? And where?
If Trump succeeds only the 46% minority who voted for him, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, FBI Director James Comey, Wiki Leaks Julian Assange, Saudi King Salman and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi will be happy.
But the happiest of all will be the Trump family corporate and personal business interests who are converting our White House into their private casino.
Who will rid us of this troublesome Siberian President? And by what means? Impeachment? Incapacity? Illness? And when? And where?
16
The only thing that needs saving is Liberalism. We will bury the Left.
1
This administration has come closer to a neofascist regime in its three weeks in power than any prior administration. Being successfully sued by a state and its citizens for improper use of presidential security powers throws the entire Constitutional framework into question. Unless the neofascists are removed from the Trump regime-ie. Bannon, Flynn, Miller, Conway and Spicer, it is impossible to tell who i s in charge. Looming over all of this is the Russian connection which throws the legitimacy of Trump's election and viability as a President. Topping it all off is blatant disregard for ethics with Trump enterprises on equal footing to the American Public.
GOP has created an unparalleled mess of the Presidency and it is not getting any better.
GOP has created an unparalleled mess of the Presidency and it is not getting any better.
16
So, Ross, I guess you want tax cuts -- you mention them three times in three lines. And your bridges and roads and tunnels will just materialize out of thin air... There, that wasn't complicated. In fact, it was kind of easy.
13
This Presidency has given us no reason why it should be saved.
16
Douthat says it's simple? Any legislative program with a prayer of passing must start with tax cuts for the rich because the GOP has made trickle down the heart of its agenda for decades. Then toss in a big infrastructure bill, tax cuts for the middle class, and a big defense build up. And don't forget the wall. Now the annual deficit is about 1.5 trillion and climbing fast because all this activity pushes up interest rates. Simple?
10
Douthat, like many of his fellow Republicans, makes the rathet stupid assumption that it doesn't matter who the POTUS is as long as he is a Republican. He assumes that a racist former senator can run the Department of Justice with fairness. He assumes that people who have spent their lifetimes looking out for themselves will suddenly do the right thing. He assumes that a man who never has never exhibited any talent besides lying big and who now seems to be suffering from dementia can somehow be successful - all because he and his cabinet are Republicans.
Pundits like to go on endlessly about how Trump won because so many people were discouraged by the status quo but I would bet you that 95% of Trumps votes came from people who would vote for a dead skunk if that skunk was the "GOP" candidate.
Pundits like to go on endlessly about how Trump won because so many people were discouraged by the status quo but I would bet you that 95% of Trumps votes came from people who would vote for a dead skunk if that skunk was the "GOP" candidate.
22
Let's save the country first by ridding ourselves of this administration and this Congress and Senate.
14
You fail to give credit to Mr. Trump's survival instincts which are second
to none. Bankruptcy, fraud, and open hatred of him has not stopped him.
He values loyalty but only up to a point. He will ditch all of his b-listers
sooner than any of us think. What is up next is anyone's guess.
to none. Bankruptcy, fraud, and open hatred of him has not stopped him.
He values loyalty but only up to a point. He will ditch all of his b-listers
sooner than any of us think. What is up next is anyone's guess.
5
Republicans in the House and Senate will support Trump ONLY as long as his comments and actions don't threaten their chances of re-election.
If he threatens their re-election chances, they will drop him like a hot potato.
Only in America.
If he threatens their re-election chances, they will drop him like a hot potato.
Only in America.
7
Douthat seems to be advocating more of the spend and spend policies of the Reagan/Bush years. Tax cuts and massive infrastructure spending? Is this fiscal conservatism? If a Democrat proposed this what would he be saying?
5
"He has, to his credit, assembled a reasonably competent cabinet."
There has never been a cabinet with less competence in this country's history.
There has never been a cabinet with less competence in this country's history.
20
According to Ross, the presidency can be saved, (after three weeks...geesh!), because the President has "free will". Apparently, anyone who disagrees with him does not. Or, they are not required to exercise such because, of course, THEY are correct! Even though he was elected, like it or not, Ross or any any other liberal hell bent on protesting and disagreeing "tooth and nail" will have NO interest in an infrastructure bill, a middle class tax cut, or corporate reform. Simply because, nothing will ever be acceptable to you by someone you hate with your heart and soul. Spare the "thoughtful" recommendation, cause your side has already shown it will truly ring hollow.
1
Ross, we have no presidency. We have fuehrer intern, guided by the ever skulking, shifty-eyed Bannon, who is guided by an uber-Catholic doctrine a la Julius Favola. And, we know where that led. I would think perhaps you could find some common ground there, bashing the most humane pope we have ever had. No?
No one is tired of liberalism. It is your interpretation of it that is tiring and that interpretation fuels those who cannot figure out where they belong in this world.
But, now we have Betsy DeVos to bring our educational system up to speed, to enlighten and train those left behind in the poorer districts. Learning the "Power and Glory of Jesus" will certainly prepare them for the task at hand. We'll deal with that pesky Constitution later. And, Jesus had better be on task, because we will defund Planned Parenthood, one of the sanest organizations ever imagined, and, BTW, your health coverage is canceled. You won't need it because you will be dead without the environmental regulations.
Trump and family will continue to rake in the money without conscience as always.
Perky Jeff Sessions will protect us from.......I shudder to think, Flynn will lie and canoodle with the neo KGB, while Ben Carson..... while Jared fixes the middle east, what a negotiator, and Ivanka looks serene.
And, Ross, you are not happy? Give me a break.
No one is tired of liberalism. It is your interpretation of it that is tiring and that interpretation fuels those who cannot figure out where they belong in this world.
But, now we have Betsy DeVos to bring our educational system up to speed, to enlighten and train those left behind in the poorer districts. Learning the "Power and Glory of Jesus" will certainly prepare them for the task at hand. We'll deal with that pesky Constitution later. And, Jesus had better be on task, because we will defund Planned Parenthood, one of the sanest organizations ever imagined, and, BTW, your health coverage is canceled. You won't need it because you will be dead without the environmental regulations.
Trump and family will continue to rake in the money without conscience as always.
Perky Jeff Sessions will protect us from.......I shudder to think, Flynn will lie and canoodle with the neo KGB, while Ben Carson..... while Jared fixes the middle east, what a negotiator, and Ivanka looks serene.
And, Ross, you are not happy? Give me a break.
16
The only people in crisis are the Democratic Party and the media. Which is where everything Douthat complains about comes from. Trump has been in office for 3 weeks. But it's already a CRISIS!
Why don't they move faster on health care? Maybe because the HHS secretary was just confirmed? Why is he fighting the judiciary? Because a left wing judge ruled against an action many other presidents have taken before, with no legal justification?
So the left has its crisis and meltdown, spewing psychotic "resistance" at Trump, and that's Trump's problem?
Just more proof that the bubble is impenetrable.
Why don't they move faster on health care? Maybe because the HHS secretary was just confirmed? Why is he fighting the judiciary? Because a left wing judge ruled against an action many other presidents have taken before, with no legal justification?
So the left has its crisis and meltdown, spewing psychotic "resistance" at Trump, and that's Trump's problem?
Just more proof that the bubble is impenetrable.
No, this illegitimate "presidency" cannot be saved. Nor should it.
Trump is not qualified. Trump is not mentally fit. For months we have seen signs of severe mental illness, though not the behaviors most people see as an illness. His narcissism and self-serving are on full display, nearly daily. However narcissistic personality disorder is a more serious illness than simple narcissism. It includes lack of empathy, full disdain for nearly everyone, a belief that he is "special" and "above the law", and other symptoms. These are traits of NPD, which we clearly see in Trump daily.
We cannot save the presidency, but we must save our country. We must get Trump evaluated by experienced psychiatrists. Remove him from office -- and get him medical treatment. This may involve giving him his own pretend Reality "TV show" in the psychiatric hospital -- where he can continue to believe he's the biggest "winner", the "richest", the best "negotiator", and the most "liked" patient in the world. Give him an alternate world to live in -- full of alternate facts. There was a movie years ago called "The Truman Show", with Jim Carrie, where the main character didn't know he lived in a fake world aired 24/7 on TV. Trump would love to live in "The Trump Show"... 24/7. With medical care.
And make sure to take away those nuclear codes.
Trump is not qualified. Trump is not mentally fit. For months we have seen signs of severe mental illness, though not the behaviors most people see as an illness. His narcissism and self-serving are on full display, nearly daily. However narcissistic personality disorder is a more serious illness than simple narcissism. It includes lack of empathy, full disdain for nearly everyone, a belief that he is "special" and "above the law", and other symptoms. These are traits of NPD, which we clearly see in Trump daily.
We cannot save the presidency, but we must save our country. We must get Trump evaluated by experienced psychiatrists. Remove him from office -- and get him medical treatment. This may involve giving him his own pretend Reality "TV show" in the psychiatric hospital -- where he can continue to believe he's the biggest "winner", the "richest", the best "negotiator", and the most "liked" patient in the world. Give him an alternate world to live in -- full of alternate facts. There was a movie years ago called "The Truman Show", with Jim Carrie, where the main character didn't know he lived in a fake world aired 24/7 on TV. Trump would love to live in "The Trump Show"... 24/7. With medical care.
And make sure to take away those nuclear codes.
21
The only way this Presidency can make a positive contribution to our Democracy is if it becomes a resounding failure. A shining example of what is worst for the country.
13
.. "try something simple"? How about leading? But then, that isn't always simple. This authors elixir for a diagnosis from quackery, is very familiar. That is how the country has been led --- into several perpetual crisis. How about somebody caring enough to do something? Instead of playing it safe for an in-crowd lauded legacy, that continues the perpetual motion of frustrating in-crowd governance.
2
I agree and I want to remind President Trump that I voted against Hillary Clinton with far more determination than I voted for him. Moreover, I am convinced that it was voters like me that gave him his margin of victory at the polls. I will be happy to see him gone if his scary, ineffectual, ping-pong Tweetocracy can't get its act together. I know I'm not alone. Mr. President, you won, already: now lead.
6
The question is not whether this presidency can be saved; the question is whether the country can be saved from this so-called president.
18
Hubris and incompetence are an utterly toxic mix. The answer is NO.
The Carrier deal was a sham, where Pence as the soon to be former governor of Indiana, granted Indiana tax incentives to Carrier on an inside deal, which Carrier will ultimately use to automate the factory and replace the effected workers with robots.
There is no war with "liberals" or the media. There is a war between this administration and the will of the MAJORITY and with TRUTH.
Even if the so-called (tv) president is impeached, we are still left with Mconnell, Ryan, Pence and the clown car of incompetents that have been crowded into the executive branch. So NO, this presidency can not be saved. Hopefully there is a house left to clean in 2020.
The Carrier deal was a sham, where Pence as the soon to be former governor of Indiana, granted Indiana tax incentives to Carrier on an inside deal, which Carrier will ultimately use to automate the factory and replace the effected workers with robots.
There is no war with "liberals" or the media. There is a war between this administration and the will of the MAJORITY and with TRUTH.
Even if the so-called (tv) president is impeached, we are still left with Mconnell, Ryan, Pence and the clown car of incompetents that have been crowded into the executive branch. So NO, this presidency can not be saved. Hopefully there is a house left to clean in 2020.
19
Trump is a cancer on Democracy and needs to be excised by impeachment / Senate guilt finding as soon as possible.
The right thing for his family to do is make him resign immediate as his financial situations and reputation have reach its high water mark.
Otherwise he will be destroyed in the minds of the public and revealed for the mentally ill and dangerous creature he is.
DUMP TRUMP NOW!
The right thing for his family to do is make him resign immediate as his financial situations and reputation have reach its high water mark.
Otherwise he will be destroyed in the minds of the public and revealed for the mentally ill and dangerous creature he is.
DUMP TRUMP NOW!
9
Not going to wade into the politics. Just:
Jobs that pay well are well-paying jobs. Not the ubiquitous, subliterate 'good-paying'.
Argh.
Jobs that pay well are well-paying jobs. Not the ubiquitous, subliterate 'good-paying'.
Argh.
8
I cannot get past the farcical comparison with Carter, when trump inherited a strong economy without an international oil crisis and the fact that a "reasonable competent cabinet " includes DeVos. NYT, I want my 6 bucks back.
20
Why would anybody want to save it?
14
How does Bannon's voting presence on the NSC even fit within existing US legal code: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/50/3021 ?
The judiciary has blocked the initial immigration ban and an attempt to overturn the fiduciary rule (that exists to help protect retirement investors)?
Various senate committee heads (and probably others) have to get printouts of his daily tweets. And is this any wonder?
I am sure this will go on for a long time. But why should it? What will it take for polls to show that Republicans do not support the man (as opposed to the office) by a 90% margin?
Good thing that Mr. Douthat stood away from health care in this column. There is only so much one can handle in discussions of our "shredder-in-chief."
The judiciary has blocked the initial immigration ban and an attempt to overturn the fiduciary rule (that exists to help protect retirement investors)?
Various senate committee heads (and probably others) have to get printouts of his daily tweets. And is this any wonder?
I am sure this will go on for a long time. But why should it? What will it take for polls to show that Republicans do not support the man (as opposed to the office) by a 90% margin?
Good thing that Mr. Douthat stood away from health care in this column. There is only so much one can handle in discussions of our "shredder-in-chief."
3
Trump is what he is and always will be. He won't change, but we must, and commit to fighting back.
5
The latest cover of The Economist says it all. Trump's presidency is doomed by his entanglement with Putin.
10
This presidency can only be saved by getting us into a long, expensive war, so that Trump can be a two-termer like Dubya.
5
Dear Ross: I'm giving you a C- on this one. First of all, if we don't "fix" the judiciary problem (usurpation of executive power), nothing else will get done, because all will be stopped by out-of-control unelected extremists in black robes. Second, if we start having the type of terror events the jihadists want, no amount of tax cutting, infrastructure, O'care replacing will life the animal spirits. No one cares until it's their spouse or child that gets blown up in a subway train or shot out of the air by a surface-to-air missile. Third, the culturnal assault on the country (again, often through the courts) are more than just de-spiriting--they will bring down the wrath of the Lord. Please try to get beyond Bannon. Bannon is not as dumb and inept as you think.
1
Wishful thinking.
4
This isn't complicated/ In fact it's kind of easy?
Where have you been for the past 8 months Mr. Douthat? This is Donald Trump we are talking about. If it isn't picking drape colors for the Oval Office (Gold, who would have guessed?) then it is out of Mr. Trumps league. If it doesn't involve bullying, suing and insulting it is out of his league. If it involves anything other than feeding his narcissism it is out of his experience. If it involves empathy it is beyond even his comprehension.
Your error, Mr. Douthat, is that you are treating Trump as if he were a rational, competent person and not a psychologically damaged narcissist. Al those things that seem so easy for you and for me are simply unachievable from a man who's total being is focused on self-aggrandizement and praise.
Where have you been for the past 8 months Mr. Douthat? This is Donald Trump we are talking about. If it isn't picking drape colors for the Oval Office (Gold, who would have guessed?) then it is out of Mr. Trumps league. If it doesn't involve bullying, suing and insulting it is out of his league. If it involves anything other than feeding his narcissism it is out of his experience. If it involves empathy it is beyond even his comprehension.
Your error, Mr. Douthat, is that you are treating Trump as if he were a rational, competent person and not a psychologically damaged narcissist. Al those things that seem so easy for you and for me are simply unachievable from a man who's total being is focused on self-aggrandizement and praise.
14
Uhhhh, tax cuts and jobs for the middle class. Didn't somebody once say "it's the economy, stupid"???
2
How can you posit an honest assessment of the president's efforts so far when you continue to tow the party line and tell lies? The Carrier deal was already in place when Mr. Trump took office.
Instead, Mr. Douthat, Google the term "bait and switch."
Instead, Mr. Douthat, Google the term "bait and switch."
5
one first step would be to have Mr Bannon get rid of his brown shirts. Stirs bad memories ...
4
Bannon's Rasputin-like influence on Trump, with clearly very dangerous motives, does not bode well for Trump himself, or for this country.
5
"assembled a reasonably competent cabinet"
Seriously!
What achievements do the following have in their careers to qualify for cabinet posts?
Rick Perry
Michael Flynn
Nikki Haley
Linda McMahon
Ben Carson
Jeff Sessions
But again, a president who tweets complaining about Nordstrom dumping his daughter rags, should never be elected in first place.
Seriously!
What achievements do the following have in their careers to qualify for cabinet posts?
Rick Perry
Michael Flynn
Nikki Haley
Linda McMahon
Ben Carson
Jeff Sessions
But again, a president who tweets complaining about Nordstrom dumping his daughter rags, should never be elected in first place.
17
AltPresident Bannon 2016! Who knew?
6
The thing you forget is that the so called president is insane. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to notice.
12
"Reasonably competent cabinet". Ok. I'll concede that if you concede that our President is not reasonably competent.
10
When you have a President who has absolutely no intellectual curiosity, you have a Presidency that is doomed. He is obsessed only with cable news and his Twitter feed. He won't open a book and does not have the attention span to be educated in matters of importance. So we are left with a shell of a leader and a bunch of subordinates fighting with each other for his minimal attention. Things will not improve.
11
Trump has assembled a reasonably competent cabinet? Wow, clearly your definition of 'competent' is very different than mine.
10
Ross, wake up and smell the coffee. Reasonably competent cabinet appointees? Betsy DeVos? Rick Perry? Jeff Sessions? Really? This presidency is going down because it is being led by a con man who knows nothing about governmental (or should it be government mental?) functioning. I'm 70+ and never in my lifetime have I seen a person more unfit for the government office they hold - the presidency. I guess sometimes you have to hit rock bottom before things get better.
9
The headline asks whether this presidency can be saved. Shouldn't the question be, "Can this country be saved?"
8
It's funny how the working class sides with reactionaries and billionaires much more often than with 'progressives'... That's your base Bannon/trump. I have to admit: I admire how you've used them. Not an original game plan, but executed with brilliance. Main Street gets back at Wall Street... (***pls stop laughing!***) ...
7
... Presidency saved?...
No
We need to see the taxes.
The real question is: can America be saved?
Trump is manifestly unqualified. But America now has a critical mass of voters who are easily suckered. We are now in an idiocracy. I have no idea how this will end.
No
We need to see the taxes.
The real question is: can America be saved?
Trump is manifestly unqualified. But America now has a critical mass of voters who are easily suckered. We are now in an idiocracy. I have no idea how this will end.
11
If President Trump did what Mr. Douthat suggests, the president would no longer be Donald Trump even if he looked like him and had the same finger prints and DNA.
3
"Can This Presidency Be Saved?"
No. This terribly unqualified man and his sycophants have already done incalculable damage to the country and have destroyed our image abroad. The best thing for this country is to rid it of this cancer known as the Trump presidency as quickly as possible. It is up to the GOP-led Congress to do their job and remove this disgrace from office.
No. This terribly unqualified man and his sycophants have already done incalculable damage to the country and have destroyed our image abroad. The best thing for this country is to rid it of this cancer known as the Trump presidency as quickly as possible. It is up to the GOP-led Congress to do their job and remove this disgrace from office.
8
"He has, to his credit, assembled a reasonably competent cabinet." Do you speak in jest, Mr. Douthat? Scott Pruitt for EPA? Detsy DeVos, new Education chief
11
Thanks for a crisp column.
"Which is good advice for anyone in crisis, new presidents included. If you can’t figure out how to handle the hardest stuff, try something simple for a while."
You are correct. In operations reasearch (applied math) there is an axiom known as Johnson's Rule: when faced with a number of tasks of varying complexity, order the tasks by estimated time to complete. Then select the shortest time-to-complete tasks to optimize (shorten) time to complete all. In other words as the writer says -- do the easiest first
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnson's_rule
"Which is good advice for anyone in crisis, new presidents included. If you can’t figure out how to handle the hardest stuff, try something simple for a while."
You are correct. In operations reasearch (applied math) there is an axiom known as Johnson's Rule: when faced with a number of tasks of varying complexity, order the tasks by estimated time to complete. Then select the shortest time-to-complete tasks to optimize (shorten) time to complete all. In other words as the writer says -- do the easiest first
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnson's_rule
Working class tax cuts. Propping up Obsmacare (which Republicans are suddenly calling the ACA). What in any rational universe would be called an infrastructure *stimulus*. Sounds Like a Democratic platform. Sounds like what Obama worked on the past 8 years. Why did you guys fight him tooth and nail? Why couldn't we have worked together on these things?
7
You have a real gift for missing the point. Trump's cabinet and closest advisors are "reasonably competent" as jackals but are as unsuited for their jobs as their leader is for his. As for Trump's "free will", let's ask Putin whether that's true. What a waste of ink.
10
"He faces no immediate foreign policy or economic crisis ..."
My angel, Trump is the world's foreign policy crisis, and quite possibly, an economic one.
My angel, Trump is the world's foreign policy crisis, and quite possibly, an economic one.
12
1. Russia >Ukraine
2. China > South China Sea
3. N. Korea > Ballistic Missles
4. Middle East > Chaos
etc.
No foreign policy issues to deal with here.
2. China > South China Sea
3. N. Korea > Ballistic Missles
4. Middle East > Chaos
etc.
No foreign policy issues to deal with here.
4
If Mr, Douthat is so inclined to write a column about a Presidency needing saving less than a month into the gig, I think we all know the answer.
The real question is how can America swiftly remove these terrible people and maintain our standing in international affairs.
Yes, this guy really is that bad.
The real question is how can America swiftly remove these terrible people and maintain our standing in international affairs.
Yes, this guy really is that bad.
5
This is a battle between the forces of good and the White Supremacist Party (formerly the GOP). Stop calling it anything else.
And please, please, stop avoiding the "c" word, Ross and NY Times:
CORRUPTION
And please, please, stop avoiding the "c" word, Ross and NY Times:
CORRUPTION
10
As each day passes, and as David Brooks wrote, " The Media is hyperventilating," one can see, we will have continuing dysfunction in the Swamp, as we did for the past 8 years. This go with a different base, as the old GOP, (now irrelevant), has both houses and most state governments. On the silent side are Trumps supporters, who as long as he keeps trying, by whatever unorthodox method, to do what he said he was going to do, he will keep his supporters. How the left thinks they can get him impeached is yet to be very clear. The media thinks they are relevant, but they only write for the same folks they wrote for before the election, or CNN natters to viewers they always had. Kind of like talking to yourself, makes you feel good. No-one has taking seriously the map of the US on election night. Red and Blue. All we were made aware of, is how misguided the Red states are and all their dumb white deplorable population.
2
Ross is still looking for a way to fit into an administration he tried so desperately to derail during the primaries. It must be cold and lonely outside the GOP family, when so many rock-ribbed conservatives caved quickly, went to kiss the emperor's ring and now have marvelous jobs decrying big government, while feasting off its bones.
9
Yea. Just do the "fun stuff" that the people will like. Cut taxes. Increase spending. The Republican mantra for years and Presidencies past - still doesn't work.
You can't declare expensive wars and not pay for them without increasing the deficit. You can't cut taxes and increase spending without increasing the deficit. You can't keep all the expensive parts of Obamacare but get rid of the mandate that pays for it without destroying the program.
Boy, and I thought the Republican Party was the party of the economists and businessmen. I taught English and know better than that.
You can't declare expensive wars and not pay for them without increasing the deficit. You can't cut taxes and increase spending without increasing the deficit. You can't keep all the expensive parts of Obamacare but get rid of the mandate that pays for it without destroying the program.
Boy, and I thought the Republican Party was the party of the economists and businessmen. I taught English and know better than that.
17
"He has, to his credit, assembled a reasonably competent cabinet."
Tough to get by that sentence unless Douthat is referring to an Ikea cabinet President So Called put together with his small hands.
This is Douthat's dilemma. Alone at NYT, the only opinion-slinger whose intellectual roots run deep in the same barren soil where Trump has planted his False Flag of America Great Again. Other free-thinking columnists stare down a barrel of fish and see 4 years of opined outrage that pens itself to an avalanche of Pulitzers, NMAs, and Polks.
Only Douthat is self-tasked with making lemonade from sour grapes and rotten apples. His heart lusts for a man on horseback who gallops through the marketplace of ideas like a junior steeplechase, unencumbered by sexual obsession, soft-serve racism, the attention span of a Tsetse fly in heat, and narcissism that's weaponized as expletive.
Douthat's Tinder ideal is a bespoke traditionalist, a nimble Christian warrior able to restore a benign nativism and reclaim America's state of grace from Emma Lazarus' teeming masses.
Instead he got pret a porter not made to measure. A Russian off-brand with a price tag in rubles. From a sow's ear a silk purse must Douthat fashion.
In the Trumpian age of alternative facts and fake news, no surprise the NYT's premiere Tory columnist can only offer a deontology of deceit.
Thus the trick question, Can This Presidency Be Saved?
It's a long 4 years ahead if you really need to ask, Ross.
Tough to get by that sentence unless Douthat is referring to an Ikea cabinet President So Called put together with his small hands.
This is Douthat's dilemma. Alone at NYT, the only opinion-slinger whose intellectual roots run deep in the same barren soil where Trump has planted his False Flag of America Great Again. Other free-thinking columnists stare down a barrel of fish and see 4 years of opined outrage that pens itself to an avalanche of Pulitzers, NMAs, and Polks.
Only Douthat is self-tasked with making lemonade from sour grapes and rotten apples. His heart lusts for a man on horseback who gallops through the marketplace of ideas like a junior steeplechase, unencumbered by sexual obsession, soft-serve racism, the attention span of a Tsetse fly in heat, and narcissism that's weaponized as expletive.
Douthat's Tinder ideal is a bespoke traditionalist, a nimble Christian warrior able to restore a benign nativism and reclaim America's state of grace from Emma Lazarus' teeming masses.
Instead he got pret a porter not made to measure. A Russian off-brand with a price tag in rubles. From a sow's ear a silk purse must Douthat fashion.
In the Trumpian age of alternative facts and fake news, no surprise the NYT's premiere Tory columnist can only offer a deontology of deceit.
Thus the trick question, Can This Presidency Be Saved?
It's a long 4 years ahead if you really need to ask, Ross.
14
Dream on, Douthat. The president desires one thing, and that is drama.
3
Bridges, roads, and tunnels. Gee, why hadn't Obama and the Demcrats thought of that? They did, but the Republicans, remember, didn't want Obama to get anything done and their control over Congress prevented "bridges, roads, and tunnels." And, if the Rs in Congress now change their minds and put people to work on infrastructure, I would bet my portfolio that they (the Rs and Trump's Sec'y of Labor) would eliminate the Davis - Bacon act. The trade unions will wake up one day with jobs but lower wages thanks to Republican "priorities."
1
Antiestablishmentarianism won, not Trump.
No one is more "stupid" and "dangerous" than Obama, with his legacy-driven deal & secret side deals that de facto nuclearized Iran, setting up a nuke arms race in the entire insane, apocalyptic region intent on annihilating America & Israel—deals that IF OBEYED, give Iran nukes in a blink of an eye as they defeat the grim logic of MAD.
Trump's vulgar banality & strength don't make him a fascist despot, just as Obama's cultivated vacuity & weakness didn't exempt him from being one.
Antiestablishmentarianism / Won the race. / Muzzle and cloak. / Trump's negative space.
No one is more "stupid" and "dangerous" than Obama, with his legacy-driven deal & secret side deals that de facto nuclearized Iran, setting up a nuke arms race in the entire insane, apocalyptic region intent on annihilating America & Israel—deals that IF OBEYED, give Iran nukes in a blink of an eye as they defeat the grim logic of MAD.
Trump's vulgar banality & strength don't make him a fascist despot, just as Obama's cultivated vacuity & weakness didn't exempt him from being one.
Antiestablishmentarianism / Won the race. / Muzzle and cloak. / Trump's negative space.
1
I'm just curious? When are people like you EVER going to wake up and realize that Trump is an unmitigated megalomanic, An unrepentant pathological liar, delusional and had no policies or agenda then to be seen as the greatest, smartest most brilliant man who ever lived? When are you going to realize he is who is he and is what he says he is, in his own mind. Well, at least you learned something from Obama. That hope is all that propells us forward. In the meantime, I need to tell, "No, he can't."
2
unbelievable -- Douthat recommends that Trump and Breitbart just roll over and play dead for four years?
"He has, to his credit, assembled a reasonably competent cabinet." Who is Douthat kidding? This is the most incompetent cabinet the nation has ever seen. Devos for education who couldn't answer any questions in hearings? Rick Perry as Energy Secretary -- what credentials does he have other than amnesia? A science denying Pruitt for EPA? Carson, who can do neurosurgery but can't speak a complete sentence, for HUD? Mnuchin who screwed more borrowers than anyone else in the USA for Secy Treasury (well competence in screwing people and rewarding financial people)? The list goes on.
When Douthat makes random statements like this, clearly not well thought out, I wonder why the NYTimes thinks he is a conservative thinker with NYTimes quality. Surely there are better thinkers out there.
"He has, to his credit, assembled a reasonably competent cabinet." Who is Douthat kidding? This is the most incompetent cabinet the nation has ever seen. Devos for education who couldn't answer any questions in hearings? Rick Perry as Energy Secretary -- what credentials does he have other than amnesia? A science denying Pruitt for EPA? Carson, who can do neurosurgery but can't speak a complete sentence, for HUD? Mnuchin who screwed more borrowers than anyone else in the USA for Secy Treasury (well competence in screwing people and rewarding financial people)? The list goes on.
When Douthat makes random statements like this, clearly not well thought out, I wonder why the NYTimes thinks he is a conservative thinker with NYTimes quality. Surely there are better thinkers out there.
4
Nordstrom and the courts have been the peaks of this presidency so far.
If nothing else, the courts may continue to save us.
If nothing else, the courts may continue to save us.
5
His so-called deal with Carrier was a complete misrepresentation of saving jobs that would have been moved to Mexico. No way and anyone who characterizes it as such is lying through his teeth.
Carrier did nothing it was planning to do before Trump even showed up. He claims to have saved thousands of jobs, but really the only jobs that were affected were 700 at a specific sub-plant that would have stayed here anyway.
Stop the lying and start reporting the actual success of the Trump policies since he took office: ZERO.
Carrier did nothing it was planning to do before Trump even showed up. He claims to have saved thousands of jobs, but really the only jobs that were affected were 700 at a specific sub-plant that would have stayed here anyway.
Stop the lying and start reporting the actual success of the Trump policies since he took office: ZERO.
3
Hilariously, ironically, tragically, the Trump agenda thus adds up to two points: xenophobia and Keynesian economics. They should just shorten it to something catchy, like "National Socialism."
5
"A reasonably competent cabinet....."
In every article, Douthat tosses in something like this that shows his true colors and desires. He seeks something, anything, positive about the Trump administration. These patently false throw-away lines are the give-away.
Who, exactly, is competent here? Sessions - well in his own way i suppose....DeVos? Perry? Carson? They are jokes. Price? Tillerson - competent at somethings but the jury is out on international politics; Mattis - he mainly looks good by comparison (most commentary being "at least Mattis is not crazy...").
Every time I start reading Douthat again, after giving up, the same stuff jumps right out.
In every article, Douthat tosses in something like this that shows his true colors and desires. He seeks something, anything, positive about the Trump administration. These patently false throw-away lines are the give-away.
Who, exactly, is competent here? Sessions - well in his own way i suppose....DeVos? Perry? Carson? They are jokes. Price? Tillerson - competent at somethings but the jury is out on international politics; Mattis - he mainly looks good by comparison (most commentary being "at least Mattis is not crazy...").
Every time I start reading Douthat again, after giving up, the same stuff jumps right out.
6
"He has, to his credit, assembled a reasonably competent cabinet." This is certainly going to be news to many. It's actually fake news, unless competence is measured by the yardstick that Trump himself has given us these last three weeks. Like him, many of his picks (a) have absolutely no experience in government, (b) are actively, even virulently, opposed to the missions they've so blithely sworn to carry out, and (c) deeply ignorant of what those missions are. Like Trump, and in Trump's words, they're almost literally no more "competent" than a bad high school student would be.
What's happened to you? I read you often, and sometimes you make sense. But your assessment of this cabinet makes me wonder whether you're so traumatized by what your side of the aisle is doing to our country that you can't see straight. If so, it's hard to blame you, but that doesn't make it easy to take you seriously.
What's happened to you? I read you often, and sometimes you make sense. But your assessment of this cabinet makes me wonder whether you're so traumatized by what your side of the aisle is doing to our country that you can't see straight. If so, it's hard to blame you, but that doesn't make it easy to take you seriously.
11
I've found Barbara Tuchman's books - The Proud Tower, the March of Folly -very enlightening and comforting in a way, except for the 1914 part.
2
"He has to his credit assembled a reasonably competent
cabinet" : I guess Mr. Douthat is not reading the N.Y
times lately or any competent news organisations which
covered the vetting process regarding Trump's picks.
"He campaigned once again to his credit, on a reasonably
popular policy agenda" : I urge Mr. Douthat to consult a
specialist to cure his amnesia, I don't think he will be able
to do is job properly as a journalist, being that forgetful.
By the way I suppose popular was a misspell for populist.
As for the fact that he faces no immediate major crises
or threats that requires him to act as an adult, it is a blessing
not for Trump's deplorable presidency but for every single
citizen of the worlds including yourself, Mr. Douthat.
cabinet" : I guess Mr. Douthat is not reading the N.Y
times lately or any competent news organisations which
covered the vetting process regarding Trump's picks.
"He campaigned once again to his credit, on a reasonably
popular policy agenda" : I urge Mr. Douthat to consult a
specialist to cure his amnesia, I don't think he will be able
to do is job properly as a journalist, being that forgetful.
By the way I suppose popular was a misspell for populist.
As for the fact that he faces no immediate major crises
or threats that requires him to act as an adult, it is a blessing
not for Trump's deplorable presidency but for every single
citizen of the worlds including yourself, Mr. Douthat.
4
There seems to be no real reason to do a ban. Because its against the constitution he can't really call it a Muslim ban but everybody knows that's what it is; otherwise why do it at all? Of course is pandering to his base and he wants to show himself a man of action and fulfilling the Muslim ban promise. The vetting is already very extreme. If so (and it is so)then this whole thing is just a stunt-an expensive one and a divisive one. He would be better to do nothing and wait. Then he would at least stop making a goose of himself. I think he was deliberately trying to throw the election by saying ridiculously outrageous things. Why? Because in some way he had been compelled to run... by who do you think it could be? But no matter how hard he tried to lose, his outrageous comments made him increasingly successful because he appeared to to the CCD (the cretinous common denominator). He is not hard working enough to be a president. Its a hard job and he has even complained already that he had a good life before. Is it obvious enough yet? He never wanted the job. He is not interested in politics. He is a fake Republican. Why was he talking of rigged elections around the time Hillary looked a certainty? Somebody told him to talk like that. It would be impossible to rig the popular vote. If you were going to rig successfully it would be the electoral college somehow.
1
Don't worry, Ross. There will be a big tax cut signed into law very quickly-for the wealthy. That is always the top priority for Republicans when they get power. The deficits will skyrocket like they always do when Republicans take charge. But deficits only matter when a Democrat is in the "very famous White House." Don't hold your breath for any help for working people coming from Trump or Republicans. If you think Trump is really a populist, you were conned by the master. But you also think the new cabinet is "reasonably competent," so maybe it didn't take much conning.
7
Douthat recognizes the looming insanity in the White House that he has tracked unusually leftwards compared to his usual schtick.
Most encouraging is his recognition of Bannon's unbalanced ideas - "undercooked" is a polite term for them. Bannon should be nowhere near any centre of power, let alone the National Security Council. It is oxymoronic to imagine that his paranoid ideas about the motor of world history will lead to anything resembling security. Now all Douthat has to do is spell out the insane nature of Bannon's theories and we might be in a better place.
We do not need a Bannona Republic or Reich.
Douthat is, like the rest of us, afraid, very afraid of what he sees. He should call it out and not fear becoming a liberal, if it means advancing ideas that steer us all away from the inferno that Bannon beckons. You never know.
Most encouraging is his recognition of Bannon's unbalanced ideas - "undercooked" is a polite term for them. Bannon should be nowhere near any centre of power, let alone the National Security Council. It is oxymoronic to imagine that his paranoid ideas about the motor of world history will lead to anything resembling security. Now all Douthat has to do is spell out the insane nature of Bannon's theories and we might be in a better place.
We do not need a Bannona Republic or Reich.
Douthat is, like the rest of us, afraid, very afraid of what he sees. He should call it out and not fear becoming a liberal, if it means advancing ideas that steer us all away from the inferno that Bannon beckons. You never know.
5
Please don't normalize this presidency. This gang has a deeply worrisome agenda. Hoping that they'll "get it" is not productive. I believe that the next four years is a profound test of the resilience of our democracy.
8
"This isn’t complicated. In fact, it’s kind of easy."
It's easy, assuming you and your advisers have any ideas, ideas that are practical, or at least not in conflict with reality and mutually exclusive. When the only issue you all agree on is hating Obama, solving real, major, complicated problems without adopting the policies of former Pres. Obama is not easy.
It's easy, assuming you and your advisers have any ideas, ideas that are practical, or at least not in conflict with reality and mutually exclusive. When the only issue you all agree on is hating Obama, solving real, major, complicated problems without adopting the policies of former Pres. Obama is not easy.
2
Ah, hope springs eternal...
Mr. Douthat is right in his remedies, but how likely is it that the patient will take this medicine? I doubt very much that Mr. Trump sees his own behavior as egregious or in need of change.
What he does see is attempts to thwart him. People who don't appreciate his greatness! Saboteurs, envious trolls, sore losers! Enemies! People with the unmitigated gall to question him, who would disobey him! Who need to get with the program... Who need to understand, the sooner the better, that he is the new God-King... Who need to understand, too, that he now controls the machine of government and that, as such, he can exploit every ambiguity in the rules and legislation to push through his agenda.
Mr. Trump strikes me as someone for whom the term Gentleman's Agreement has no meaning. And I fear you are going to discover just how much of the practice of government has hitherto been carried out according to unwritten rules.
Mr. Douthat is right in his remedies, but how likely is it that the patient will take this medicine? I doubt very much that Mr. Trump sees his own behavior as egregious or in need of change.
What he does see is attempts to thwart him. People who don't appreciate his greatness! Saboteurs, envious trolls, sore losers! Enemies! People with the unmitigated gall to question him, who would disobey him! Who need to get with the program... Who need to understand, the sooner the better, that he is the new God-King... Who need to understand, too, that he now controls the machine of government and that, as such, he can exploit every ambiguity in the rules and legislation to push through his agenda.
Mr. Trump strikes me as someone for whom the term Gentleman's Agreement has no meaning. And I fear you are going to discover just how much of the practice of government has hitherto been carried out according to unwritten rules.
103
Well, I suppose it is good news that at least one Republican now recognizes that the Trump presidency is problematic at best. Can it be saved? The real question to ask is whether America can be saved.
2
So you think Trump "faces no immediate foreign policy or economic crises"?
Except perhaps the ones generated by him in foreign policy: Mexico, Australia, Germany (by treating Merkel the same as Putin), China (having been outmaneuvered by Xi and to back down from playing footsie with Taiwan)?
As to crisis in the economy, I won't count the current smooth sailing for long. He seems more interested in pushing the Trump brand more intensely than ever. What better place to push it than from the presidency?
Tax cut for the working people? Maybe he will do that but I will not hold my breadth!
Except perhaps the ones generated by him in foreign policy: Mexico, Australia, Germany (by treating Merkel the same as Putin), China (having been outmaneuvered by Xi and to back down from playing footsie with Taiwan)?
As to crisis in the economy, I won't count the current smooth sailing for long. He seems more interested in pushing the Trump brand more intensely than ever. What better place to push it than from the presidency?
Tax cut for the working people? Maybe he will do that but I will not hold my breadth!
3
"He has, to his credit, assembled a reasonably competent cabinet"
Mr. Douthat, that qualifier "reasonably" either shows how little confidence you have in Trump's abilities OR that you couldn't truthfully describe the cabinet simply as "competent", but had to rationalize.
In either case, you acknowledge the issue with both Trump and the cabinet.
Q.E.D.
Mr. Douthat, that qualifier "reasonably" either shows how little confidence you have in Trump's abilities OR that you couldn't truthfully describe the cabinet simply as "competent", but had to rationalize.
In either case, you acknowledge the issue with both Trump and the cabinet.
Q.E.D.
3
With the Westminster Dog Show coming up this week, it's a good time to reflect on the importance of not putting Show dogs in the agility trials. Even the Best in Show has two left feet when it comes to running an obstacle course.
3
"He has, to his credit, assembled a reasonably competent cabinet."
I read till this sentence, then I have to stop. OMG, Ross, where have you been during the hearing for those "competent" cabinet members?
And the tax cut is a joke.It will give the rich so much more than the middle class, but I think that's OK with your Christian belief.
I read till this sentence, then I have to stop. OMG, Ross, where have you been during the hearing for those "competent" cabinet members?
And the tax cut is a joke.It will give the rich so much more than the middle class, but I think that's OK with your Christian belief.
6
I'm in agreement Ross, but the federal government is broke. Infrastructure, the military, the Wall, repealing Obamacare and all the other wondrous works that Trump talks about are chimerical if we don't get our fiscal house in order. I think a VAT might be in the cards as a matter of national security, but Trump would take a huuuuge political hit to get it passed and he has very little capital to spare. And as we all watch him during his first weeks, it seems like reality has finally dawned on him. May God help us all.
How much evidence does Mr. Douthat need before he realizes that Donald Trump is not going to be anything other than what he is?
5
Mr. Douthat assures us that Mr. Trump 'assembled a reasonably competent cabinet.' And that would include . . . ?
Please, Ross, the hour is far too late for you, too, to deal in alternative facts. Don't go all '1984' on us.
Please, Ross, the hour is far too late for you, too, to deal in alternative facts. Don't go all '1984' on us.
5
Ross Douthat must live in la-la land. Impeach, or America will become a nuclear
Third Reich. Look up narcissism in the dictionary, then look up paranoid. Think paranoid narcissist. Chucky/Dennis the menace Donald is a great liar; Douthat is normalizing tantrumming as governance. Politically, Trump is the greatest threat to the United States of America since Adolph Hitler. Impeach or get out of the way. He is going down or we are.
Third Reich. Look up narcissism in the dictionary, then look up paranoid. Think paranoid narcissist. Chucky/Dennis the menace Donald is a great liar; Douthat is normalizing tantrumming as governance. Politically, Trump is the greatest threat to the United States of America since Adolph Hitler. Impeach or get out of the way. He is going down or we are.
7
Ross is consistent--you have to give him that much. Throughout the campaign, he kept ignoring what was actually happening and insisted that, all appearances to the contrary, in the end Trump would lose and a traditional Republican would win.
Now once more he is bucking reality. He insists that, all appearances to the contrary, Trump is, at bottom, interested in being a traditional politician and doing traditional political things like creating jobs, investing in infrastructure, tax cuts, etc. He's just gotten a little distracted along the way. But did you happen to notice, Ross, that Trump does not know a single thing about policy? Not.a.single. thing. Did you happen to notice that he is not interested in governing? Did you happen to notice that he has not proposed one genuine piece of legislation?
The truth is not subtle and it is not hidden, any more than was the outcome of the Republican primary. Trump is interested only in enriching himself and his family and in getting the respect he thinks he never receives. Indeed, in his confused mind, those two things are somehow the same. That is all he is ever going to focus on. The rest--his nihilistic, white supremacist advisers, the treasonous collusion with Russia, the corruption--all of that is just a means to this end.
If you want to actually explain what's going on, Ross, you should take your own good advice Keep it simple.
Now once more he is bucking reality. He insists that, all appearances to the contrary, Trump is, at bottom, interested in being a traditional politician and doing traditional political things like creating jobs, investing in infrastructure, tax cuts, etc. He's just gotten a little distracted along the way. But did you happen to notice, Ross, that Trump does not know a single thing about policy? Not.a.single. thing. Did you happen to notice that he is not interested in governing? Did you happen to notice that he has not proposed one genuine piece of legislation?
The truth is not subtle and it is not hidden, any more than was the outcome of the Republican primary. Trump is interested only in enriching himself and his family and in getting the respect he thinks he never receives. Indeed, in his confused mind, those two things are somehow the same. That is all he is ever going to focus on. The rest--his nihilistic, white supremacist advisers, the treasonous collusion with Russia, the corruption--all of that is just a means to this end.
If you want to actually explain what's going on, Ross, you should take your own good advice Keep it simple.
7
Ross,
Despite trying to delegitimize and block the previous POTUS, the GOP has gained a country in much better shape than it was when the last GOP president left office. Why mess with success? Continue on the trajectories that Obama put in place. He was a prodigious chief executive, a thoughtful manager, and a decent human being. Now we have a bull loose in a china shop.
For the record, Bannon and Miller and Flynn and Trump and nameless others in their club are sociopathic enough that if they did not have power, money, and connections, they would be in jail somewhere for a good long time. These are marginal people with no normal inclinations. What can you say about a man who whines about his pampered daughter's business failure and turns a stone face to separating a working mom from her children? Ivanka, poor baby, can't sell her stuff at Nordstroms. She was not sent to a country she barely knows, from which she will probably not return, away from her husband and kids by a bunch of emotionally constipated narcissists.
We need to know nothing more about Donald Trump. He has taught us all about himself over the last year. I'm sick of him, find him repulsive in every way, and wish the obsession with him would stop.
Meanwhile, how about going back to philosophical topics? What a relief that would be.
Despite trying to delegitimize and block the previous POTUS, the GOP has gained a country in much better shape than it was when the last GOP president left office. Why mess with success? Continue on the trajectories that Obama put in place. He was a prodigious chief executive, a thoughtful manager, and a decent human being. Now we have a bull loose in a china shop.
For the record, Bannon and Miller and Flynn and Trump and nameless others in their club are sociopathic enough that if they did not have power, money, and connections, they would be in jail somewhere for a good long time. These are marginal people with no normal inclinations. What can you say about a man who whines about his pampered daughter's business failure and turns a stone face to separating a working mom from her children? Ivanka, poor baby, can't sell her stuff at Nordstroms. She was not sent to a country she barely knows, from which she will probably not return, away from her husband and kids by a bunch of emotionally constipated narcissists.
We need to know nothing more about Donald Trump. He has taught us all about himself over the last year. I'm sick of him, find him repulsive in every way, and wish the obsession with him would stop.
Meanwhile, how about going back to philosophical topics? What a relief that would be.
9
Dear Mr. Douthat,
I'm very, very disappointed - do you really think they are capable of coming up with a plan for infrastructure, without greatly increasing national debt or, increasing the tax revenue, or turning it into just giveaways for corporations?
It might not be as hard as replacing ACA, but it's close.
I'm very, very disappointed - do you really think they are capable of coming up with a plan for infrastructure, without greatly increasing national debt or, increasing the tax revenue, or turning it into just giveaways for corporations?
It might not be as hard as replacing ACA, but it's close.
3
sometimes its necessary to destroy the presidency in order to save it
So you think Trump "faces no immediate foreign policy or economic crises"?
Except perhaps the ones generated by him in foreign policy: Mexico, Australia, Germany (by treating Merkel the same as Putin), China (having been outmaneuver ato back down from playing footsie with Taiwan)
Except perhaps the ones generated by him in foreign policy: Mexico, Australia, Germany (by treating Merkel the same as Putin), China (having been outmaneuver ato back down from playing footsie with Taiwan)
Character is destiny. Trump is a surly, preening, willfully ignorant, megalomaniacal bully. (Mr. Douthat, do you disagree with any part of that?) In the White House he has surrounded himself with louts, liars, and lunatics; a few genuinely competent cabinet secretaries (Mattis, Kelly, perhaps Tillerson) do not make up for Bannon, Miller, Flynn, Conway, et. al. So no, this presidency cannot be saved. It was doomed from the start. The question that matters is whether the nation can be saved from this presidency.
261
Ross as much as it will pain you, you need to come to grips with the harsh reality that modern American conservatism has been effectively hijacked by new American Fascists and Christian versions of Jihadis. Worse, those true believers are simply being manipulated by some of the most effective con artists in history. Trump and his clan have no ideology except their wealth. If that is the direction of the American polity and people in the Republican party who may still possess some degree of honor and integrity can't find the courage to stand up and denounce them, if they're so enamoured of winning that they can't see the destruction that their victory will bring on the nation - the world even. Then we're pretty much lost. America as envisioned is now dead. You played your part well, when you look in the mirror understand that you Mr. Douthat were an enabler of this abomination.
6
Trump is simple to follow now I think. I'd like to wage a $100 US with your Ross, that the great majority of his policies accord to one of the following streams.
1/ He owes white males who've lost jobs, so has to make song & dance like carrier even if it turns out not to be real.
2/ He avoids reading too much about anything so that when he says the gigantic lies, he can believe them more easily. Obama born overseas, Hillary should be in prison, Mexican criminals, jobs to China, getting them back, women love it if I grab them by the ....
3/ The real punch line is the extreme right republican ideology, which presents as policy, but is truly only about one thing, make more for money for billionaires, pay less tax, eliminate medicare, medicaid, homeless payments, unemployment benefits, education for the poor, decent wages in companies etc. Behind it all in places like their private clubs, where they talk the actual truth, they want everyone on $5 an hour, but basic economics says who will buy your consumer goods, if that happens.
Europe is a far better place for businesses to sell goods, people have time, decent holidays & money to buy consumer goods. USA will become working poor under Trump. Nice knowing you!
1/ He owes white males who've lost jobs, so has to make song & dance like carrier even if it turns out not to be real.
2/ He avoids reading too much about anything so that when he says the gigantic lies, he can believe them more easily. Obama born overseas, Hillary should be in prison, Mexican criminals, jobs to China, getting them back, women love it if I grab them by the ....
3/ The real punch line is the extreme right republican ideology, which presents as policy, but is truly only about one thing, make more for money for billionaires, pay less tax, eliminate medicare, medicaid, homeless payments, unemployment benefits, education for the poor, decent wages in companies etc. Behind it all in places like their private clubs, where they talk the actual truth, they want everyone on $5 an hour, but basic economics says who will buy your consumer goods, if that happens.
Europe is a far better place for businesses to sell goods, people have time, decent holidays & money to buy consumer goods. USA will become working poor under Trump. Nice knowing you!
4
Define the "we" so anxious for corporate tax "reform." Go ahead… we'll wait.
9
Simple things - like cutting eye holes in sheets - deporting millions and marching in lockstep. These are the cowardly monsters that threaten innocent people. We must stand tall and stare them down.
6
This column deserves only this: a very dry lol.
3
Delaying discussion of total depravity not a great strategy in 2017
4
Much as I disagree with Douthat's political philosophy, and his characterization of the Cabinet, his advice here has merit. The problem is our president is obsessed with the bobble of the day, not big picture governance. What do you want to bet that he tweets some nasty insults about tonight's S.N.L. episode. The notion that everything will be alright if someone would just help him put one foot in front of the other, one step at a time, is an illusion. That's like asking a zebra to ditch the stripes.
3
On what planet is Trump's cabinet reasonably competent? Here on Earth? Really Douthat you need to get a whiff of some smelling salts and wake up. Trump's ship of fools will prove to be even worse than anyone can imagine. The Trump administration is a race, at breakneck speed,to the bottom, and leading the charge down is the filthy pathological liar: the Donald.
8
Douthat expects a limited mind with unlimited power to behave simply? Nothing could be harder.
4
Near the beginning of this piece, Mr. Douthat mentions the right-leaning populism of the voters and the importance of their agenda for an infrastructure bill and a working-class tax cut. Later, he says "We want a big infrastructure bill." Check. "A middle-class tax cut." Check. And then he adds "Corporate tax reform." Really? You think middle America really prioritizes corporate tax reform? I think that is the Republican Party and its contributors' agenda, not the right-leaning populism of the voters.
7
No, it cannot be saved. And for you to think the farce of the Carrier situation was the highest point possible for Trump shows how pathetic the right wing truly is.
11
This isn't a presidency. It's an obscene fiasco.
17
"Can this presidency be saved?" A rhetorical question if ever there was one.
5
Saved? Maybe there could be some way to pickle the whole lot, in formaldehyde or something similar, so that future generations will be able to see what a pickled pickle looks like.
5
After time and again swearing that Donald Trump would never, ever be elected president, I guess Ross Douthat is trying to salvage some degree of credibility by dumbing down expectations for himself and for the new President. Hence his brilliant plan: pick the easy wins and let Ryan and McConnell try to work out the hard stuff. And simply take crises as they come.
Ahhh, but there's the rub. We already have seen how easy it is to unhinge Trump by simply reporting that it rained on his inauguration, or by asking him to deliver his immigration ban on Muslims with - gasp - actual foresight and planning of how that would all work. But we have never seen him in a realeo, truleo, full-blown crisis, probably because in his sheltered, silver-spoon life he has never faced one. God help us all when he trades his 3 am Twitter rant at the 9th circuit court for a MIRV rant at Iran or China.
But sure, Ross, keep dreaming and scheming. I guess that's what they are paying you for.
Ahhh, but there's the rub. We already have seen how easy it is to unhinge Trump by simply reporting that it rained on his inauguration, or by asking him to deliver his immigration ban on Muslims with - gasp - actual foresight and planning of how that would all work. But we have never seen him in a realeo, truleo, full-blown crisis, probably because in his sheltered, silver-spoon life he has never faced one. God help us all when he trades his 3 am Twitter rant at the 9th circuit court for a MIRV rant at Iran or China.
But sure, Ross, keep dreaming and scheming. I guess that's what they are paying you for.
3
Douthat: "[Trump] has, to his credit, assembled a reasonably competent cabinet."
Yeah, right. Pull the other one.
Yeah, right. Pull the other one.
14
I challenge anyone to tell me what Steve Bannon's actual ideas are. The more I read about this guy, the more his worldview appears to be a hodgepodge of half-read, discredited philosophical treatises and angry, attention-grabbing troll-calls.
9
Ross, everything you suggest for Donald Trump to save his presidency demands something of which he appears to be incapable: that he put aside his bloated ego.
Good luck with that.
Good luck with that.
9
You're all wrong. As Obama would say, Trump is on the right side of history.
Brexit, then Trump, and the Dutch and French are on the very cusp of the same in the next few months. The Old Order blew it and are still in head-exploding denial.
Brexit, then Trump, and the Dutch and French are on the very cusp of the same in the next few months. The Old Order blew it and are still in head-exploding denial.
C'mon, Ross. Give Trump a break. He does have some semblance of an infrastructure plan. First, he's gonna build the big wall. That'll put lots of people to work. Then he's gonna set the airports ablaze with hoards of protesters. That'll require more security and cleanup crews. And with his handler Bibi Netanyahu, son-in-law Jared Kissinger will start demolition of the West Bank, blowing it to bits preparing the way for more settlements. It's just a start but you know there'll be plenty more to come. Give Trump a chance.
3
I don't understand. You think Bannon's ideas are "undercooked"? He's a white supremacist. He's evil.
13
I was trying to stay with you Ross. Until I got to the "reasonably competent cabinet" line. And then I realized you were just yanking our chains. Good one, Douthat. You almost had me!
10
Republicans now want a big infrastructure bill? Then why did they block Obama's if it's so important?
14
Douthat calls for a big infrastructure program.
I don't recall his supporting infrastructure spending during the Obama years.
I don't recall his supporting infrastructure spending during the Obama years.
12
Reagan was a believer in the metaphor of the leaky bucket. That, as proposed by Arthur Okun, is that when the government acts to transfer money from one entity or group to another it uses a leaky bucket to do so. Administrative costs and inefficiencies cause the gains to the beneficiaries of the government action to be less than the costs to the losers or those who pay the bills. While Reagan may not have personally read the work of Okun or that of Vilfredo Pareto whose concept of Pareto optimality preceded and could can be considered to have led to Okun's metaphor of the leaky bucket, Reagan certainly appointed economists to leading positions who were fluent in and proponents these concepts.
A prime example of a leaky bucket government action that Reagan and/or his advisors would have seen as not being Pareto optimal occurred recently. Reagan would have known that the gains to the employees of the Carrier Division of United Technologies (UTC) and the parent company's shareholders would always be less than the costs to the taxpayers of Indiana and the purchasers of the Carrier products that resulted from the government interference with the plan by UTC to produce those products in the most efficient least costly manner in Mexico.
On the issue of free trade. Reagan said::
As the leader of the West and as a country that has become great and rich because of economic freedom, America must be an unrelenting advocate of free trade..."
http://seekingalpha.com/article/4033258
A prime example of a leaky bucket government action that Reagan and/or his advisors would have seen as not being Pareto optimal occurred recently. Reagan would have known that the gains to the employees of the Carrier Division of United Technologies (UTC) and the parent company's shareholders would always be less than the costs to the taxpayers of Indiana and the purchasers of the Carrier products that resulted from the government interference with the plan by UTC to produce those products in the most efficient least costly manner in Mexico.
On the issue of free trade. Reagan said::
As the leader of the West and as a country that has become great and rich because of economic freedom, America must be an unrelenting advocate of free trade..."
http://seekingalpha.com/article/4033258
1
Mr. Douthat seems to radically deny the severity of the problem. Mr. Douthat, my question for you: "If, hypothetically, Mr. Trump were insane, what would you write about?" Please consider making this scenario the subject of your next column.
4
Boy, I really hope he doesn't read your op/ed because I want him to fail ...!!
But you are absolutely right, Trump is revealing his Achilles Heel. Instead of going around the country trying to figure out how he will get jobs for the under-trained, under-educated working classes who have been out-technologied of their jobs, Trump is performing a reality show of #bling in which he offers up Mar-o-Lago as the "Winter White House" and hearty handshakes with the Japanese prime minister while at the same time trying to hawk his daughters jewelry line.
That's the kind of stuff that defined Louis the character of Louis the XIV and the Shah of Iran. And, it's the kind of stuff that feeds revolutions.
If he doesn't get with it, he may find soon that #TheResistance will have formed an alliance with #TheMidwest to dispose of him and his foolish cronies.
At which point, God help him and his delusion that he will be a "better job-creator than God".
But you are absolutely right, Trump is revealing his Achilles Heel. Instead of going around the country trying to figure out how he will get jobs for the under-trained, under-educated working classes who have been out-technologied of their jobs, Trump is performing a reality show of #bling in which he offers up Mar-o-Lago as the "Winter White House" and hearty handshakes with the Japanese prime minister while at the same time trying to hawk his daughters jewelry line.
That's the kind of stuff that defined Louis the character of Louis the XIV and the Shah of Iran. And, it's the kind of stuff that feeds revolutions.
If he doesn't get with it, he may find soon that #TheResistance will have formed an alliance with #TheMidwest to dispose of him and his foolish cronies.
At which point, God help him and his delusion that he will be a "better job-creator than God".
3
First, I'm not sure how even as loyal a conservative apparatchik as Mr. Douthat can call this a "competent Cabinet". It is, in fact, notable for its clueless lack of experience and knowledge.
Second, why on earth would anyone ever hope that this regime be "saved" long enough to disband 200 years of democratic striving and send the keys to the house to Putin?
Second, why on earth would anyone ever hope that this regime be "saved" long enough to disband 200 years of democratic striving and send the keys to the house to Putin?
5
"If you can’t figure out how to handle the hardest stuff, try something simple for a while."
Surely you must know that he hasn't seen anything yet. What about Krushchev in Vienna and the Cuban missile criss? What about KAL 007? What about Khobar Towers? What about Katrina? What about 9/11? Please tell me how he is going to respond to any of these? None of these are easy. Why are you saying this? Actually, I'm not all that worried about the simple stuff although if it presages how he deals with the hard stuff, you bettcha, I AM worried about the hard stuff. Thanks for delivering Trump to us, Mr. Douthat.
Surely you must know that he hasn't seen anything yet. What about Krushchev in Vienna and the Cuban missile criss? What about KAL 007? What about Khobar Towers? What about Katrina? What about 9/11? Please tell me how he is going to respond to any of these? None of these are easy. Why are you saying this? Actually, I'm not all that worried about the simple stuff although if it presages how he deals with the hard stuff, you bettcha, I AM worried about the hard stuff. Thanks for delivering Trump to us, Mr. Douthat.
5
He faces no immediate foreign policy or economic crises, no threat that requires him to act sweepingly and instantly.
This after eight years of hearing that Mr. Obama is the worst president that the country has ever had to endure and he left with a terrible mess. Sigh.
This after eight years of hearing that Mr. Obama is the worst president that the country has ever had to endure and he left with a terrible mess. Sigh.
10
We are twenty-two days into this Presidency and you're worried about saving this Presidency? Is this some sort of record for you? And if so, why? Maybe your conservative dreams turned into a nightmare?
7
If there were an effective opposition, Trump might be "carterized." There isn't one and Trump know this. He's acting the way he does because he knows that there is no functional political opposition to his agenda.
1
If you wanted bridges, roads, tunnels - oh, and also sane, reasoned, anti-racist leadership - you should have endorsed Sanders.
7
Good column and good advice. If he's smart he'll follow it but he seems obsessed with the trivial and meaningless. It's so early and he has plenty of time to make him self somewhat respectable by finding a noble issue or two and working tirelessly for its approval. It's up to him. Continue with the madness or act like a quasi-president at least.
Why am I even bothering to read you anymore? There is no way someone as literate as you does not know full well the contradictions in the view you preach. You are now one of their full-fledged must-know-no-shame propagandists in my book.
8
Oh, please, are you last-gasper cons going to trot out the drop-in-the-bucket Carrier deal as a success, albeit Sleazy D's only one, when it antagonized real union workers and made Trump look like a puffed-up bully taking credit for himself where it was not due.
6
Ross is right! No infrastructure spending means no jobs. No tax cuts to the working and middle class means no more money in my pocket. That's what DT's supporters believed he'd do and therefore voted for him. And that is DT's Achilles heel. Democrats need to start taking some target practice aimed at that heel.
2
If you think Tax Cuts will save the administration from hell, well, I have some swamp land you might like. Bannon wants the apocalypse, Bannon needs the apocalypse. His bizarre bona dei Catholicism demands a war with Islam, a cultural war to cleanse liberalism from America.
How our why Trump became infatuated with this nutbag is unclear to me. But this lunatic now sits on the NSC and seems to be controlling much of Trump's agenda. The only historical parallel to this much insanity would be Jackson's
presidency. Jackson's refusal to enforce Supreme Court's rulings is right up Bannon/Trump's alley. Go help the Republic.
How our why Trump became infatuated with this nutbag is unclear to me. But this lunatic now sits on the NSC and seems to be controlling much of Trump's agenda. The only historical parallel to this much insanity would be Jackson's
presidency. Jackson's refusal to enforce Supreme Court's rulings is right up Bannon/Trump's alley. Go help the Republic.
6
" He has, to his credit, assembled a reasonably competent cabinet." Names please?
13
What??? Save the Trump presidency? How about focusing upon saving our republic? This abomination of a presidency is a dark stain on our Country that can only be endured until the GOP majority in Congress is overturned in 2018 and Trump is thrown to the curb in disgrace in 2020.
9
James Kelly, whoever he may be, doesn't have a dog in the immigration hunt. John F. Kelly, Secretary of Homeland Security, does.
3
"Assembled a reasonably competent cabinet', what do you hypnotized and victimized votaries of the GOP smoke?
'Oh judgment, thou has fled to brutish beast, and men have lost their reason'
'Country broke oh, country never broke oh we are in'
'Oh judgment, thou has fled to brutish beast, and men have lost their reason'
'Country broke oh, country never broke oh we are in'
3
But then he would have to fire the scroll writers and trumpeters and swap the throne for a desk.
1
He won't change, though. Trump was born to entertain, and his instinct is to sell tickets. You aren't built that way, Ross. You don't get that you sell tickets by havng a villain (preferably in a burnoose) light a fuse and laugh while a lanterned-jawed hero rides to the rescue. That's the show Trump put on to get nominated, and it got him elected, too. As Gibbon said of Elagabalus, his dearest enjoyment is "to sport with the passions and and prejudices of his subjects,"
What!!!! Were you dreaming when you wrote: “He has, to his credit, assembled a reasonably competent cabinet.” Or did you mean “incompetent cabinet”. I hope it is a typo because every serious newspaper has extensively written about how incompetent or extremists are the majority of the president’s cabinet including trump himself. Competences, if any, will never be shown because all nominees under trump are mere rubber stamps that can be fired if they oppose his orders. If the press indulges with such rhetoric and sees everyone as competent, no wonder why our Democracy is in absolute crisis, and why there is incompetence everywhere at all levels from government to academia to the private sector. We need to read statements in accordance with fact and reality. I am a disappointed reader.
5
You had me until 'reasonably competent cabinet.'
9
Nothing defines the current state of affairs better than two op ed columns this week.
On the left of my screen, Dowd is celebrating the reemergence of the American spirit in the resistance. On the right, Douthat bemoans the failure of the administration to come up with even a semi-coherent approach to the world and the nation. Sums it all up nicely.
However I don't think Douthat pays sufficient heed to the dangers of having a fascist (ok, a follower of Julius Evola) writing the administration's script. Yes, in the best of all possible worlds Bannon will go down in flames. But this is not inevitable; what happens if we have an unexpected event? Another 9/11? A fire in the Reichstag? There is always a way to mobilize the extremes when popular sentiment is against you. And Bannon is evil enough to find it.
On the left of my screen, Dowd is celebrating the reemergence of the American spirit in the resistance. On the right, Douthat bemoans the failure of the administration to come up with even a semi-coherent approach to the world and the nation. Sums it all up nicely.
However I don't think Douthat pays sufficient heed to the dangers of having a fascist (ok, a follower of Julius Evola) writing the administration's script. Yes, in the best of all possible worlds Bannon will go down in flames. But this is not inevitable; what happens if we have an unexpected event? Another 9/11? A fire in the Reichstag? There is always a way to mobilize the extremes when popular sentiment is against you. And Bannon is evil enough to find it.
Thank you, Mr. Douthat! This is the most encouraging analysis I have heard recently. There is hope that this nightmare will be short-lived. Thank you.
Infra-structure building is a winner...if done well. Crooked lying Trump, being incompetent and a demagogue, may try to convince his republican congress to open the purse...and then deliver the money to private for-profit corporations to help repair and expand roads and bridges, at a huge cost no doubt, compared to governmental labor. Bureaucracy being what it is, there is a long stretch from saying things...do doing them.
2
Trump long before his election win has made himself irrelevant. A successful President needs first of all a strong ethical code which can inspire his country, something which has not been apparent since the first Bush.
Without this the vultures in his own party, such as McCoonell and Ryan, will set their own anti people agenda and Trump will be their pawn just as the second Bush was the pawn of Cheney. History is sickeningly repeating itself.
Without this the vultures in his own party, such as McCoonell and Ryan, will set their own anti people agenda and Trump will be their pawn just as the second Bush was the pawn of Cheney. History is sickeningly repeating itself.
2
The Carrier deal was indeed triumphantly Trumpian because it violated his repeated campaign pledge. Where in the Carrier deal is the promised surcharge/tax on goods manufactured outside the US by the jobs that left ? Because a third of the jobs remained thanks to the government and Pence financial bribe the two thirds that left are outside his promised threats ? So once again the man who invented the term Lyin' Ted further solidified his place atop the list of the biggest liars. And why pray tell did the media, especially the NYT, not call him out on this ?
3
Glad to see you are finally reading The New York Times, Mr. Douthat.
This I thought was prescient: "This is not going to work. (In the end, it didn’t work out that well for Cheney and Rove, either.)"
DIdn't work out that well for Mussolini, either!
How about an interview with Al Franken? I'm sure he'd talk to you about "crazy" and "what can be saved."
This I thought was prescient: "This is not going to work. (In the end, it didn’t work out that well for Cheney and Rove, either.)"
DIdn't work out that well for Mussolini, either!
How about an interview with Al Franken? I'm sure he'd talk to you about "crazy" and "what can be saved."
4
Forget White House becoming Carterized. White House needs to be cauterized.
5
Ross:
What you call simple stuff is anything but. I wouldn't count on a jobs bill. And it won't help Trump if he is ineffective in pushing one, which he likely will be given who runs Congress.
Pushing corporate tax cuts, which you mislabel as "reform," is not necessarily a winner either: Trump doesn't pay taxes and is neck-deep in the family business.
You can't seriously think our corporate cabinet and the corporate lobbyists will roll over once the tax bills start flying.
Trump will be swamped.
What you call simple stuff is anything but. I wouldn't count on a jobs bill. And it won't help Trump if he is ineffective in pushing one, which he likely will be given who runs Congress.
Pushing corporate tax cuts, which you mislabel as "reform," is not necessarily a winner either: Trump doesn't pay taxes and is neck-deep in the family business.
You can't seriously think our corporate cabinet and the corporate lobbyists will roll over once the tax bills start flying.
Trump will be swamped.
Not even a month into his Presidency, and no, it cannot be saved. A President who is both frustrated and bored at this stage will not last two years, let alone four.
2
The President needs a mental health evaluation.
5
A "reasonably competent cabinet"? I must have missed that part. I recall names like Perry, DeVos, Sessions and Price.
6
Setting things on cruise control while no crisis appears imminent seems a recipe for disaster - not a good reason to write a column either.
There's no coherent policy aside from the powerful American cudgel we heard about in the inaugural address. God that seems like eons ago.
No we have ICE teams rounding up immigrants and a president over indulged in chest beating via twitter. Surprisingly thin skinned as well. Trump will regret his decision to knock Abrams out from the deputy position at the State Department. Judging by the exodus from State, Mr. Tillerson's inheriting a Department with record low morale, and, it would seem, few fans to help him get anything done.
Without a coherent policy and absent an inspiring vision, four years suddenly seems like an eternity. Trump should get a dog because in Washington he's got fewer and fewer friends. It may help his approval rating!
There's no coherent policy aside from the powerful American cudgel we heard about in the inaugural address. God that seems like eons ago.
No we have ICE teams rounding up immigrants and a president over indulged in chest beating via twitter. Surprisingly thin skinned as well. Trump will regret his decision to knock Abrams out from the deputy position at the State Department. Judging by the exodus from State, Mr. Tillerson's inheriting a Department with record low morale, and, it would seem, few fans to help him get anything done.
Without a coherent policy and absent an inspiring vision, four years suddenly seems like an eternity. Trump should get a dog because in Washington he's got fewer and fewer friends. It may help his approval rating!
70
Douthat writes: "From the White House, the message should be simple, boring, popular."
What exactly, in Trump's entire history (even before he was a candidate) makes you think he is remotely capable of being simple or boring. Or popular, for that matter? Remember, more people voted for his opponent.
What exactly, in Trump's entire history (even before he was a candidate) makes you think he is remotely capable of being simple or boring. Or popular, for that matter? Remember, more people voted for his opponent.
1
Mr. Douthat is correct. A nice, moderate, right center agenda is obviously the right path toward success for Trump. But, Trump does not understand basic policy and Bannon is just worried about things that no sane person should worry about. Trump should be impeached soon.
1
The answer is NO, it can't be saved. The real question is can America be saved.
Reasonably competent cabinet? Are you joking?
Reasonably competent cabinet? Are you joking?
9
It is clear that Russia actively intervened to affect the outcome of the recent presidential campaign. Recent news reports suggest that there are recorded conversations between General Flynn and his Russian friends that began during the campaign. Members of the Trump cabinet have received the highest civillian medal that Russia can bestow. It's not melodrama or lack of coherence that is going to destroy the Trump Presidency.............
4
He can't get started on the small easy solutions when every second of his day and night he is preoccupied with destroying his enemies, real or imaginary.
This man is trapped in a bubble of unfantomable delusion, that mere mortals like us can never understand. So no, his Presidency can't be saved because nobody around him can save him and he will NEVER be able to save himself from his inner darkness that eats at his soul like a cancer.
This man is trapped in a bubble of unfantomable delusion, that mere mortals like us can never understand. So no, his Presidency can't be saved because nobody around him can save him and he will NEVER be able to save himself from his inner darkness that eats at his soul like a cancer.
6
No, it cannot be saved. Where have you been for the last 3 weeks?
We have a spoiled 13 year old in the oval office.
The only thing which can "save"the country is the invocation
of the 25th Amendment to the constitution.
We have a spoiled 13 year old in the oval office.
The only thing which can "save"the country is the invocation
of the 25th Amendment to the constitution.
2
We've had presidents with solid characters who've nevertheless have had disappointing presidencies: George H. Bush, Jimmy Carter, even Gerald Ford come to mind. But a president without moral fiber--Richard Nixon, Warren Harding, Samuel Johnson--have all been failures. Donald Trump has no emotional stability, no empathy, and no sense of goodness. He has no character. His presidency is doomed.
10
It's hard to avoid total nihilism in the modern world, yet I still find comfort from the words I just heard on "Rick and Morty:"
No one belongs anywhere, no one is born on purpose, everybody dies.
I recommend the existentialists and Kierkegaard, personally, in these times of need.
No one belongs anywhere, no one is born on purpose, everybody dies.
I recommend the existentialists and Kierkegaard, personally, in these times of need.
3
"He has, to his credit, assembled a reasonably competent cabinet."
I assume that you meant that seriously, which shows a truly mind-boggling detachment from reality. Trump's cabinet has one thing in common: they are there to make sure that corporations can steal public resources with impunity. In that respect, I can only pray that they are as incapable as they are in the jobs that they are supposed to be doing.
I assume that you meant that seriously, which shows a truly mind-boggling detachment from reality. Trump's cabinet has one thing in common: they are there to make sure that corporations can steal public resources with impunity. In that respect, I can only pray that they are as incapable as they are in the jobs that they are supposed to be doing.
8
Seriously, how can the NY Times publish someone who writes this about Trump: "He has, to his credit, assembled a reasonably competent cabinet."
Hire me as your science writer, please, because I will argue that the moon is made of cheese.
My word, this is ridiculous--even the right wing thinks Trumps cabinet is full of bozos.
Hire me as your science writer, please, because I will argue that the moon is made of cheese.
My word, this is ridiculous--even the right wing thinks Trumps cabinet is full of bozos.
13
Very thoughtful. Nice to see a reasonable, constructive piece from the conservative point of view.
You're talking sense to a senseless man. Give up.
3
Trump's real problem are that no one can depend on anything he has to say. Is it a position, a program, a strongly held belief. a campaign promise,or a midnight Twitter tantrum? No body knows, apparently not even Trump.
Its all empty bluster. Repeated by his minions. Over and over.
I wish it were otherwise, that he was making a good faith effort. But we don't see any glimpse of it.
Does he have any idea that his failure here has fatal implications not just of his companies, but civilization. His daughter's company is equal to that?
Where is his center, his moral compass? His decency?
To me he remains a big deal NYC real estate guy, semi-legal at most.
I want to see at least a glimmer of something better. I just don't.
And I'm scared.
Its all empty bluster. Repeated by his minions. Over and over.
I wish it were otherwise, that he was making a good faith effort. But we don't see any glimpse of it.
Does he have any idea that his failure here has fatal implications not just of his companies, but civilization. His daughter's company is equal to that?
Where is his center, his moral compass? His decency?
To me he remains a big deal NYC real estate guy, semi-legal at most.
I want to see at least a glimmer of something better. I just don't.
And I'm scared.
1
Can this presidency be saved? No.
5
"Reasonably competent cabinet?" Is that a typo that should read, "Unbelievably corrupt cabinet?" Nice try to put some level-headed lipstick on this presidential pig, Mr. Douthat. You lost me, perhaps for many columns to come.
7
Can this presidency be saved? Douhat asks. He answered his own question with the unbelievable comment: He has, to his credit, assembled a reasonably competent cabinet." No, no, and no.
4
Really, Mr. Douthat. You have carried the water for the Republican Party and the current, most shameful presidency in American history. Your columns are emperors with no clothes. Your insistence to defend the Trump presidency is a reminder of one of the most important statements ever made in American history against a demagogue and a tyrant. When Joseph Welch said to Senator Joseph McCarthy during McCarthy's vicious hearings: "Have you no sense of decency, sir?" It applies for newspaper columnists too. Ones who align their words with the Fifth Column now occupying the White House and the president's cabinet.
3
Ross: If you have to holler at a sitting US President to get his mind off tweeting about Nordstroms and get back to Jobs!, then surely even you can grok that you are talking about the deepest of deep dysfunction.
Steve Bannon isnt plotting jobs at Carrier, he is in some colonic recess of Abstraction that includes a type of Catholicism that disses the actual Pope. Mr. B of the 3X married club hired a priest for his Brietbart Vatican Beat who had his kid out of wedlock and was the chief defender of that guy Maciel, a pedophile and molester.
End Time blabber from Trump's Team, a ghost wife, and his fixation on his daughter's clothes sold at Marshalls round out the picture here. The "kind of easy" part for most of us is seeing this vision of Hell is identifying that these people are Crazy and they are In Charge til we can get rid of them.
Steve Bannon isnt plotting jobs at Carrier, he is in some colonic recess of Abstraction that includes a type of Catholicism that disses the actual Pope. Mr. B of the 3X married club hired a priest for his Brietbart Vatican Beat who had his kid out of wedlock and was the chief defender of that guy Maciel, a pedophile and molester.
End Time blabber from Trump's Team, a ghost wife, and his fixation on his daughter's clothes sold at Marshalls round out the picture here. The "kind of easy" part for most of us is seeing this vision of Hell is identifying that these people are Crazy and they are In Charge til we can get rid of them.
6
Douthat thinks that a cabinet with Sessions, DeVos, Carson, Price, Perry, Pruitt, and Puzder is "reasonably competent"? Yikes!
5
File under "Chimerical Fantasy."
2
Three weeks into the Trump presidency, we know the agenda. It is whatever gets him the most television time for his evening's entertainment.
1
Trump is the Emperor With No Clothes on. A malignant narcissistic bully who is totally unprepared for the job of President of the U.S. A tragedy not only for the US but also a threat to the entire planet. Perhaps he will simply implode.
2
Can This Presidency Be Saved?
I've seen more than enough in <30days .
Why bother?
I've seen more than enough in <30days .
Why bother?
2
Wow! Maybe because you believed Trump lies so now you are disappointed. Guess what, he didn't create jobs at Carrier. Man. Duh! The whole Carrier thing was already decided. So now you think he can do infrastructure? He doesn't have the capacity, competence, disciple, or temperament to do anything substantitive. Now I got a bridge to sell you. After all that has happened you still believe Trump can do something positive, in spite of the fact he never has. Wow!
1
So, the 'easy stuff' is increased infrastructure and defense spending, along with tax cuts? OK. That stuff is easy only if economics no longer matters. Trump is a con man, I'll grant you that. But he's not a magician.
1
Although I am not a conservative, I like to read your columns because you are willing to confront the facts as they are, which challenges your own preferences almost as often as my own. This column isn't up to that standard.
Others have taken you to task over the "reasonably competent cabinet", so I won't rehash that. What bothers me even more than that is that you now act as though Trump is a fundamentally reasonable president, contrary to your previously expressed concerns that he will carry "Caesarism" (your phrase, not mine) to even worse extremes---and contrary to the evidence of the last few weeks. Trump's term thus far shows a man whose motto is "Ready, Fire, Aim" and who seems most concerned with his ego and his family's economic interests. We all have a tendency to adapt to changes in our environment, and I think you---like many Republicans this summer and later---have found rationalization more comforting than resistance.
Others have taken you to task over the "reasonably competent cabinet", so I won't rehash that. What bothers me even more than that is that you now act as though Trump is a fundamentally reasonable president, contrary to your previously expressed concerns that he will carry "Caesarism" (your phrase, not mine) to even worse extremes---and contrary to the evidence of the last few weeks. Trump's term thus far shows a man whose motto is "Ready, Fire, Aim" and who seems most concerned with his ego and his family's economic interests. We all have a tendency to adapt to changes in our environment, and I think you---like many Republicans this summer and later---have found rationalization more comforting than resistance.
2
Ross, you continue to write about Trump as if he's not a mentally ill, unstable, narcissistic child incapable of critical thought. The "triumphant" Carrier deal and "reasonably competent" cabinet? So you don't accept that the former was, to be precise, a cynical and misleading stunt, and you consider Betsy DeVos, Andrew Pudzer, Tom Price, Ben Carson (shall I go on?) reasonable cabinet appointments. And you are genuinely convinced that Steve Bannon is just a misunderstood and well-meaning modern version of conservatism. Huh what?Until you get your premises straight, Ross, your analyses will continue to be an frustrating waste of pixels.
6
But did Trump in fact campaign on a right populism? If you go beyond the slogans, it just isn't there.
Tax policy? Long before he was elected, Trump had laid out a tax plan that promised the lion's share of cuts for the one percent. He never disguised it. Help for struggling folks? His talk about infrastructure evaporated after his inauguration, and he appointed no one who is imaginable as a point person for such a stimulus plan––only anti-regulation financiers.
His populist promise to offer Americans "better" and "cheaper" healthcare insurance became doubtful the minute he nominated a HHS secretary who is maniacal about dismantling the outreach efforts of the ACA and Medicaid coverage.
Mr. Douthat has taken populist slogans and speeches at face value––he calls them "insights"––and then expresses surprise that they have amounted exactly nothing. Occams's razor would tell us that the populism that was smoke and mirrors, mere means for acquiring the power to do exactly what Bannon and Trump are doing: insulting and provoking Muslims, kicking out Mexicans, giving Wall Street what it wants, and handing over public institutions to wealthy interests.
Tax policy? Long before he was elected, Trump had laid out a tax plan that promised the lion's share of cuts for the one percent. He never disguised it. Help for struggling folks? His talk about infrastructure evaporated after his inauguration, and he appointed no one who is imaginable as a point person for such a stimulus plan––only anti-regulation financiers.
His populist promise to offer Americans "better" and "cheaper" healthcare insurance became doubtful the minute he nominated a HHS secretary who is maniacal about dismantling the outreach efforts of the ACA and Medicaid coverage.
Mr. Douthat has taken populist slogans and speeches at face value––he calls them "insights"––and then expresses surprise that they have amounted exactly nothing. Occams's razor would tell us that the populism that was smoke and mirrors, mere means for acquiring the power to do exactly what Bannon and Trump are doing: insulting and provoking Muslims, kicking out Mexicans, giving Wall Street what it wants, and handing over public institutions to wealthy interests.
128
Tax cuts have worked really well for Republicans, but good government has a cost. I don't know if people will actually connect the dots to realize what's happening, but maybe we're getting close.
The other proverbial fly in the ointment is that tax cuts and infrastructure are mutually contradictory. Unless we sell the future of our infrastructure to those who want to build and charge tolls for its use, there will be a need for new income, i.e. taxes. The time for adding to the debt is arguably past, so it's not "kind of easy" to move forward.
The other proverbial fly in the ointment is that tax cuts and infrastructure are mutually contradictory. Unless we sell the future of our infrastructure to those who want to build and charge tolls for its use, there will be a need for new income, i.e. taxes. The time for adding to the debt is arguably past, so it's not "kind of easy" to move forward.
2
"He has, to his credit, assembled a reasonably competent cabinet." Your sentence is deeply disturbing to the vast numbers of educators, including myself, who campaigned against the choice of Betsy DeVos, the most singularly unqualified, clearly nepotized Department of Education leader this country has ever seen. And since education is the bedrock of democracy, "his" choice, while it won't be seen as immediately catastrophic in nature, will be a slow burn of our bedrock over these next four years that can and very well may cause unspeakable damage to the next generation's freedoms and rights.
5
We are watching the slow motion disintegration of a seriously mentally ill man. Every day he becomes more unhinged. The pressures inherent in the job plus the widespread disgust with his behavior are pulling him apart. What person or agency can, or will, step in to address this debacle? If there is a plan, could those people please reassure us (through leaks or other means) that the whole nation will not disintegrate as well? Many of us are not sleeping well.
11
It seems unlikely that there will be a calming of the waters, a pulling back from the histrionics. The GOP's President is a drama queen, Bannon probably is, too. DJT's thinking is dominated in his experience, and that is reality TV and real-estate transactions. Jin up false drama to make everyone uneasy then sign the contract (or present the big reveal), then walk away to the next one. There is no evidence so far that he even wants to understand how interwoven are the threads of a complex country like the US. His aversion to the nasty details of policy demonstrates this. As far as the reality TV reveal, you need only look at the Gorsuch nomination announcement: pretend to the last minute that there are two candidates and then announce one on a big, nationally televised "press conference."
Bannon on the other hand, clearly wants to create an atmosphere of fear and loathing. His self-professed identification with Darth Vader and Dick Cheney testifies to that. He loves the chaos and drama because it creates distraction and dismay among his legions of adversaries. The Time cover was no candid. He wants to be seen that way. Whether he has the real skills to use the distractions to bring down the establishment as he has declared is his objective is not clear right now.
So, when given the choice between calm and pragmatic, and flashy and dramatic they have chosen, and are likely to continue to choose the latter.
Bannon on the other hand, clearly wants to create an atmosphere of fear and loathing. His self-professed identification with Darth Vader and Dick Cheney testifies to that. He loves the chaos and drama because it creates distraction and dismay among his legions of adversaries. The Time cover was no candid. He wants to be seen that way. Whether he has the real skills to use the distractions to bring down the establishment as he has declared is his objective is not clear right now.
So, when given the choice between calm and pragmatic, and flashy and dramatic they have chosen, and are likely to continue to choose the latter.
5
A few questions
Does it count as infrastructure if it is on the border?
Will those infrastructure jobs be taken by the white male Trump voters?
Is it really the American dream to work in construction?
What is the profit level for construction companies that will cause their workers to swing a shovel at the boardroom?
If we build a pipeline for the oil industry, does it really benefit us?
Does it count as infrastructure if it is on the border?
Will those infrastructure jobs be taken by the white male Trump voters?
Is it really the American dream to work in construction?
What is the profit level for construction companies that will cause their workers to swing a shovel at the boardroom?
If we build a pipeline for the oil industry, does it really benefit us?
6
President Obama was berated and insulted for policies like the auto bailout, which actually saved more than 1.5 million jobs. Some estimates are 4 million jobs. With a savings between $40 and $105 billion in net costs to taxpayers, according to analysis from the Center for Automotive Research.
And by the fall of last year, U.S. auto sales were higher in number than they were since 2001.
Mitt Romney had sneered that Obama's bailout was "Detroit's welfare."
And "crony capitalism on a grand scale.”
Marco Rubio called the bailout a "problematic approach."
Trump's opinion? ‘You could have let it go, and rebuilt itself, through the free enterprise system. You could have let it go bankrupt, frankly, and rebuilt itself, and a lot of people felt it should happen.'
As to the Carrier deal, Trump congratulated himself endlessly for permitting Carrier to outsource 1,300 jobs to Mexico in return for just 800 jobs remaining in Indiana.
And Carrier was given an incentive of $7 million, negotiated by Mike Pence, using money of Indiana tax payers.
Trump said companies will no longer be outsourcing during his presidency—but he never once mentioned the 1,300 jobs Carrier is sending to Mexico.
P.S. Trump's own garments and gadgets his companies sell worldwide are still made in Mexico.
And by the fall of last year, U.S. auto sales were higher in number than they were since 2001.
Mitt Romney had sneered that Obama's bailout was "Detroit's welfare."
And "crony capitalism on a grand scale.”
Marco Rubio called the bailout a "problematic approach."
Trump's opinion? ‘You could have let it go, and rebuilt itself, through the free enterprise system. You could have let it go bankrupt, frankly, and rebuilt itself, and a lot of people felt it should happen.'
As to the Carrier deal, Trump congratulated himself endlessly for permitting Carrier to outsource 1,300 jobs to Mexico in return for just 800 jobs remaining in Indiana.
And Carrier was given an incentive of $7 million, negotiated by Mike Pence, using money of Indiana tax payers.
Trump said companies will no longer be outsourcing during his presidency—but he never once mentioned the 1,300 jobs Carrier is sending to Mexico.
P.S. Trump's own garments and gadgets his companies sell worldwide are still made in Mexico.
8
"Of course, because the president still has free will." Free will is the basic component of decision making and it is how he arrived at his current behavior. For free will to work Trump would have to reflect on his beliefs, current behavior and be willing to change. He is obviously convinced that he is the smartest person around and no behavioral changes need to occur.
"He has, to his credit, assembled a reasonably competent cabinet. He campaigned, again to his credit, on a reasonably popular policy agenda. Would those cabinet appointees include DeVos. Perry, Carson, Price, Sessions, Pruitt, Ross, Pusder, Mnuchn, Mulvaney? All of whom have had significant ethical issues. Also, what exactly was the "policy agenda on which he campaigned?
"He faces no immediate foreign policy or economic crises, no threat that requires him to act sweepingly and instantly." That's not what Trump said. We are faced with a grave crisis from Iran and they have been "put on notice" and are " playing with fire" when they test missiles. Actually the foreign policy crises that we face are a result of Trump's basic policy " America First" and the world's reaction to it.
Bottom line - He can't change because his " free will " is responsible for his present state of arrogance, self reflection, and illiteracy.
"He has, to his credit, assembled a reasonably competent cabinet. He campaigned, again to his credit, on a reasonably popular policy agenda. Would those cabinet appointees include DeVos. Perry, Carson, Price, Sessions, Pruitt, Ross, Pusder, Mnuchn, Mulvaney? All of whom have had significant ethical issues. Also, what exactly was the "policy agenda on which he campaigned?
"He faces no immediate foreign policy or economic crises, no threat that requires him to act sweepingly and instantly." That's not what Trump said. We are faced with a grave crisis from Iran and they have been "put on notice" and are " playing with fire" when they test missiles. Actually the foreign policy crises that we face are a result of Trump's basic policy " America First" and the world's reaction to it.
Bottom line - He can't change because his " free will " is responsible for his present state of arrogance, self reflection, and illiteracy.
9
A front page story in today's NYT mentions advice received from on state legislator from another on how best to take advantage of controlling all branches of government. That advice? Move quickly. I think we are seeing a ham handed attempt by the Trump Administration to do the same. They know that a lot of their bigger moves will be unpopular, so get as much done as they can while they can. By the time the opposition if fully galvanized, their big changes will have been implemented. Good think they are so bumbling out of the gate or we would be in even more trouble.
8
I don't think anything can be done to "save" this presidency until we address what's wrong with it in the first place.
The problem is that we have a President with a serious and dangerous personality disorder.
According to the DSM-5, these are the symptoms of Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD):
1. Grandiosity with expectations of superior treatment from others
2. Fixated on fantasies of power, success, intelligence, attractiveness, etc.
3. Self-perception of being unique, superior and associated with high-status people and institutions
4. Needing constant admiration from others
5. Sense of entitlement to special treatment and to obedience from others
6. Exploitative of others to achieve personal gain
7. Unwilling to empathize with others' feelings, wishes, or needs
8. Intensely envious of others and the belief that others are equally envious of them
9. Pompous and arrogant demeanor
Trump is the extreme embodiment of each of these characteristics. I have never seen anyone who exemplifies these symptoms as much as he does. He is off the charts here.
The man needs help. He needs serious psychiatric treatment. For the sake of himself, his family, our nation, and the world.
The problem is that we have a President with a serious and dangerous personality disorder.
According to the DSM-5, these are the symptoms of Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD):
1. Grandiosity with expectations of superior treatment from others
2. Fixated on fantasies of power, success, intelligence, attractiveness, etc.
3. Self-perception of being unique, superior and associated with high-status people and institutions
4. Needing constant admiration from others
5. Sense of entitlement to special treatment and to obedience from others
6. Exploitative of others to achieve personal gain
7. Unwilling to empathize with others' feelings, wishes, or needs
8. Intensely envious of others and the belief that others are equally envious of them
9. Pompous and arrogant demeanor
Trump is the extreme embodiment of each of these characteristics. I have never seen anyone who exemplifies these symptoms as much as he does. He is off the charts here.
The man needs help. He needs serious psychiatric treatment. For the sake of himself, his family, our nation, and the world.
29
Wrong premise, Ross. You're still trying to apply traditional political behaviors--like policy development--to anarchists. To establish coherent policy that a free society can understand and support, a leader must respect truth and base actions on observable facts. Trump does neither, lying with impunity and twisting facts until they are unrecognizable. The bigger question is whether the presidency, itself, can be saved before this abominable administration is inevitably flushed.
19
Unless & until this so-called administration shows any sign that clean air, water preservation from industrial abuse even registers on the agenda instead of dismantling safeguards that prevent polluters from destroying the landscape for a bit of easy profit at the expense of everyone & everything else forever, there is absolutely nothing to salvage about this so-called presidency.
Trumpism must be dissented, denied & blocked at every possible pass. He must be far less than a one-term president. He needs to go.
Trumpism is by definition dangerous.
Trumpism must be dissented, denied & blocked at every possible pass. He must be far less than a one-term president. He needs to go.
Trumpism is by definition dangerous.
17
I think Ross Douthat is a victim of his educated self in this case: There is nothing more to expect from President Trump than what we have experienced during the last three weeks. The author still seems to believe that there is some alternate version of the President available somewhere - and it is not and there is proof for that: The President did exactly what he promised during the campaign and that nobody but the most devote fans of him would have believed to be more than just a populist's array of slogans. Wrong - it was exactly what he meant. Any wishful thinking that there might be a sudden change is ill advised - because the pace of fundamental changes that the Trump administration is trying to push through is very high and will cause irreparable damage to the country, the society and - we shouldn't forget that - our environment. Take the President at face value and stop fantasizing about better times to come - because that means handing the "keys" to an authoritarian regime to President Trump. We should know that - it happened before.
17
You should have asked that question in December when it was obvious that Trump was ignoring the normal preparations that a President elect makes for holding office.
Trump only understands governing as a series of 140 character proclamations. He is incapable of understanding the bigger questions, indifferent to the long range consequences of his decisions. To Trump being the President is simply a checklist of campaign promises and his internal popularity polls. He signed the immigration ban, check that promise off the list. He has met with a few CEOs and announced some new jobs being created. With the exception of Carrier, never mind the plans were already in the works before he was elected, check off that promise.
Add to your misery the fact that Bannon wants to "blow up" the established GOP and replace it with the a American equivalent of the Sturmabteilung. If the Democrats can drive a wedge between Bannon, Trump and the GOP in Congress the Trump administration is destined to be a failed, one term affair.
Trump only understands governing as a series of 140 character proclamations. He is incapable of understanding the bigger questions, indifferent to the long range consequences of his decisions. To Trump being the President is simply a checklist of campaign promises and his internal popularity polls. He signed the immigration ban, check that promise off the list. He has met with a few CEOs and announced some new jobs being created. With the exception of Carrier, never mind the plans were already in the works before he was elected, check off that promise.
Add to your misery the fact that Bannon wants to "blow up" the established GOP and replace it with the a American equivalent of the Sturmabteilung. If the Democrats can drive a wedge between Bannon, Trump and the GOP in Congress the Trump administration is destined to be a failed, one term affair.
17
Re the locating of some offices of the Pentagon: "The Pentagon made similar arrangements with past presidents, including for the Chicago home of President Barack Obama. The difference in this case, which was reported by CNN on Tuesday night, is that the Defense Department could be funneling government money directly to Mr. Trump’s commercial interests."
This Presidency cannot be saved. Mr. Trump's main aim in life has always been to make money and, of course, to duck taxes, to renege on deals (while keeping the cash), and to fight off creditors and lawsuits. By becoming President, he can do all of that in a spectacular way.
Conflict of interest? Why, of course not.
Face it, Mr. Douthat. Your President is a crook.
This Presidency cannot be saved. Mr. Trump's main aim in life has always been to make money and, of course, to duck taxes, to renege on deals (while keeping the cash), and to fight off creditors and lawsuits. By becoming President, he can do all of that in a spectacular way.
Conflict of interest? Why, of course not.
Face it, Mr. Douthat. Your President is a crook.
39
You can hope Mr Douthat. Trump and his henchmen are a broken machine. They can do a lot of damage with it. Bannon and Miller's mythical ideas and Trumps blindness to his own flaws could destroy the USA as we have known it. They might leave a fascist husk with a leader who is able to rule over the people in the USA with an iron fist but have little or no soft-power influence in the world. Only the hard power that comes with dogma and rigidity reinforced by our massive military advantage.
Republicans need to find their inner adult and have it show some courage in the face of the political debacle that they are heading into.
Trump's failure or success will have the same result. The USA will be reduced. Reduced to what? That is the gamble we are all involved with at the moment.
Republicans need to find their inner adult and have it show some courage in the face of the political debacle that they are heading into.
Trump's failure or success will have the same result. The USA will be reduced. Reduced to what? That is the gamble we are all involved with at the moment.
14
I could not believe my eyes when I read "He has, to his credit, assembled a reasonably competent cabinet." Followed by the stupefying statements that Trump faces no immediate foreign policy or economic crises. Mr. Douthat may actually believe such science fiction (two words Trump and his cabinet will no doubt enjoy seeing side-by-side), but Trump has, and will continue, to expose himself as a charlatan. Once the emperor has been disrobed (and he's in his underwear now), we all will see and feel the wrath of an unhinged megalomaniac.
50
"He has, to his credit, assembled a reasonably competent cabinet." As has been discussed in this newspaper and elsewhere, Trump's cabinet is filled with people guaranteed to bring down their own departments. Yes, he faces no political or economic crisis - except for those of his own making. The chaos and destruction has just begun, and until racist fascists Bannon and Miller are removed, things can only get much, much worse. Miller is already learning to go through the proper channels, now ensuring that his incompetence no longer thwarts those diabolical intentions.
39
This is not a presidency. This is a takeover by one man's out-of-control ego which controls him not the other way around.
This country is being held hostage by Donald Trump's malignant ego and narcissism, which is followed by his ignorance and incompetence. It is also looking more and more like Russia does have "goods" on Trump, the irony of which cannot be understated, considering Trump supporters' chant of "Lock her up", expressing deep concern that her personal email sever "could have been hacked!" and exploited by bad hombres, like Vladimir Putin. Apparently James Comey was informed about the likelihood of the infamous dossier being legitimate, before the election, and yet he stayed quiet about a real threat like that but inexplicably pulled his HRC email nonsense two weeks before the election. Something is up, and it isn't good. That election is badly tainted.
Bring Obama back for the next nine months, and let's have another vote between Trump and Clinton in November 2017 and fix this mess. Is there any doubt who would win? None whatsoever.
This country is being held hostage by Donald Trump's malignant ego and narcissism, which is followed by his ignorance and incompetence. It is also looking more and more like Russia does have "goods" on Trump, the irony of which cannot be understated, considering Trump supporters' chant of "Lock her up", expressing deep concern that her personal email sever "could have been hacked!" and exploited by bad hombres, like Vladimir Putin. Apparently James Comey was informed about the likelihood of the infamous dossier being legitimate, before the election, and yet he stayed quiet about a real threat like that but inexplicably pulled his HRC email nonsense two weeks before the election. Something is up, and it isn't good. That election is badly tainted.
Bring Obama back for the next nine months, and let's have another vote between Trump and Clinton in November 2017 and fix this mess. Is there any doubt who would win? None whatsoever.
40
No .
The moment that this administration won a clear minority of the vote, it was destined to failure. It is trying to govern as if it has a clear mandate, and that is the major problem. The person at the top is trying to build consensus at all. He has in a short three weeks alienated a whole host of people. countries and groups.
It is only a matter of time, that it all caves in on itself from the graft.
The moment that this administration won a clear minority of the vote, it was destined to failure. It is trying to govern as if it has a clear mandate, and that is the major problem. The person at the top is trying to build consensus at all. He has in a short three weeks alienated a whole host of people. countries and groups.
It is only a matter of time, that it all caves in on itself from the graft.
39
I was with you until the line where you said "he assembled a reasonably competent cabinet". Are you kidding? Other than Mad Dog Mattis they are all unqualified for their positions. Someone who stepped inside a public school for the first time in her life the other day is in charge of the public education system. Someone who has always displayed a very racist attitude will be deciding who can vote and who we will prosecute. Someone who is a brilliant surgeon will be running Hud, simply because he lived as a poor person in his youth. Our new health secretary has been trying to dismantle our healthcare system (including Medicare and Medicaid) for years. Treasury will be a man who has admittedly cheated on his taxes and forgot the 100 million he has stashed offshore. In charge of Energy, he put in a man who a few years ago wanted to abolish that department, but couldnt recall its name. Our labor secretary cheats minimum wage earners at his fast-food places. The most ironic one is to head the EPA, which he has sued a few times and will dismantle any hope of clean air and water regulations so we can drill, baby, drill everywhere. So no this presidency cannot be saved. The only question seems to be: can this country survive his presidency?
182
Can the humor, parody, marches, Satie, protests save us from Trump's Hitlerizing of America. It didn't save Germany.
9
Mr. Douthat and too many others still hopeful on the right still don't get it. Trump is incapable of doing any of the things Douthat hopes for. Douthat should re-read the New Yorker interview last July with Tony Schwartz, the ghostwriter of the Art of the Deal. It is chilling in that every thing that Schwartz states about Trump has now shown to be true, and Schwartz believes Trump to be a literal existential threat to us all.
Moreover, Trump's few rational cabinet members mean nothing with Bannon whispering in his ear. Bannon has in the past stated his desire to blow up the system. His recent citation of little known Italian philosopher, Julius Evola, should also set alarm bells off, as Evola was a Nazi-affiliated Fascist.
Douthat and company are like frogs in a pot of water starting to boil; they won't realize the danger until it is too late.
Moreover, Trump's few rational cabinet members mean nothing with Bannon whispering in his ear. Bannon has in the past stated his desire to blow up the system. His recent citation of little known Italian philosopher, Julius Evola, should also set alarm bells off, as Evola was a Nazi-affiliated Fascist.
Douthat and company are like frogs in a pot of water starting to boil; they won't realize the danger until it is too late.
119
We need the system blown up and rebuilt.
America was going down the toilet with Obama and only a visionary with a hammer - Trump - could start the change our country's millions of working class citizens demanded.
America was going down the toilet with Obama and only a visionary with a hammer - Trump - could start the change our country's millions of working class citizens demanded.
"He has, to his credit, assembled a reasonably competent cabinet."
Um, Ross, Rick Perry is the Secretary of Energy. Need I say more? Contrary to your thesis, Trump's cabinet will prove to be a debilitating drag on his efforts, I predict, should he ever wish to pursue an agenda that is halfway rational. Almost without fail they appear to have been chosen with spite and with pique, not on an assessment of competence. In calmer waters, should these ever be upon us, Trump may well come to regret this.
Um, Ross, Rick Perry is the Secretary of Energy. Need I say more? Contrary to your thesis, Trump's cabinet will prove to be a debilitating drag on his efforts, I predict, should he ever wish to pursue an agenda that is halfway rational. Almost without fail they appear to have been chosen with spite and with pique, not on an assessment of competence. In calmer waters, should these ever be upon us, Trump may well come to regret this.
20
Trump isn't the leader of the GOP. He's the leader of a movement. And no one realizes this more than the old boys club of the Repub party. Once Trump passes tax reform, guts regulations, destroys the EPA, the old boys will get all high and mighty and impeach him. Then Pres Pence can get to work on social issues. God bless America.
20
That is an excellent plan.
Ross outlines a very reasonable, and likely successful, scenario for Trump's administration, if he were to follow the advice.
The problem - Trump is intellectually challenged and intellectually lazy. The President still needs to navigate and lead. Trump is simply not smart enough to do that, and all his so-called business acumen does him no good as POTUS.
That leaves Bannon, who is less interested in Trump's policy promises than he is in rewriting the history of Western civilization.
Too bad. The policies are sound and would be good for the economy, businesses, and citizens.
The priorities are...... well, there are no priorities for Trump, beyond waking up and sending his first inane tweet.
The problem - Trump is intellectually challenged and intellectually lazy. The President still needs to navigate and lead. Trump is simply not smart enough to do that, and all his so-called business acumen does him no good as POTUS.
That leaves Bannon, who is less interested in Trump's policy promises than he is in rewriting the history of Western civilization.
Too bad. The policies are sound and would be good for the economy, businesses, and citizens.
The priorities are...... well, there are no priorities for Trump, beyond waking up and sending his first inane tweet.
6
We want a big infrastructure bill. A middle-class tax cut. Corporate tax reform.
This isn’t complicated. In fact, it’s kind of easy.
More spending. Less revenue. More debt.
Try something simple and boring for a while.
This isn’t complicated. In fact, it’s kind of easy.
More spending. Less revenue. More debt.
Try something simple and boring for a while.
7
There is one overriding fear that eclipses everything else. He is mentally and temperamentally unfit to deal with a crisis. He is taunting North Korea. He is so obsessive about every perceived failure or minor slight that he cannot concentrate on his security briefings (assuming he's going) or anything else that involves the massive responsibility of his office. He is a clear and present danger to this country and the planet. I hope to God there is a smoking gun in this Russia business. ANYONE else would pose less of a threat to our very survival than Donald Trump
27
I thought it would take Trump at least 3 months, not 3 weeks, to reveal his complete ineptitude. But given Trump's impatience over everything, maybe 3 weeks is about right for all to see this man for the phony huckster he has always been. Alan Dershowitz pointed out that Trump is facing the dilemma of whether to double down on his Muslim ban as not to admit error or replace that hastily cobbled together executive order with one that would pass judicial muster. If Trump truly wants to protect the nation from another attack, he would have to swallow hard, admit the initial ban order was a fiasco, and start fresh. But, alas, we're talking about Donald the infallible here.
13
I am in favor of getting more money in the private sector. Tax cuts do that, but in a very inefficient manner.
First of all, they have to be for those who need money and will spend it, and not to for those who do not need the money and will use most of it for financial speculation. Trump's plan does just the opposite.
Then think about this. Suppose we cut poor Joe's taxes $1,000. That gets $1,000 into the private sector because Joe will spend it, and it will go to help producing jobs for others. But suppose we pay Joe, $1,000 to cut the White House lawn. We still get the $1,000 into the economy, but we ALSO get the lawn cut.
That is why federal spending is always a better way to get money into the private sector than tax cuts.
First of all, they have to be for those who need money and will spend it, and not to for those who do not need the money and will use most of it for financial speculation. Trump's plan does just the opposite.
Then think about this. Suppose we cut poor Joe's taxes $1,000. That gets $1,000 into the private sector because Joe will spend it, and it will go to help producing jobs for others. But suppose we pay Joe, $1,000 to cut the White House lawn. We still get the $1,000 into the economy, but we ALSO get the lawn cut.
That is why federal spending is always a better way to get money into the private sector than tax cuts.
24
Best way to get $ into the private sector is taxing the 1% and corporations who have taken that $ out of circulation. Tax cuts otherwise will equal service cuts, not infrastructure improvements.
1
Massive infrastructure projects means massive spending. You know that, as all of us do. But that - along with massive tax cuts - also means deficits and accretion of the national debt.
Will the deficit scolds and debt hawks in Congress go along with that merely because of a different occupant in the White House? Is that all that's needed to do a 180 degree turn in favor of much-needed infrastructure spending?
If so, the hypocrisy is breathtaking!
I favor infrastructure spending and believe it be a potential boost to the economy as well as highly desirable for the good of the country, but with someone named "Obama" in the White House the idea of it was "urinating to windward" in the face of GOP obstruction merely for the sake of obstruction to a president who had the "wrong" ideas, and yes... was the "wrong" color.
But now the "wrong ideas" are suddenly "right"?
As I said, the hypocrisy is breathtaking.
Will the deficit scolds and debt hawks in Congress go along with that merely because of a different occupant in the White House? Is that all that's needed to do a 180 degree turn in favor of much-needed infrastructure spending?
If so, the hypocrisy is breathtaking!
I favor infrastructure spending and believe it be a potential boost to the economy as well as highly desirable for the good of the country, but with someone named "Obama" in the White House the idea of it was "urinating to windward" in the face of GOP obstruction merely for the sake of obstruction to a president who had the "wrong" ideas, and yes... was the "wrong" color.
But now the "wrong ideas" are suddenly "right"?
As I said, the hypocrisy is breathtaking.
32
Douthat's column is a monolog delivered to himself, a reverie, a lazy afternoon fantasy. Time to wake up!
A solid case can be made available evidence (as several psychiatrists have already done) that Trump has a severe reading disability, probably a form of dyslexia, and is somewhere on the autistic spectrum. Oh, and I forgot to mention he is an over-the-top clinical case study of narcissism. And he is 70 years old.
"This isn’t complicated. In fact, it’s kind of easy." Actually, it isn't complicated, it is utterly impossible for a man with Trump's array of psychological disabilities.
None of that points to change. Trump will continue to ride the horse that got him to the rodeo: hate-mongering, paranoia-baiting, grandstanding, petty belligerence, and the endless evasions of reality.
It is we who will be left to clean up the mess, just as we did after GW.
A solid case can be made available evidence (as several psychiatrists have already done) that Trump has a severe reading disability, probably a form of dyslexia, and is somewhere on the autistic spectrum. Oh, and I forgot to mention he is an over-the-top clinical case study of narcissism. And he is 70 years old.
"This isn’t complicated. In fact, it’s kind of easy." Actually, it isn't complicated, it is utterly impossible for a man with Trump's array of psychological disabilities.
None of that points to change. Trump will continue to ride the horse that got him to the rodeo: hate-mongering, paranoia-baiting, grandstanding, petty belligerence, and the endless evasions of reality.
It is we who will be left to clean up the mess, just as we did after GW.
40
The common theme is one of denial - "He might do some good for the country", "Republicans will draw a line in the sand", "People were afraid of what Reagan might do", etc.
No. Trump's legislation by "Executive Order" throws due process into the dustbin. Though his leaked draft legalizing discrimination (under the guise of "freedom of religion") is clearly unconstitutional, leaving it unchallenged does nothing less than set the stage for a coup. He is following the playbook of Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, and other time-dishonored despots by rote - chipping away at civil rights until one day American constitutional democracy is gone for good. That day will come, unless Americans move quickly and aggressively to stop him now.
Coups are always unexpected, aren't they?
No. Trump's legislation by "Executive Order" throws due process into the dustbin. Though his leaked draft legalizing discrimination (under the guise of "freedom of religion") is clearly unconstitutional, leaving it unchallenged does nothing less than set the stage for a coup. He is following the playbook of Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, and other time-dishonored despots by rote - chipping away at civil rights until one day American constitutional democracy is gone for good. That day will come, unless Americans move quickly and aggressively to stop him now.
Coups are always unexpected, aren't they?
39
"A vote for Trump is... a vote for a man who stands well outside the norms of American presidential politics, who has displayed a naked contempt for republican institutions and constitutional constraints, who deliberately injects noxious conspiracy theories into political conversation, who has tiptoed closer to the incitement of political violence than any major politician in my lifetime, whose admiration for authoritarian rulers is longstanding, who has endorsed war crimes and indulged racists and so on down a list that would exhaust this column’s word count if I continued to compile it."
Ross Douthat, 11/3/16.
Ross Douthat, 11/3/16.
63
No, the presidency cannot be saved and the Trump administration seems to be clueless or afraid to stand up to Mr. Trump.
The question however is whether the Democratic Party, 4 years from now will offer a viable alternative. They seem to be light years away from such at the moment.
Failure at governing does not always mean failure at spin or at campaigning or at getting re-elected.
The question however is whether the Democratic Party, 4 years from now will offer a viable alternative. They seem to be light years away from such at the moment.
Failure at governing does not always mean failure at spin or at campaigning or at getting re-elected.
25
I've got to be honest -- I think you have it dead wrong. You're expecting Trump to act like a real president and a real politician, and care about making real progress. But I don't think he cares one bit. The policies he wants to put in place are anti-immigration (and, I fear, soon enough will be simply pro-white), law and order (i.e., oppressive police), and aggressive commerce with a clear favoritism for those established rich people he already knows (regardless of the clearly foreseeable adverse impacts on our international relations, national budget, and growing wealth-gap). I think he simply plans to plow these measures them down our throats, reap the benefits along with his friends, and then repeatedly assert that any claim that his policies are not working are "fake news" and more "politics" from the "whiny" Democrats who "don't understand this nation" and the "very, very dishonest media." I also think, in time, he'll simply begin silencing the most vocal critics by blackmail and force. This is fascism. We need to stop expecting this to work like democracy, and face this now before it's too late to do anything about it.
93
"Theft" might be a pithier description, but yes-what you said.
Jimmy Carter is not the poster boy for Trumpian incompetence and a molehill is not a mountain. We've never seen this much stupidity this fast out of a president, while Douthat tries advising the (totally) depraved.
Jimmy Carter is a beloved figure in the United States and around the world; Donald Trump destroys everything he touches. There's nothing conservative about pillaging the entire landscape, and no reasoning with vandals like Bannon, who just like blowing stuff up. Douthat has nothing useful to offer here.
Jimmy Carter is a beloved figure in the United States and around the world; Donald Trump destroys everything he touches. There's nothing conservative about pillaging the entire landscape, and no reasoning with vandals like Bannon, who just like blowing stuff up. Douthat has nothing useful to offer here.
101
What a terrific way to change hearts and minds - to call people (like me) totally depraved.
You've got a great future ahead of you, young man.
You've got a great future ahead of you, young man.
I was never a Jimmy Carter fan. Not by a long shot. Nor, for that matter, of George W. Bush. But, in a heartbeat, I'd take back either of them.
1
If Trump really wanted to create jobs, he would be pushing corporate tax reform hard. Rationalized corporate tax structure would boost the stock market which would encourage investment which would create jobs.
But he's not talking about corporate taxation any more. Why?
But he's not talking about corporate taxation any more. Why?
13
Because he has to build that stinkin wall for billions of dollars. The tax cuts are Ryan's and McConnell's baby. Coming in August with dramatic changes to Social Security and Medicare. It will be a Blitzkrieg bill to rival Hitler's invasion of Czechoslovakia so opposition can't be raised to stop it. Don't worry you will get your tax cuts but at what cost?
6
One of the many myths propagated by conservatives is that our corporate taxes are high compared to other countries. It is true that our nominal rate of 35% is high, but because of loopholes, this figure is meaningless.
A good parameter to look at is total corporate taxes actually paid to the Treasury divided by GDP because neither of these figures can be fudged by corporations. If you look at developed countries, you will see that Norway has the highest value at 12.5%. The US is tied with Turkey for the lowest at 1.8%. If you look at all the countries touted by conservatives as low tax countries such as Ireland or Canada, you will see that their corporate taxes as a percentage of GDP are higher. http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/are-taxes-in-the-u-s-high-o...
In addition, during the Great Prosperity, 1946 - 1973, this figure was about 3 times higher than today
It seems to me that if our real corporate taxes were in line with the rest of the world or maybe even higher than the average, corporations would think twice about leaving piles of cash lying around and would reinvest them to avoid paying tax.
A good parameter to look at is total corporate taxes actually paid to the Treasury divided by GDP because neither of these figures can be fudged by corporations. If you look at developed countries, you will see that Norway has the highest value at 12.5%. The US is tied with Turkey for the lowest at 1.8%. If you look at all the countries touted by conservatives as low tax countries such as Ireland or Canada, you will see that their corporate taxes as a percentage of GDP are higher. http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/are-taxes-in-the-u-s-high-o...
In addition, during the Great Prosperity, 1946 - 1973, this figure was about 3 times higher than today
It seems to me that if our real corporate taxes were in line with the rest of the world or maybe even higher than the average, corporations would think twice about leaving piles of cash lying around and would reinvest them to avoid paying tax.
7
Those of us who are not corporations (I was one once, before I retired) really don't give a damn about corporate taxes, so long as they are collected.
1
Our 45th President is telling us by his actions what he thinks is important: keep immigrants out, discriminate against Muslims, do away with such inconveniences to big business as the future of the planet (climate change) and regulation against greed (banks and Wall Street), try to do away with checks and balances on his power. He seems to be having a great time sowing fear and hatred. He and his administration continue their love affair with Russia.
I haven't gotten the idea much else actually matters to our current president.
I haven't gotten the idea much else actually matters to our current president.
71
Kathy, you can add "promote his family's businesses" to the list of what Trump thinks is important.
Ross, this is a smart (and "sagacious," someone else said) column. The problem, from my liberal point of view, is that it participates in the "normalizing" tendency that is all too common in the news business and the commentariat. As if free will was a concept and a characteristic that either Donald Trump or Steve Bannon could comprehend. The illusion of untrammelled power seems so much more real. And there are forces in our history and our present culture that support that illusion. But our Constitution and the institutions of governance and the judiciary do not allow for untrammelled power.
38
For some reason when I hear or read the word "normalizing" my brain stops processing the rest of the sentence. Is every thought about Trump to begin with the phrase, he's not normal. Please, lets do away with the word "normalizing" for a while. It's not instructive. It only serves as a call to arms for those who have already accepted all your arguments.
Why is it that Presidential powers are only considered "untrammeled" when a member of an opposite party is in charge? Other than that it is "wisdom of the president."
Mr. Douthat carefully avoided the many minefields that Trump feels compelled to step in. Priorities seem to include destruction of the environment by eliminating all regulation and trying to kill the fast growing, job creating renewables industry. Enriching his family in every possible endeavor. Creating panic for those who are in the US legally as well as those who are working hard often without legal residence. Unleashing forces of hatred toward anyone who is not a conservative heterosexual white Christian. Appointing the least competent cabinet with highlights like Betsy DeVos.
Sorry- I don't see anything salvagable about this fast moving catastrophe.
Sorry- I don't see anything salvagable about this fast moving catastrophe.
122
"Unleashing forces of hated against anyone who is not white conservative Christian." How exactly does the shoe feel now that it is on the other foot? This is the way we have been treated for 8 years. You have only been the victim less than a month. You have a long way to go.
You missed the crux of the matter Mr. Douthat, Trump has no empathy. There is no "there, there." At the core of his being is a black hole, that consumes all the oxygen in a self perpetuating, mirror filled, vacuous, echo chamber.
Mitt Romney assessed this fact many, many, many months ago in March, 2016 when he stated: "Here's what I know. Donald Trump is a phony, a fraud. His promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University. He's playing the American public for suckers: He gets a free ride to the White House and all we get is a lousy hat. "
Mitt Romney assessed this fact many, many, many months ago in March, 2016 when he stated: "Here's what I know. Donald Trump is a phony, a fraud. His promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University. He's playing the American public for suckers: He gets a free ride to the White House and all we get is a lousy hat. "
65
Mr. Douthat, one thing you advocate as a possible focus for the administration is "tax cuts for workers and parents". But when did the Republicans ever push tax cuts that weren't primarily targeted toward the very wealthy? And to the extent that Trump talked about his tax proposals during the campaign it seemed like more of the same, with the very wealthy benefiting enormously while some middle class taxpayers would actually wind up paying more. The growing gap between the 1% and everyone else is already destabilizing our society and we should not be making it worse. One rallying cry of the resistance to Trump should be "NO MORE TAX CUTS FOR MILLIONAIRES!" BTW, I join with others who are finding your claim that Trump has assembled a reasonably competent cabinet to be an absurdity.
66
Why do corporations need more tax cuts? Do they not avail themselves of the same services as every private citizen? Don't they need paved roads, well run infrastructure, fire fighters, law enforcement, security, a competent and well trained workforce? In order to have these service, taxes need to be paid. After all, do these corporations not take taxes out of their employees's paycheck? Does that mean that their employees are in fact paying the taxes for them? Please! I do not want to here anymore about corporations not paying taxes, they successful, they should contribute to the institutions that are instrumental to their success.
9
As his capital is squandered, Trump is losing the chance to get the kind of big infrastructure bill that might be his surest way of consolidating and expanding popularity. As it stands, GOP resistance may harden and Democrats, increasingly burned by his other battles, may be unwilling to support anything that is not publicly financed by taxation. Jobs offer working class and middle class folks much more than tax cuts. And, tax cuts plus big spending will be a recipe for financial or economic crises in a year or two.
2
I think you left something important out - the will of 52 Republican Senators and 241 relatively disparate Republican Congressmen and woman. I think they may have some say as to what will be pursued or not. Very soon Trump will be informed that he wasn't elected king and that he cannot rule by proclamations.
Republicans didn't work all these years to be derailed by a self-aggrandizing fool. Tax cuts will be designed to benefit the rich; and, corporate tax reform will result in bigger tax breaks. Unless Republicans move to single payer, their biggest challenge in repealing and replacing Obamacare will be mitigating the fallout from millions of premature deaths. Not my president Trump will have little say or play when dealing with congress.
If you believe as I do that Trump is a megalomaniac then these are Trump's guiding principle's:
Delusional belief of superiority
Delusions of greatness
Delusions about one's own power
Delusions about one's own importance
Trump has limited abilities, and since he lacks discipline, he is unteachable. He has failed multiple times and were he not an accomplished grifter, he would have been out of business permanently years ago. At best he's a person without a soul; at worst he is a sociopath.
He is incapable of figuring out stuff - hard or easy because every waking moment he is consumed with his persona which is bigger than life in his little world.
Republicans didn't work all these years to be derailed by a self-aggrandizing fool. Tax cuts will be designed to benefit the rich; and, corporate tax reform will result in bigger tax breaks. Unless Republicans move to single payer, their biggest challenge in repealing and replacing Obamacare will be mitigating the fallout from millions of premature deaths. Not my president Trump will have little say or play when dealing with congress.
If you believe as I do that Trump is a megalomaniac then these are Trump's guiding principle's:
Delusional belief of superiority
Delusions of greatness
Delusions about one's own power
Delusions about one's own importance
Trump has limited abilities, and since he lacks discipline, he is unteachable. He has failed multiple times and were he not an accomplished grifter, he would have been out of business permanently years ago. At best he's a person without a soul; at worst he is a sociopath.
He is incapable of figuring out stuff - hard or easy because every waking moment he is consumed with his persona which is bigger than life in his little world.
14
I see no plan for this presidency. There were a series of campaign sound bites that resonated with the yahoos: bring back coal, kick out the brown people, destroy the LGBTQ community, There is nothing comprehensive about these disparate right-wing volleys. The only logic in President Trump's actions are the protection of his monumental ego. The Trump presidency needs to get a core philosophy. But there appears to be no "core" there at all.
4
No, Ross, the Trump presidency cannot be saved. It is far too incompetent, unethical and corrupt. I am amazed that you could actually state that "He has, to his credit, assembled a reasonably competent cabinet." Except for Mattis, his cabinet choices are the most uniquely unqualified people selected in modern history to lead government departments. Indeed, too many of them should have been disqualified from consideration on the basis of their documented ethical lapses alone.
19
To say Trump's presidency "is in danger of very swiftly Carterized" is to show a breathtaking blindness to the fundamental and fundamentally different characters of both men. Carter might have been lacking in the social skills and extraversion that seem to promote success in the office, but as his subsequent career has confirmed he is a profoundly decent, responsible, and thoughtful human being. Trump isn't fit to shine his shoes.
40
I disagree that Trump is in possession of a free will and to say his Cabinet and/or advisors are relatively competent is at odds with what we know about these people; Kushner as a diplomat? Perry at Energy ? Carson at HUD ? DeVos at Education? I'll stop short of saying that Trump's wavering back and forth on issues that effect millions of people at home and abroad have been influenced by some anonymous butterfly flapping its wings in Brazil or what he read in his tea leaves, but Trump has shown time and time again that he lacks conviction on some pretty major issues that he campaigned on (thank goodness) and as for those he seems to be going full steam ahead on, has met up with great resistance and rightfully so(thank goodness). Regardless, he is too easily influenced, in some ways manipulated, by what he watches on TV. Trump isn't interested in saving his Presidency or making America great again for that matter; he is interested in one thing and one thing only, monetizing his new found power to his family's and friend's benefit.
8
"Reasonably competent cabinet" is a new delusional theme from the once rational right.
So awful has Trump's administration been (Bannon, Kushner & Trump activate a Yemen raid over dinner, grossly inept executive order, twittering away any momentum for substantive programs) that Douthat & Brooks use a new relativism to find DeVos, Carson, Perry, Price, Sessions and Pudzer good enough.
I think they mean 'not grossly delusional.'
Yes- a rational GOP could propose realistic tax reform, infrastructure investment and genuine financial regulation. An expanded Medicare would be a way to gradually fix Obamacare.
But Ryan's domestic vision is to privatize Social Security, pour medicare back into the for profit sector via vouchers and bring back trickle down Hayek dreck.
An authentic leader with real convictions to serve the US economy would not squander his attention on Nordstroms, crowd size and imagined voter fraud. Bluster is not a good way to sustain stature.
Now North Korea is adding a distraction: missile launch.
Can Bannon reconfigure his rant (Cheney/Rove/Svengali) and pivot back to reality ?
So awful has Trump's administration been (Bannon, Kushner & Trump activate a Yemen raid over dinner, grossly inept executive order, twittering away any momentum for substantive programs) that Douthat & Brooks use a new relativism to find DeVos, Carson, Perry, Price, Sessions and Pudzer good enough.
I think they mean 'not grossly delusional.'
Yes- a rational GOP could propose realistic tax reform, infrastructure investment and genuine financial regulation. An expanded Medicare would be a way to gradually fix Obamacare.
But Ryan's domestic vision is to privatize Social Security, pour medicare back into the for profit sector via vouchers and bring back trickle down Hayek dreck.
An authentic leader with real convictions to serve the US economy would not squander his attention on Nordstroms, crowd size and imagined voter fraud. Bluster is not a good way to sustain stature.
Now North Korea is adding a distraction: missile launch.
Can Bannon reconfigure his rant (Cheney/Rove/Svengali) and pivot back to reality ?
15
A good analysis of what a "rational" GOP could deliver but remember, their agenda is controlled by Ryan, like was outlined. Why Republicans want to eliminate the safety net and actually harm many of American's citizens with their policies on retirement, health care, and workplace safety and wages, I can't answer. Aren't businesses making enough profit? The stock market (shareholder value) has nearly tripled in the last 8 years. The dividends are too low for the investors? What is so horrible about regulations protecting the environment and the millions of employees of these business enterprises? Trump and the Republicans will never answer this question specifically. They will just continue the mantra of
Regulations bad, tax cuts for the 1% good, government bad, private businesses good. etc. etc.
Regulations bad, tax cuts for the 1% good, government bad, private businesses good. etc. etc.
4
Dear Mr. Douthat,
I pretty much agree with everything you wrote, right up to the line, "is a different scenario possible?"
Everything after that, sorry, was complete fantasy. There is no possibility of Trump contemplating the situation carefully and calming down, staying out of experienced peoples' way, tuning out Bannon, and steadying the ship of state. He isn't like that, he's never been like that, and he's too old to change that dramatically.
It would indeed still be easy, for most people, to drop the notion of radical change, huge walls, drastic shifts in foreign policy, and so on, and focus on jobs, tax cuts, and infrastructure projects. I'm sure nearly all of the people commenting here could take this mess, convert it to steady progress for most Americans, and go on to get re-elected in 2020.
But it's impossible for Trump, the man cannot handle careful contemplation, and he will keep acting like an ignorant lout until he's forced out.
I pretty much agree with everything you wrote, right up to the line, "is a different scenario possible?"
Everything after that, sorry, was complete fantasy. There is no possibility of Trump contemplating the situation carefully and calming down, staying out of experienced peoples' way, tuning out Bannon, and steadying the ship of state. He isn't like that, he's never been like that, and he's too old to change that dramatically.
It would indeed still be easy, for most people, to drop the notion of radical change, huge walls, drastic shifts in foreign policy, and so on, and focus on jobs, tax cuts, and infrastructure projects. I'm sure nearly all of the people commenting here could take this mess, convert it to steady progress for most Americans, and go on to get re-elected in 2020.
But it's impossible for Trump, the man cannot handle careful contemplation, and he will keep acting like an ignorant lout until he's forced out.
9
As you wrote, it is not easy for President Trump to realize his campaign promises especially in the security area. But he can tackle the important policies that Obama administration could not realize at all in the area. Trump’s administration should consider an effective measure to stop the development of nuclear weapons by North Korea. It is the big threat not only for the neighboring countries in Asia but also for the U.S. If economic sanctions have not been effective, it is the time for the U.S. to step up to the next stage.
Two thoughts on this Douthat offering: "Not precisely" is a truly lame description of the lack of policy content of Trump's interference with Carrier. As for the main question, can this presidency be saved: better to debate how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. Trump and his handlers view America as a collection of activities connected loosely if at all, activities to be tended for family fortunes and votes. Thus Trump has gathered around him in the White House and cabinet a collection of bigots, war-mongers, and billionaires together with sundry operatives who have no sense of America or our national virtues. Flynn and Russia; Conway and Nordstrom; Bannon and chaos; Price and healthcare; Devos and education...
12
It seems to be gradually coming into focus that the White House is just another acquisition for Trump. A deal consummated. A shinier bauble to go with his collection. The grind of considered thinking, the heavy lift of patient, reasoned, strategic leadership, the minutiae of governing, carrying through a real vision is well outside his plutocratic lane. So where does it all end? If the first 23 days of the Trump Administration are any indication, his presidency will either unravel organically or implode in some type of litigation. The country will most likely survive its 45th president, hopefully not too greatly wounded, but we'll be left with a big decision. Will the country continued to tolerate its underbelly of hate and hypocrisy, or will we finally accept that E Pluribus Unum really means something. It shouldn't be a choice, because if we don't genuinely embrace the concept of "out of many, one," we'll never experience the true greatness America is capable of achieving.
10
Both Trump and Clinton ran on improving the standard of living for the middle class. He beat the rest of the Republicsn field by not asking people to put the needs of the job creators before their own. He was able to beat Hillary with what is typically a Democratic message by combining it with white ethno nationalism. Now that he is in power he is realiIzing that it's a lot easier to be a racist pig than to revive the rust belt. Ask Andrew Cuomo who has tried valiantly for the past 6 years to jump start the NYS upstate economy. So Trump, as is his wont, follows the path of least resistance, demagoguery. Also, he mostly listens to Bannon whose vision for our national security is bound up with very racist ideology.
Also, the Carrier moment was premised on a lie. It was a trick that he was able to pull off because Pence was still governor of Indiana. It was no greater victory than what politicians do every day to prevent companies from leaving town. It was a gimmick, not a policy. The kind of gimmick that conservatives like you usually hate.
Also, the Carrier moment was premised on a lie. It was a trick that he was able to pull off because Pence was still governor of Indiana. It was no greater victory than what politicians do every day to prevent companies from leaving town. It was a gimmick, not a policy. The kind of gimmick that conservatives like you usually hate.
20
There is no choice but seek all avenues for damage control and make the intent of people work. The democratic intent of middle America, which voted him to power is sacred, and requires deeper interpretation. The persona of the President may not correlate directly to those voices. Since the choice was binary, all that can be inferred is that his platform better reflected the changes those who voted him have sought. President himself alluded to this matter in his speech while introducing his choice for Supreme Court. It is necessary that democracy as a system fathoms those aspirations and fulfill them; and enable Presidential office as a platform to deliver those outcome.
The institution of Presidency can accommodate the frailties and idiosyncrasies of the individual. The unique persona and his stances, in a way offer a unique opportunity to reconsider everything in a most fundamental way. Germane in those increased array of options, are perhaps real solutions which were not brought to fore earlier. It makes room for sharper turns in policies, when required to do so.
On One China policy, Prez Trump has demonstrated that on serious, A-category issues, he is willing to listen to wise counsel. It is quite likely that as serious, contentious matters come to fore, the misguided alt-right voices shall be rendered inconsequential. When that happens, the process of mainstreaming Presidency could begin.
The institution of Presidency can accommodate the frailties and idiosyncrasies of the individual. The unique persona and his stances, in a way offer a unique opportunity to reconsider everything in a most fundamental way. Germane in those increased array of options, are perhaps real solutions which were not brought to fore earlier. It makes room for sharper turns in policies, when required to do so.
On One China policy, Prez Trump has demonstrated that on serious, A-category issues, he is willing to listen to wise counsel. It is quite likely that as serious, contentious matters come to fore, the misguided alt-right voices shall be rendered inconsequential. When that happens, the process of mainstreaming Presidency could begin.
1
Written by a person who obviously has never read Hillary's platform.
1
Ross, the answer to your inquiry of possibly saving this presidency is self evident. If the fatal flaws of a seriously challenged intellect, moral and ethical bankruptcy, malignant narcissism and rampant sociopathy make for an effective American president then I suppose he will shine and serve as the messianic savior to his sycophantic asylum dwellers. For the rest of us, it is a study in bewilderment if not stupefaction, cosmic forbearance, mindful forgiveness and soon to be massive civil disobedience.
19
This Presidency cannot be saved:
Trump is a Trotskyist-Capitalist. No, that is not a misnomer when one considers the results. Trotsky's theory of Permanent Revolution created a self-perpetuating Kleptocracy that took 74 years to implode, while U.S. Extreme Capitalism (whether under Republicans or Democrats) has created a massive wealth Gap that has left 60 % of Americans without even $ 100 of savings while the top 1 % enjoy average annual incomes of $ 2.5 million.
‘America First’ is going to raise import costs dramatically, invite global retaliation and precipitate a recession that will harm working class Americans who, unlike the Europeans and Japanese, have zero savings to fall back on. The 1 % will circle like vultures, waiting to swoop on the stock market and triple their assets as in 2009. The ‘smart money’ is already heading for the exits.
Trump is the Trotskyist-Capitalist pig Napoleon in Animal Farm, claiming to represent the poor but in the end helping only himself and the other pigs gorging at the trough of the U.S. economy. Even his refugee Executive Order omitted those nations where he has substantial business interests.
The working and middle classes who voted for Trump will eventually turn on him. I wouldn’t wish him the fate that befell Trotsky. No ice axe. Simply “You’re fired”.
Trump is a Trotskyist-Capitalist. No, that is not a misnomer when one considers the results. Trotsky's theory of Permanent Revolution created a self-perpetuating Kleptocracy that took 74 years to implode, while U.S. Extreme Capitalism (whether under Republicans or Democrats) has created a massive wealth Gap that has left 60 % of Americans without even $ 100 of savings while the top 1 % enjoy average annual incomes of $ 2.5 million.
‘America First’ is going to raise import costs dramatically, invite global retaliation and precipitate a recession that will harm working class Americans who, unlike the Europeans and Japanese, have zero savings to fall back on. The 1 % will circle like vultures, waiting to swoop on the stock market and triple their assets as in 2009. The ‘smart money’ is already heading for the exits.
Trump is the Trotskyist-Capitalist pig Napoleon in Animal Farm, claiming to represent the poor but in the end helping only himself and the other pigs gorging at the trough of the U.S. economy. Even his refugee Executive Order omitted those nations where he has substantial business interests.
The working and middle classes who voted for Trump will eventually turn on him. I wouldn’t wish him the fate that befell Trotsky. No ice axe. Simply “You’re fired”.
37
RD, you suggest that Il Donald might turn around the slow-mo capsizing burning garbage-barge of the past 6 weeks, if only he suddenly starts to rationally understand his untenable position, and how politics work, and the nuances of policy negotiation in DC; and so begins to operate in a savvy and experienced politician. This would be, in fact, kind of easy.
To be sure! It would be. It would be a snap, for a person who is not profoundly mentally ill, not an out of control sociopathic narcissist, who is even remotely capable of tolerating criticism without mindlessly lashing out like a child; who has even the shallowest grasp of any of the topics at hand--international relations, macroeconomics, geography, US constitutional law, the separation of powers, the role of the branches of government, the separation of public service from self-enrichment, the nature of the first amendment. In short: If it were a normal politician--even the most loathsome politician--with political skills, experience, sensibilities, goals. Rather than a megamaniacal fraud and con man who lied his way into the White House on the basis of his background as a reality show host, and thinks he's still in the middle of one more reality show.
Bu the IS none of these, and so is fundamentally, qualitatively different He can never be expected to start acting normally, like an actual politician. No matter how easy that would be for a normal pol, Il Donald's patent mental illness makes change impossible for him.
To be sure! It would be. It would be a snap, for a person who is not profoundly mentally ill, not an out of control sociopathic narcissist, who is even remotely capable of tolerating criticism without mindlessly lashing out like a child; who has even the shallowest grasp of any of the topics at hand--international relations, macroeconomics, geography, US constitutional law, the separation of powers, the role of the branches of government, the separation of public service from self-enrichment, the nature of the first amendment. In short: If it were a normal politician--even the most loathsome politician--with political skills, experience, sensibilities, goals. Rather than a megamaniacal fraud and con man who lied his way into the White House on the basis of his background as a reality show host, and thinks he's still in the middle of one more reality show.
Bu the IS none of these, and so is fundamentally, qualitatively different He can never be expected to start acting normally, like an actual politician. No matter how easy that would be for a normal pol, Il Donald's patent mental illness makes change impossible for him.
33
Ross Douthat continues the apology tour for Donald J. Trump. There is nothing "to his credit," when he ran a campaign that was singular in its lewdness and ugliness; singular in its contempt for truth and actual facts; singular in its appeal to the lowest common denominator in all of us, not just his supporters. Douthat should not compare this Presidency to Carter's - which, for some of its failures, produced a peace accord between Israel and Egypt that will stand for the ages and put human rights on the map as a moral benchmark for conducting foreign policy (and his job producing numbers may surprise you). This so-called Presidency stands alone in its ludicrousness, its creation of the term "alternative facts," and the danger that a crisis could spiral this Administration - and our country - completely out of control because there appears to be no consistency to this so-called President's behavior or judgment. We were 8 months into the Bush, Jr. Administration before we starkly and finally realized we had a person with far less than good judgment at the controls. We are barely three weeks into this debacle and already we can see where we're heading. The cowardly Republicans who are using him only to push through legislation that a majority of Americans reject will have plenty to regret once this disaster is done. We've got to stop ANY attempts to legitimize what is going on here and call it for what it is: the most ludicrous and dangerous Presidency in American history.
84
A brilliant assessment of the tragic situation in which we find ourselves.
The Presidency as an institution is on its last leg for one reason, none of them in the last 60 years has trusted the people to decide policy based on taxing its citizens. The build up of the Cold War, the Vietnam War, the Great Society, the expansion of the government in monetary policy exacerbated the commercial real estate market, speculation in the housing market, home equity loans, variable rate loans, ignorant and destructive foreign policy blunders that last more than 16 years which cost trillions of dollars proved that those who were voted in were not necessarily the best and brightest, as we have no functioning and financially viable health care system in America, but sent jobs overseas as the companies could no pay for all of the healthcare costs of union members, but until its citizens figure out that unless we do government in a fiscally responsible way, we will no longer have any government that we as taxpayers can afford or even pay for, so no need for a President!
5
Ah, yes it's all the fault of the union members' health care benefits. Very nice and simple. Thank you.
2
Can the Trump presidency be saved? In my opinion, the answer is an emphatic "No!". The man has too many flaws, fears, and insecurities to be dependable and clear-minded...And, did I mention that he's also a pathological liar as well?
He never should have run for the presidency because clearly he lacks the intelligence, vision, and emotional and intellectual stability so very necessary during these difficult times. He is far too consumed with his own issues and vulnerabilities to see "reality" clearly. Instead he responds to various perceived slights in ways that can endanger not only the viability of his presidency, but the security of the nation that he was elected to "preserve, protect, and defend"...It seems that the only thing that he's interested in preserving, protecting, and defending is his ego...And, sadly, he's vindictive in very toxic and destructive ways.
He's been in office for less than a month and the general consensus seems to be that the country, in electing Donald J. Trump, made a HUGE mistake. And his cabinet choices only add to the misery that a majority of us are currently feeling.
These next four years will be among the worst that I will have ever had to endure...and I've been living on this rock for over six decades. I just hope that he doesn't do too much damage to our democracy and to our reputation around the world.
At this point, all I can say is thank God for "Saturday Night Live". The political humor that they bring is restorative.
He never should have run for the presidency because clearly he lacks the intelligence, vision, and emotional and intellectual stability so very necessary during these difficult times. He is far too consumed with his own issues and vulnerabilities to see "reality" clearly. Instead he responds to various perceived slights in ways that can endanger not only the viability of his presidency, but the security of the nation that he was elected to "preserve, protect, and defend"...It seems that the only thing that he's interested in preserving, protecting, and defending is his ego...And, sadly, he's vindictive in very toxic and destructive ways.
He's been in office for less than a month and the general consensus seems to be that the country, in electing Donald J. Trump, made a HUGE mistake. And his cabinet choices only add to the misery that a majority of us are currently feeling.
These next four years will be among the worst that I will have ever had to endure...and I've been living on this rock for over six decades. I just hope that he doesn't do too much damage to our democracy and to our reputation around the world.
At this point, all I can say is thank God for "Saturday Night Live". The political humor that they bring is restorative.
73
Trump ran on appearances and image, not on realistic, pragmatic policies. Almost everything he said during his campaign was factually incorrect or contradictory to begin with, so that it cannot serve as a basis for real governing. There is no viable replacement for Obamacare. There is no way to let Mexico pay for a wall, and the wall would not meaningfully address immigration anyway. You cannot both cut taxes and increase federal spending at a time when the federal debt is at a historical high. None of that is doable or sensible or solves real, existing, complex problems. Trump is not competent in any of the policy fields he promised to address, and his chief adviser is driven by ideology more than pragmatism. The Republicans are deeply fractured and will have a hard time agreeing on specific policies. Is anybody amazed that the real existing problems are not being addressed in a systematic fashion? Who in the government could tackle them? On the basis of which program? My bet is that we will see a paralyzed G.O.P and a continuation of mock policies by the president.
321
Federal debt is not at a historical high in any meaningful sense. First of all, to compare the debt over time you have to account for changes in the size of the economy. A million dollars meant a lot more in 1917 or 1817 than it does today. Then a good part of what people count as the debt is simply accounting fictions--what one part of the government owes to another part.
If you look at the federal debt owed outside the government as a percentage of GDP, it is about 75%. It was almost 50% larger (109%) than that in 1946. And BTW that was followed by 27 years of Great Prosperity.
If you look at the federal debt owed outside the government as a percentage of GDP, it is about 75%. It was almost 50% larger (109%) than that in 1946. And BTW that was followed by 27 years of Great Prosperity.
2
This is only about infrastructure seen in a context provided by Trump's efforts to make work for those who lay pipelines and guarantee that climate change continues unabated.
My two children wrote from New England during the middle of my Swedish night that our New England is about to be buried in snow. My son writes that his private generator is ready to run when the power lines fall.
Every time I return there from here - Linköping, Sweden - I am struck by the incredible tangle of wires in the sky in contrast with here where even out into the farmland around the center hardly a wire is to be seen. The tangle where my daughter lives is most incredible of all since it appears that efforts were made to maximize the density of tall trees embracing the lines.
Where are those Swedish wires? Safely underground. When I lived in Rochester NY and earlier in New England, wires fell and we had no home generators. Here in 20 years I have never experienced failure.
I will admit that perhaps thanks to global warming winter seems to have disappeared here - written partly tongue in cheek since I am familiar with the science. And in closing I note that in recent comments perhaps rejected I observed that pipeline layers are fully employed here maintaining the networks that feed hot water from high-tech incinerators to warm most buildings in our cities.
Only-neverInSweden.blogspot.com
Dual citizen US SE
Submitted 05:27 GMT
My two children wrote from New England during the middle of my Swedish night that our New England is about to be buried in snow. My son writes that his private generator is ready to run when the power lines fall.
Every time I return there from here - Linköping, Sweden - I am struck by the incredible tangle of wires in the sky in contrast with here where even out into the farmland around the center hardly a wire is to be seen. The tangle where my daughter lives is most incredible of all since it appears that efforts were made to maximize the density of tall trees embracing the lines.
Where are those Swedish wires? Safely underground. When I lived in Rochester NY and earlier in New England, wires fell and we had no home generators. Here in 20 years I have never experienced failure.
I will admit that perhaps thanks to global warming winter seems to have disappeared here - written partly tongue in cheek since I am familiar with the science. And in closing I note that in recent comments perhaps rejected I observed that pipeline layers are fully employed here maintaining the networks that feed hot water from high-tech incinerators to warm most buildings in our cities.
Only-neverInSweden.blogspot.com
Dual citizen US SE
Submitted 05:27 GMT
14
Nice letter. However: I lived for a time on a street where there were no "wires" up on poles. Of course it looked pretty. Don't forget, though, that all that beautiful underground placement makes for fine esthetics but the pipes or conduits or whatever will still have to be dug up at great expense and with great difficulty in 20 years (actually, sooner). I live near Boston and yes, we do have lots of snow here, but I didn't have a power failure and my "wires" didn't fall down and I don't need a generator as a backup. Too bad for your son.
On the one hand, this is one of the most cogent summaries of Trump-so-far that I have read. It seems clear that Trump is quickly becoming too "unpopular, ineffectual and fractious" for actual governing, even with a GOP congress. Mr. Douthat does sort of put to the side Trump's burgeoning authoritarianism, but perhaps that is where it belongs. I mean, assuming Trump and Bannon do NOT actually destroy the very foundations of our democracy, many of their early actions (i.e. travel ban) seem super dumb from the perspective of policy and wise use of political capital.
But on the other hand, this piece reads like a re-tread of everything we heard from (previously) reasonable Republicans during the campaign: Just wait for some magical DIFFERENT version of Trump to show up, and then we'll all see how great it all will be.
NEWS FLASH: There is no other Trump and there never will be.
And anyway, Donald Trump occupies the most important, most powerful position in our nation. We shouldn't have to depend on a rotating collection of advisors (that no one voted for) to perhaps steer the Trump crazy train at least a bit more smoothly for perhaps a short amount of time.
The absolute, hands-down, craziest part about this entire awful situation is the way that the GOP is STILL standing by their man, even in the face of the administration's daily lies, unprecedented corruption, and absolutely shocking incompetence. (You too, Mr. Douthat.)
Can this presidency be saved? No.
But on the other hand, this piece reads like a re-tread of everything we heard from (previously) reasonable Republicans during the campaign: Just wait for some magical DIFFERENT version of Trump to show up, and then we'll all see how great it all will be.
NEWS FLASH: There is no other Trump and there never will be.
And anyway, Donald Trump occupies the most important, most powerful position in our nation. We shouldn't have to depend on a rotating collection of advisors (that no one voted for) to perhaps steer the Trump crazy train at least a bit more smoothly for perhaps a short amount of time.
The absolute, hands-down, craziest part about this entire awful situation is the way that the GOP is STILL standing by their man, even in the face of the administration's daily lies, unprecedented corruption, and absolutely shocking incompetence. (You too, Mr. Douthat.)
Can this presidency be saved? No.
21
Trump won on the basis of policy ideas? nonsense - he had no policy ideas - just insults and vicious attacks on enemies
21
This column trades in an "alternative" reality. To accomplish the kind of agenda that RD thinks Trump ran on would require skillful, persistent engagement by a President who understood the legislative environment and was willing to engage in the small bore deal-making that is part of the legislative process to get something major passed. Whatever Trump's willingness to focus on the details of real estate development as a younger man, those days have passed. He's 70 years old! He has no experience or honed instincts about Washington to fall back on. He's now mostly a salesman who sold himself very effectively, indeed using the classic salesman's move of using his weak point (no Washington or other government experience) as his selling point. Moreover, the overlap between the purported "Trump agenda" and the interests of the Ryan/McConnell Congressional Republicans is practically nothing. "Infrastructure" did not figure in any prior Ryan budget and won't be added now. That's why you see Trump doing some "foreign policy" and immigration things -- it's where his power is greatest.
7
Yea, until you focus on something simple.......and turn it into a crisis. which we are seeing almost daily......
3
For the sake of our Republic, we'd better hope this Presidency can't be saved.
Tax cuts, of course! It will blow a hole in the budget, but when a Republican is President, deficits don't matter--"Dick" Cheney said it, so it must be true!
What's a "working class" tax cut? Cuts to Social Security and Medicare contributions, because working class people don't make enough these days to pay income taxes. Cuts to SS and Medicare taxes will of course make those programs insolvent, and working class people will have to work until they drop dead.
Bannon's undercooked ideas about national security--or call them what they really are--exploiting and promoting xenophobia for authoritarian control--are no more inept and malicious than what mainstream Republicans want--to destroy the social safety net and create a banana republic with a huge military, a handful of wealthy people, and a whole lot of suffering for everyone else.
Tax cuts, of course! It will blow a hole in the budget, but when a Republican is President, deficits don't matter--"Dick" Cheney said it, so it must be true!
What's a "working class" tax cut? Cuts to Social Security and Medicare contributions, because working class people don't make enough these days to pay income taxes. Cuts to SS and Medicare taxes will of course make those programs insolvent, and working class people will have to work until they drop dead.
Bannon's undercooked ideas about national security--or call them what they really are--exploiting and promoting xenophobia for authoritarian control--are no more inept and malicious than what mainstream Republicans want--to destroy the social safety net and create a banana republic with a huge military, a handful of wealthy people, and a whole lot of suffering for everyone else.
8
Ross, a favor: please don't jump on the Trump train. You seem like one of the few conservatives mostly not blinded by the Trump light. You seem to have integrity. Don't disappoint by starting to shovel Trump bile our way, like so many GOPers have suddenly started to do.
5
It is not a presidency. It is an attempt at establishing one party rule, and an attempt to make one strongman the single unquestioned authority. It is reaching for totalitarianism.
Looking at the tenets of democracy:
- free press and unrestricted flow of information; alt-facts and propaganda threaten this; Lies from Trump simply destroy the power of information
- free and fair elections; obviously the Russian taint, the gerrymandering, and the voting restrictions threaten this
- separation of powers among the three branches; The dictatorial executive has trumped the legislative and attempts to derogate the judiciary
- civilian control of the military; It appears certain members interior to the Trump Regime would love to control the police and military
If the citizens do not recognize the threats there is no 'saving of the presidency'; it will obliterated. Welcome to totalitarianism ala 1984.
Looking at the tenets of democracy:
- free press and unrestricted flow of information; alt-facts and propaganda threaten this; Lies from Trump simply destroy the power of information
- free and fair elections; obviously the Russian taint, the gerrymandering, and the voting restrictions threaten this
- separation of powers among the three branches; The dictatorial executive has trumped the legislative and attempts to derogate the judiciary
- civilian control of the military; It appears certain members interior to the Trump Regime would love to control the police and military
If the citizens do not recognize the threats there is no 'saving of the presidency'; it will obliterated. Welcome to totalitarianism ala 1984.
12
"...right now his presidency is in danger of being very swiftly Carterized — ending up so unpopular, ineffectual and fractious that even with Congress controlled by its own party, it can’t get anything of substance done...
Surely you jest, Ross...
You don't think tax cut and infrastructure bills - with sizable Democrat Congressional support - are on the way...
As far as Obamacare - the Republicans have awakened to the fact that they don't have to lift a finger to unravel it...
The insurance companies are going to do it for them...
As far as (how you'd likely see) fixing this - read your own column...
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/24/opinion/sunday/varieties-of-religious...
Surely you jest, Ross...
You don't think tax cut and infrastructure bills - with sizable Democrat Congressional support - are on the way...
As far as Obamacare - the Republicans have awakened to the fact that they don't have to lift a finger to unravel it...
The insurance companies are going to do it for them...
As far as (how you'd likely see) fixing this - read your own column...
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/24/opinion/sunday/varieties-of-religious...
2
Trump still has the winning issues. If Mrs. Clinton had thought of them, she would have won every vote. Trump is an ameteur politician with no experience. But he whipped her. It wasn't his personality.
4
"This isn't complicated. In fact it's kind of easy."
Reasons One and Two why they will not happen under Trump and Bannon. There is no excitement in uncomplicated and simple/easy. These two jokers are all about fireworks and flash, dissension and disruption. Trump was a draft evader and Bannon's navy service spanned a few boring years of uneventful peacetime. Now the two of them are bellicose belligerents itching to expand war, not prevent it.
It's easy, they want conflict and combat. That's where the excitement and glory is. Pouring concrete is boring.
Reasons One and Two why they will not happen under Trump and Bannon. There is no excitement in uncomplicated and simple/easy. These two jokers are all about fireworks and flash, dissension and disruption. Trump was a draft evader and Bannon's navy service spanned a few boring years of uneventful peacetime. Now the two of them are bellicose belligerents itching to expand war, not prevent it.
It's easy, they want conflict and combat. That's where the excitement and glory is. Pouring concrete is boring.
2
I'm not sure that picking people who either have no understanding of the agency that they will manage or just hold it in flat out contempt counts as putting together a competent cabinet. Trump has no experience with government and his first few weeks have demonstrated that he has no desire to learn.
We've been at war for the past two decades. No responsible government cuts taxes during wartime. I'm not advocating for the 90% tax rate that existed on top earners during WWII but seriously, trickle down economics during wartime is fiscally irresponsible.
Funny you should mention Carter. The Democrats lost 3 presidential elections after Carter's unpopular presidency. The Republicans should pay attention to that history and actually get on with the job of governing.
Our infrastructure needs to be brought into the 21st century. A major infrastructure bill that both repairs and modernizes our country would go a long way to create new jobs. Rather than bribing companies to keep a few jobs in the country how about partnering with major companies, local communities, and colleges to create apprenticeship programs that will create long-term jobs.
Trump is who he is. But the Republican party has total control and if they focus on social issues instead of doing things that are productive they will be defined by Trump and his cronies going forward. Republicans no longer have anyone to blame for being unproductive and we are watching.
We've been at war for the past two decades. No responsible government cuts taxes during wartime. I'm not advocating for the 90% tax rate that existed on top earners during WWII but seriously, trickle down economics during wartime is fiscally irresponsible.
Funny you should mention Carter. The Democrats lost 3 presidential elections after Carter's unpopular presidency. The Republicans should pay attention to that history and actually get on with the job of governing.
Our infrastructure needs to be brought into the 21st century. A major infrastructure bill that both repairs and modernizes our country would go a long way to create new jobs. Rather than bribing companies to keep a few jobs in the country how about partnering with major companies, local communities, and colleges to create apprenticeship programs that will create long-term jobs.
Trump is who he is. But the Republican party has total control and if they focus on social issues instead of doing things that are productive they will be defined by Trump and his cronies going forward. Republicans no longer have anyone to blame for being unproductive and we are watching.
251
Congress also holds the purse strings, so they should be defining the details of an infrastructure package based on priorities, not optics and pork barrel. For one, The Wall needs to be nixed, defer it if need be to appease Mr T, We need new bridges, modern train systems, school buildings and moderate housing. Congress, through the power of the purse can steer the programs.
Saved from what or from whom? From itself, perhaps -- doubtful. This Presidency is a proof of a deep schism in the psyche of the nation and it forebodes many Unamerican demagogic and dictatorial twists ahead. There will always be loopholes in the Constitution to circumvent the liberties, just as the absence of three words in the 2nd Amendment -- EVERYWHERE AND ALWAYS [the right to bear arms] -- has enabled the States and municipalities to restrict this individual right.
Considering that Trump is taking much of his advice from a 31-year-old political neophyte (Stephen Miller, who also wrote some of his speeches), it's no wonder that his very short presidency at this point has already been blunder-heavy. The tone of his leadership reeks of immaturity, and while many of criticized him as a 70-year-old toddler, it's quite telling that he is drawing on people with little experience - both Miller and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, for direction. There are many knowledgeable and experienced Republicans with insight and understanding who could provide guidance, including the type of advice that could avert the conflicts of interest rife in his administration, but Trump chooses not to take it - with dire consequences. These three weeks have shown us all we need to know. This Trump is the same self-centered blatherpuss who bulldozed everyone else out of his way. Now, amid the wreckage, he is unable to lead competently.
295
But he's working on an infrastructure bill. There's The Wall.
3
In general, this was a fair-minded critical look at the Trump administration and I thank Ross for that. But at risk of nitpicking, it's important that the record be kept straight. Ross writes regarding the Carrier case, that "it featured Trump following through on his most basic campaign promise: the pledge, delivered in rallies across the country’s stagnant reaches, that he would focus on good-paying jobs for people both parties seemed to have forgotten." Both parties had forgotten? I don't think Obama forgot it when he took courageous and widely-denounced efforts to help keep the auto industry afloat, and with it well over one million jobs. (http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2012/sep/06/did-obama-sa... ). By contrast, the Carrier action didn't even reach the level of noise in our economy; while good for a handful of workers, it was put on for show, with almost no substance. If Trump ever pulls off a heroic feat like just that one (of many!) Obama actions, then I will praise him. Until then, no more about how he cares for the jobs that the other parties have seem to forgotten, Ross.
9
You lost me when you used the term Carterized.
Your arrogance demonstrated by the fact you were born just after Saint Ronnie was elected is appalling.
Many of us, your readers lived through those times as adults, and sadly we are witnessing even more trying times.
"A reasonably competent cabinet, a reasonably popular agenda."
As you continue "he faces no immediate foreigh, or economic crises."
Help us when he must act sweepingly, and instantly.
I can only imagine his reactions to real issues when his worry is more about selling his daughters trinkets, booking hotel rooms, and tee offs.
Your arrogance demonstrated by the fact you were born just after Saint Ronnie was elected is appalling.
Many of us, your readers lived through those times as adults, and sadly we are witnessing even more trying times.
"A reasonably competent cabinet, a reasonably popular agenda."
As you continue "he faces no immediate foreigh, or economic crises."
Help us when he must act sweepingly, and instantly.
I can only imagine his reactions to real issues when his worry is more about selling his daughters trinkets, booking hotel rooms, and tee offs.
19
This would make great sense, Ross, except for one minor difficulty: Trump is deranged and unfit for office. There is no working around that.
33
Trump will soon smooth off his rough edges and learn himself into the mould of a brilliant, probably great, president of the U.S.A. all the more quickly because of the blast of unlove and abuse drenching him gleefully and with a paranoia pf irresponsibility from all those almost accidentally in a position to have a public voice on him and other valiants putting their faith in these voices.
The man who singlehandedly wrested the Presidency of the U.S. from the combined complacency of the status quoers who considered it in the bag by right will soon adjust the folly of his over zealous Israel bias and and his brash and perverse statements about Iran, these two acts a harbinger and examples of him settling into his role from business leader to political leader and of things to follow. He will settle in very quickly.
It should be reminded that not every heaving mouth is against him; at least half the people of the USA, relatively silent, are behind him and, on evidence, more than half the people of Europe.
There is something sad about what seems to be going on.
(Funnily enough, I see a parallel here with Mohammed Ali and how he was treated with vilification and abuse as the young Cassius Clay.)
The man who singlehandedly wrested the Presidency of the U.S. from the combined complacency of the status quoers who considered it in the bag by right will soon adjust the folly of his over zealous Israel bias and and his brash and perverse statements about Iran, these two acts a harbinger and examples of him settling into his role from business leader to political leader and of things to follow. He will settle in very quickly.
It should be reminded that not every heaving mouth is against him; at least half the people of the USA, relatively silent, are behind him and, on evidence, more than half the people of Europe.
There is something sad about what seems to be going on.
(Funnily enough, I see a parallel here with Mohammed Ali and how he was treated with vilification and abuse as the young Cassius Clay.)
This is like a couples counseling column: can this marriage be saved? Considering the record of the so-called president, I'd guess no. And, I'd be singing Tammy Wynette: D-I-V-O-R-C-E.
5
What is it you don't get? He is not going to change because he can't change. This is how he has been operating all of his life and he thrives on it. It is what makes him get up in the morning and begin Tweeting....this person has a serious personality disorder. A minority in this country voted for him and by God, they got him.
13
"This isn’t complicated. In fact, it’s kind of easy."
Not really Ross. Spending for infrastructure...off the Ryan table. Tax cuts...only for the .1%. Bridges and tunnels....uh, does Chris Christie ring bell? Replace, repeal, offer better healthcare for less money covering more people? .......6 years running and the dog just got mashed in the face by the bumper.
All these things are against Tea Party and Republican dogma. These politicians on the right are not sober or serious. They are simply interested in dismantling all government and reducing taxes to zero, except for wars (which the all-recruited army has to fight).
Not really Ross. Spending for infrastructure...off the Ryan table. Tax cuts...only for the .1%. Bridges and tunnels....uh, does Chris Christie ring bell? Replace, repeal, offer better healthcare for less money covering more people? .......6 years running and the dog just got mashed in the face by the bumper.
All these things are against Tea Party and Republican dogma. These politicians on the right are not sober or serious. They are simply interested in dismantling all government and reducing taxes to zero, except for wars (which the all-recruited army has to fight).
17
Trump and his master Bannon seem to be preparing for the inevitable terrorist attack to declare an American Kristallnacht. They will save themselves by dismissing this untidy democratic system.
9
Saved? It really depends on what you consider ‘saving’, given what we know about Trump’s values.
To paraphrase Disraeli, for this president to fail would be a tragedy. For him to succeed, would be a catastrophe!
To paraphrase Disraeli, for this president to fail would be a tragedy. For him to succeed, would be a catastrophe!
11
A better question may be, "Is this president relevant?" Trump is so focused on grabbing headlines for himself that he isn't setting a strategic agenda. He's trying to use executive orders to check off all his campaign promises in the first 30 days. But he's too focused on irrelevant image issues: the size of the crowd, his daughter's business at Nordstrom, you name it. And his blustery manner is turning many people against him, including many foreign leaders. Six months from now, Trump could just be a guy signing bills championed by his cabinet and the Republican congress. People will stop paying attention to him if he keeps up the stream of lies, tweets, and outrageous claims.
4
We are not headed for a constitutional crisis. We are about to be witness to an event that occurs as infrequently as the passing of a comet or a solar eclipse - a constitutional test of our strength as a democracy.
Trump imagines himself as a latter-day monarch, ordering his royal court to enforce ludicrous decrees.
And while Caesar is enjoying his revels, the senators are plotting and scheming to invoke their own agenda.
Waste no time in railing against Mad King Donald. Focus your attention and frustration instead on the House of Representatives and the Senate, where the real erosion of the Republic is occurring. The brazen attempt to gut the ethics office was a warning flare, so take heed.
Remind your elected representatives that they are accountable to ALL of their constituents, not just those who voted for them and their big-money donors.
Trump imagines himself as a latter-day monarch, ordering his royal court to enforce ludicrous decrees.
And while Caesar is enjoying his revels, the senators are plotting and scheming to invoke their own agenda.
Waste no time in railing against Mad King Donald. Focus your attention and frustration instead on the House of Representatives and the Senate, where the real erosion of the Republic is occurring. The brazen attempt to gut the ethics office was a warning flare, so take heed.
Remind your elected representatives that they are accountable to ALL of their constituents, not just those who voted for them and their big-money donors.
11
Unsurprising but nevertheless incredibly obtuse, as if critiquing the width of Hitler's neckties.
7
"(And you know I like theories about the crisis of the West!)"
Nice touch. And, yes, I do know.
Nice touch. And, yes, I do know.
2
Huh? the high point is a marketing press release about a 'deal' that was not what it was advertised to be, that didn't (& can't in the future) deliver results claimed for it and present a template for every corporation even marginally 'USA' to extort real cash from public coffers while delivering platitudes in return!?
Admittedly I do not view the Carrier 'deal' in quite the same way as Douthat might be desperate to do; for me it points the current president's incompetence as a negotiator on full prime time display.
Admittedly I do not view the Carrier 'deal' in quite the same way as Douthat might be desperate to do; for me it points the current president's incompetence as a negotiator on full prime time display.
8
Good Lord. As someone who voted for Jimmy Carter the first time they were eligible to vote, and has traveled to Plains to attend Sunday School and church with the former President, please, absolutely, DO NOT draw any comparison between Mr Carter and Mr Trump.
20
Douhat's: ever the apologist. He can get down and oversimplify with the best of them, namely Trump.
3
Ross's advice is like Ambien... fall into a deep slumber... wake up in the morning with an empty refrigerator and your car in the tree.
Trump cannot cut taxes for everybody, build a wall, and increase the military budget. The numbers don't add up.
And no, we don't an infrastructure program in which corporate middlemen get to help themselves to a slice of profit.
You say the government doesn't have the money? Of course not. NEITHER does the private sector! In both cases, the money is BORROWED.
If the corporate middleman borrows it, they keep the profits.
If the government borrows it, the "profits" are either added to the general fund, reducing the pressure for tax increases, or rebated to consumers in the form of lower tolls and fees. Whatever, the PEOPLE get it.
Go with "public-private" partnerships and we will be paying into their pockets for decades to come. Contracts will be written so profits go to the corps and any risks to the public.
The private sector does have a role. They can compete for contracts to build the infrastructure and to maintain it. They don't need to own it. We the People do.
Trump cannot cut taxes for everybody, build a wall, and increase the military budget. The numbers don't add up.
And no, we don't an infrastructure program in which corporate middlemen get to help themselves to a slice of profit.
You say the government doesn't have the money? Of course not. NEITHER does the private sector! In both cases, the money is BORROWED.
If the corporate middleman borrows it, they keep the profits.
If the government borrows it, the "profits" are either added to the general fund, reducing the pressure for tax increases, or rebated to consumers in the form of lower tolls and fees. Whatever, the PEOPLE get it.
Go with "public-private" partnerships and we will be paying into their pockets for decades to come. Contracts will be written so profits go to the corps and any risks to the public.
The private sector does have a role. They can compete for contracts to build the infrastructure and to maintain it. They don't need to own it. We the People do.
5
The correct term is not 'Trumpista'. It is 'Trumpalo', in accordance with the usage defining Insane Clown Posse fans: 'Juggalo'.
5
So in essence, Mr. Douthat is asking that Donald Trump act more presidential. Against the backdrop of the campaign, his transition, and his first few weeks as president, realistically, Ross, how much of a snow ball's chance in hell to you give that to happen soon - - or ever?
8
Interesting that you would start your column off with the Carrier deal as an example of a campaign promise kept.
FiveThirtyEight sort of put it in perspective: "The U.S. gained 178,000 jobs in November. But the only ones anyone seemed to be talking about last week were the roughly 1,000 jobs in Indiana that are no longer moving to Mexico."
Well, it turned out that it wasn't even quite 1,000 jobs, but a little less. http://www.wthr.com/article/usw-730-union-jobs-saved-in-carrier-deal-not...
The CEO of United Technologies which owns Carrier was a little less bullish than Trump about saving jobs: "We're going to...automate to drive the cost down so that we can continue to be competitive," he said. He then went on to say, "we will make that plant competitive just because we'll make the capital investments there. But what that ultimately means is there will be fewer jobs."
Oh, Carrier also got "incentives" to keep the 730 jobs or so in Indiana, at least until automation results in further job losses.
Facts sort of get in the way of "alternative facts."
FiveThirtyEight sort of put it in perspective: "The U.S. gained 178,000 jobs in November. But the only ones anyone seemed to be talking about last week were the roughly 1,000 jobs in Indiana that are no longer moving to Mexico."
Well, it turned out that it wasn't even quite 1,000 jobs, but a little less. http://www.wthr.com/article/usw-730-union-jobs-saved-in-carrier-deal-not...
The CEO of United Technologies which owns Carrier was a little less bullish than Trump about saving jobs: "We're going to...automate to drive the cost down so that we can continue to be competitive," he said. He then went on to say, "we will make that plant competitive just because we'll make the capital investments there. But what that ultimately means is there will be fewer jobs."
Oh, Carrier also got "incentives" to keep the 730 jobs or so in Indiana, at least until automation results in further job losses.
Facts sort of get in the way of "alternative facts."
12
NO, it can't.
I was willing to give Trump a chance but after 1 day in office my "hope" was erased by a continuation of his deranged campaign modus operandi.
His slogan "I alone can fix (everything)" is not a belief. It's a permanent genetic mutation. There is no "we" or "team" in Trump. Expect exponential increase in chaos & division from this dictatorial presidency.
Now that it's apparent to his followers that Obamacare(s) & the ACA are exactly the same thing, he will not show mercy. Just tweet how dumb those protesting at town halls are. So ironic that the Republicans branded the ACA as Obamacare & now all those Obama haters, Trump followers are apoplectic that they might lose healthcare. I feel very sorry for them. But don't count on Trump reversing his fiat to repeal, oh & replace.
Today's tweet about the refugees corroborates further that there is no hope.
Our legal system is broken! "77% of refugees allowed into U.S. since travel reprieve hail from seven suspect countries." (WT) SO DANGEROUS!
Obviously all the explanations of the extreme vetting that refugees undergo made no impression.
Finally, his denial of Rex Tillerson's request to appoint Elliott Abrams as Deputy SecState demonstrates utter disregard for his presidency. Rex selected Abrams for his experience which Rex knows he lacks. Trump denied Rex's request because Trump is holding a grudge about comments Abrams made about him.
Too many mutations need repair to save a presidency.
I was willing to give Trump a chance but after 1 day in office my "hope" was erased by a continuation of his deranged campaign modus operandi.
His slogan "I alone can fix (everything)" is not a belief. It's a permanent genetic mutation. There is no "we" or "team" in Trump. Expect exponential increase in chaos & division from this dictatorial presidency.
Now that it's apparent to his followers that Obamacare(s) & the ACA are exactly the same thing, he will not show mercy. Just tweet how dumb those protesting at town halls are. So ironic that the Republicans branded the ACA as Obamacare & now all those Obama haters, Trump followers are apoplectic that they might lose healthcare. I feel very sorry for them. But don't count on Trump reversing his fiat to repeal, oh & replace.
Today's tweet about the refugees corroborates further that there is no hope.
Our legal system is broken! "77% of refugees allowed into U.S. since travel reprieve hail from seven suspect countries." (WT) SO DANGEROUS!
Obviously all the explanations of the extreme vetting that refugees undergo made no impression.
Finally, his denial of Rex Tillerson's request to appoint Elliott Abrams as Deputy SecState demonstrates utter disregard for his presidency. Rex selected Abrams for his experience which Rex knows he lacks. Trump denied Rex's request because Trump is holding a grudge about comments Abrams made about him.
Too many mutations need repair to save a presidency.
10
Whether Mr. Douthat's advice is sound or dubious, his mode of transmission - prose in print - guarantees that Trump will never receive his message.
3
I'm actually more worried about the little guy than I am about Trump. If Social Security goes to Wall Street, Medicare and Medicaid are destroyed, Education goes to church, coal gets a reprieve and Bannon et al. start themselves a war it won't matter whether or not Trump is redeemed.
It won't matter one bit.
It won't matter one bit.
10
Despite running the most despicable presidential campaign in our history, what many voters heard is that Trump would reduce rural poverty, bring back manufacturing, and undertake a huge program of infrastructure investment. For many his message masked his fatally flawed character. His opponent was seen as a status quo candidate.
Trump's (and our) problem is he has no coherent strategy to address income inequality. His presidency is based on a combination of fear and advancing the interests of big banks and big oil.
The challenge for Progressives is to develop a forward-leaning strategy to advance the interests of our middle class. My hope is such a strategy will be based on challenging the country to apply our resources more fairly, wisely, and vigorously. Begin by reducing defense spending from 3.5% of GDP to 2.5% -- it's wasteful and robs public money from more useful investment. Incentivize public service. Insure every young person has the skills necessary for a modern economy. Transform the energy and transportation sectors. Send a group of American women to Mars, and return them safely home. Become more efficient in every aspect of living.
The early signs are that Trump's will be a failed presidency. The 2018 elections are coming, and this could be our last, best chance to address the problems that underlie our weakened middle class.
Trump's (and our) problem is he has no coherent strategy to address income inequality. His presidency is based on a combination of fear and advancing the interests of big banks and big oil.
The challenge for Progressives is to develop a forward-leaning strategy to advance the interests of our middle class. My hope is such a strategy will be based on challenging the country to apply our resources more fairly, wisely, and vigorously. Begin by reducing defense spending from 3.5% of GDP to 2.5% -- it's wasteful and robs public money from more useful investment. Incentivize public service. Insure every young person has the skills necessary for a modern economy. Transform the energy and transportation sectors. Send a group of American women to Mars, and return them safely home. Become more efficient in every aspect of living.
The early signs are that Trump's will be a failed presidency. The 2018 elections are coming, and this could be our last, best chance to address the problems that underlie our weakened middle class.
6
It hasn't been a month since the inauguration, yet we still await the commencement of Trump's presidency. 3 weeks and counting, but President Trump remains in campaign mode. Mr. Bannon thinks it's imperative that we herald a Kulturkampf in economic and foreign policy matters, deriving from anomie spawned by "liberalism". There is, however, one problem with this picture: his master is the ultimate expression of what he decries.
As I've often commented before, President Trump is the embodiment of how American society is now devoid of any sense of moral or social responsibility. In terms of cultural criticism, he is the articulation of anomie since President Reagan was inaugurated 36 years ago.
Americans elected him out of fatigue for politicians, such as Hillary Clinton represented----fair enough. On the other hand, he is also a reminder of a title of a Jean Paul Sartre book: To Freedom Condemned.
As I've often commented before, President Trump is the embodiment of how American society is now devoid of any sense of moral or social responsibility. In terms of cultural criticism, he is the articulation of anomie since President Reagan was inaugurated 36 years ago.
Americans elected him out of fatigue for politicians, such as Hillary Clinton represented----fair enough. On the other hand, he is also a reminder of a title of a Jean Paul Sartre book: To Freedom Condemned.
7
The entire premise is that Republican opposition consists of "liberals", a term used with some spite. Trump has not just angered liberals, he, and his policies, are opposed by most rational and thoughtful people. Your party has been hijacked by a bunch of loons, there is no consistent philosophy except self-aggrandizement and enrichment. Trump's presidency won't be saved, hopefully it will be endured without too much damage to our nation.
5
Douthat's opinion piece is guilty of the very thing he is charging the Trump/Bannon administration of: failure to think critically and strategically. Here's why:
The 3 items noted are all economically related. Yet, there is absolutely no analysis of the cause and effect consequences (intended and unintended) that such actions will have. Furthermore, there are no economic explanations as to what the actions will produce, other than do some economic good and make people feel good. For example, infrastructure bill - yes, but it will be stretched out over a decade and have minimal effect on the overall GDP. Middle class tax cut - dream on if you think this is going to happen without tax cuts for the wealthy and ultra wealthy, not to mention an elimination of the estate tax. What impact will that have on the deficit? What impact will that have on the dollar? Corporate tax reform - good luck with that as individual corporate deductions will be fought by those corporations impacted by their elimination.
Broad strokes are fine and well intentioned but don't kid yourself that actions not well thought out won't have consequences.
The 3 items noted are all economically related. Yet, there is absolutely no analysis of the cause and effect consequences (intended and unintended) that such actions will have. Furthermore, there are no economic explanations as to what the actions will produce, other than do some economic good and make people feel good. For example, infrastructure bill - yes, but it will be stretched out over a decade and have minimal effect on the overall GDP. Middle class tax cut - dream on if you think this is going to happen without tax cuts for the wealthy and ultra wealthy, not to mention an elimination of the estate tax. What impact will that have on the deficit? What impact will that have on the dollar? Corporate tax reform - good luck with that as individual corporate deductions will be fought by those corporations impacted by their elimination.
Broad strokes are fine and well intentioned but don't kid yourself that actions not well thought out won't have consequences.
2
Good for you for trying to play catch-up, Mr. Douthat.
4
The policies you outline here would for all intents and purposes make him a Democratic President. In what universe does Congress let thos happen?
3
I doubt even giants like Betsy DeVos, Ben Carson, and Rick Perry could save this erratic and dysfunctional president.
11
It is difficult to fix a broken Presidency that was broken even before Trump took office.
But Trump is missing something EVERY President within memory has had: A real, fact-based plan. Sometimes key facts were missing or ignored, but the plans of each were quite consistent. Trump doesn't actually have a plan despite what his loud and enthusiastic supporters say. It's just a bunch of shallow assertions and cliches that hang together, and all revolve around the worship of ...Trump.
To expect Donald Trump to completely reverse his whole personality, which is what Douthat says he needs to do (and I agree) is simply unrealistic. Unrealistic? Impossible! We've got a better shot at rolling back time, convincing Hillary voters to get out and vote in Wisconsin, Michigan and PA, then rolling it forward again, than getting The Donald to act like a sane, sensible decent human.
But Trump is missing something EVERY President within memory has had: A real, fact-based plan. Sometimes key facts were missing or ignored, but the plans of each were quite consistent. Trump doesn't actually have a plan despite what his loud and enthusiastic supporters say. It's just a bunch of shallow assertions and cliches that hang together, and all revolve around the worship of ...Trump.
To expect Donald Trump to completely reverse his whole personality, which is what Douthat says he needs to do (and I agree) is simply unrealistic. Unrealistic? Impossible! We've got a better shot at rolling back time, convincing Hillary voters to get out and vote in Wisconsin, Michigan and PA, then rolling it forward again, than getting The Donald to act like a sane, sensible decent human.
9
Sorry, Ross, but easoning with an irrational man, and Donald Trump is a deeply troubled, unstable narcissist, never works. The chaos that is the Trump Oligarchy (aka Administration) is rooted in the chaos of Donald Trump's fragile, but super-sized, ego that spends too much energy lashing out at critics like the "so-called judge" to Nordstrom's department stores. Such a man will never delegate to any of his subordinates, but want to control every action himself to ensure that he, and only he, gets the credit and adulation he desperately seeks. So, President Trump is flailing and failing in both his focus and his ability to deliver more than invective and meaningless red meat to his partisan base and not the jobs he promised them.
4
Darn! What with the Bannon photo, I thought maybe Ross was finally going to parse out the "chief strategist's" power broker role and, more intimately, the ways that his Catholicism plays a role therein. While Bannon seems to lack the magisterial fashion-sense of Cardinal Burke, he does share a similar temerity regarding what the world should be like (they are both very conservative and rail against open-hand, welcoming approaches endorsed by Pope Francis and our previous president). His approach is modeled a bit on on a hearkening or a reckoning back to the old ways, even if it means, "destroy[ing] the state...bring everything crashing down, and destroy all of today’s establishment.” But let's get serious...how can the Trump administration get any real traction when its chief strategist may very well be hell-bent on the failure and collapse of the whole grand old American experiment in "government of the people, by the people, for the people."
6
But he has an infrastructure project! He is going to build the WALL.
2
Mike Flynn consorting with the Rooskies during the campaign to trade favors with each other ? Sounds like treason to me. Q.E.D.
6
Campaigning is not governing and campaign promises don't supersede the Constitution. Trump has surrounded himself with an inner circle of sycophantic incompetents with no governing, but plenty of flattering experience. They must go, period. Prolix, fawning, Kellyanne Conway, has and will continue to self destruct. She's already in the deep end of the political pool, and is drowning. Scruffy ideologue Steve Bannon " Trump's Rasputin" (notice the Putin) should be double teamed and diminished by the pragmatism of James Mattis and Rex Tillerson. Extreme Ideology is anathema to the governing and negotiating process. Donald Trump must read the symptoms of Narcissistic Personality Disorder and acknowledge that he has it.
3
Paragraph 4 from the bottom: These things and an ethical replacement for Obamacare cannot occur without a shift of the tax burden to the wealthy. Does anyone foresee such a thing?
2
At the end of the article is the word "jobs". Well that's the answer to the success of "His Ineptness". And that is not going to happen at least for those in the key States that voted for him.
Infrastructure jobs require very specific skills and most of the work is done by heavy construction equipment. So it has to be new manufacturing jobs like Carrier. And we just saw how Trump was put in his place by the the Premier of "One China". So long tariffs!
Looking forward to 2018 mid-terms.
Infrastructure jobs require very specific skills and most of the work is done by heavy construction equipment. So it has to be new manufacturing jobs like Carrier. And we just saw how Trump was put in his place by the the Premier of "One China". So long tariffs!
Looking forward to 2018 mid-terms.
1
An article on the NYT web site quotes Republican congressmen as describing angry constituents as "kooks" and "radicals." Trump, as well as some of the same congressmen, claim that protestors are being paid.
I have news for them, as well as for any Trump supporters who buys such nonsense. I am in my 60s, need but do not have a full-time job, am married 40+ years, with a son who has medical issues and, without the ACA, would either be uninsured or in an expensive, limited coverage, high risk pool. I went to the NYC Women's March, bad knees and all; I am still limping- and I am going to go to the next protest march too, even if someone has to carry me. Nobody is paying me; I am just very, very angry.
Taxes and infrastructure are not our problem: incompetence and instability are Trump's problem, and one-sided, corporate-friendly, anti-middle-class policies are the problems with the GOP. If the Republicans have their way, my son will have no healthcare; my husband's and my medicare & social security will take a hit, our son will have neither by the time he reaches our age; public employees will lose pensions and collective bargaining rights. Anything else? Oh yes -- Trump is alienating our allies, antagonizing our enemies and attacking the federal judiciary.
The answer "isn't complicated. In fact, it's kind of easy": I don't want lower taxes and more infrastructure; I want this fool, and these corporate tools, out of office. "She persisted" - you betcha.
I have news for them, as well as for any Trump supporters who buys such nonsense. I am in my 60s, need but do not have a full-time job, am married 40+ years, with a son who has medical issues and, without the ACA, would either be uninsured or in an expensive, limited coverage, high risk pool. I went to the NYC Women's March, bad knees and all; I am still limping- and I am going to go to the next protest march too, even if someone has to carry me. Nobody is paying me; I am just very, very angry.
Taxes and infrastructure are not our problem: incompetence and instability are Trump's problem, and one-sided, corporate-friendly, anti-middle-class policies are the problems with the GOP. If the Republicans have their way, my son will have no healthcare; my husband's and my medicare & social security will take a hit, our son will have neither by the time he reaches our age; public employees will lose pensions and collective bargaining rights. Anything else? Oh yes -- Trump is alienating our allies, antagonizing our enemies and attacking the federal judiciary.
The answer "isn't complicated. In fact, it's kind of easy": I don't want lower taxes and more infrastructure; I want this fool, and these corporate tools, out of office. "She persisted" - you betcha.
744
1. Do you honestly believe at this point that Trump is likely to do anything that benefits the middle class, let alone those even more in need? He's clearly focused on programs and policies that benefit the wealthy and, despite his grandiose talk, is really hawking a weak trickle-down promise that suffices only to provide cheap labor and little else.
2. Do you think the GOP-controlled congress will twiddle its thumbs while Trump's self-made mess seems to distract him from getting "...anything of substance done"? McConnell and Ryan will forge ahead, stroke Trump's ego, and obtain his signature on legislation they pass. Congressional GOP dysfunction, though problematic, is less an issue than white house bumblings.
3. Are you honestly comfortable mocking concerns expressed by many that Trump's and Bannon's shared imperial agenda is a threat to our traditional and proven government dynamics and practices? Do you trust them and their fervent supporters to not stage what you term a "slow-motion coup"?
4. Do you seriously believe that Trump's cabinet is or when filled will be "reasonably competent"? Competent to do what and with what purposes and goals?
5. Who do you think wants to save this presidency? It seems no one has a vested interest in doing so aside, perhaps, from Bannon and his alt-right (i.e. extremist, myth-driven militants). I'm not convinced that Trump really cares. Pence may, but only if or when he ascends to the big chair.
2. Do you think the GOP-controlled congress will twiddle its thumbs while Trump's self-made mess seems to distract him from getting "...anything of substance done"? McConnell and Ryan will forge ahead, stroke Trump's ego, and obtain his signature on legislation they pass. Congressional GOP dysfunction, though problematic, is less an issue than white house bumblings.
3. Are you honestly comfortable mocking concerns expressed by many that Trump's and Bannon's shared imperial agenda is a threat to our traditional and proven government dynamics and practices? Do you trust them and their fervent supporters to not stage what you term a "slow-motion coup"?
4. Do you seriously believe that Trump's cabinet is or when filled will be "reasonably competent"? Competent to do what and with what purposes and goals?
5. Who do you think wants to save this presidency? It seems no one has a vested interest in doing so aside, perhaps, from Bannon and his alt-right (i.e. extremist, myth-driven militants). I'm not convinced that Trump really cares. Pence may, but only if or when he ascends to the big chair.
2
Not until Trump fires Steve Bannon.
2
Steve Bannon believes the Trump presidency is a necessary part of the worldwide Apocalypse, for crying out loud. That's okay with you, Mr. Douthat? Is Bannon part of the fictitious "reasonably competent" Trump appointments you claim will save us all from Trump himself? What nonsense, sir.
3
Free will? Trump blows with the wind. He does not even seem to know what is in the executive orders he signs! Mr. Douthat assumes that Trump has a core ideology. Well, one could say so if one realizes that Trump's core is all about what's best for Trump. Does anyone really believe the president cares about anything but his own self-aggrandizement? You are fooling yourself if you do. He certainly doesn't care about the people who elected him, let alone the people who have taken to the streets to oppose him and his administration. Wake up!
1
Donald Trump made commitments to the American public that are unfulfillable, by him or anyone. The affordable care act is a high wire balancing feat that cannot be cherry picked so only the good parts remain. Tax cuts to produce prosperity are nothing more than a repeat of failed trickle down economics. Match that with increased military spending and a trillion dollars in infrastructure expenditures and Republican claims of fiscal responsibility become laughable, (at least to those with any sense of humor.) Twenty five billion for that wall across the Mexican border that Mexico will not pay for? Coal mines and steel mills that are coming back? What could be hard about any of that Mr. Douthat?
255
What you want: infrastructure spending. middle-class tax cuts, corporate tax reform.
As my daddy used to say, "Boy, what you been smoking?"
What you will get: increases in weapons spending; weakened EPA restrictions on oil and coal industries, funding cuts to public education, tax cuts for the richest 1%.
As my daddy used to say, "Boy, what you been smoking?"
What you will get: increases in weapons spending; weakened EPA restrictions on oil and coal industries, funding cuts to public education, tax cuts for the richest 1%.
3
There was never any substance in the Trump candidacy, and now we see this as president. If you listen closely he says very little but repeats himself often. He is a phony who exaggerates constantly, lies as a matter of habit, and behaves like a salesman trying to twist arms to buy his product. The Carrier deal, based on the bribe, and carrying with it no real significance in broader policy, was mainly symbolic. He has no replacement policy for the much-demonized ACA, and has shown a lack of patience and care in his recent immigration ban fiasco. He constantly feeds red meat to his base, and his most prominent example of this was to gut everything that President Obama had signed into law.
For the first time, one could see a growing dislike or disdain for the job, during the plane interview traveling to Mar-a-Lago. The vote in 2016 was, in the words of your colleague Tom Friedman, "reckless." The American system, with its love of ratings, its strange infatuation with his candidacy, and the polarization promoted by the base of his party, created this monster. Now, we have to have some faith in our ability to correct this huge mistake.
For the first time, one could see a growing dislike or disdain for the job, during the plane interview traveling to Mar-a-Lago. The vote in 2016 was, in the words of your colleague Tom Friedman, "reckless." The American system, with its love of ratings, its strange infatuation with his candidacy, and the polarization promoted by the base of his party, created this monster. Now, we have to have some faith in our ability to correct this huge mistake.
18
You are drinking the KoolAid Ross.
Emperor Donnie and his essentially totally incompetent Cabinet (Mattis and Kelly are competent) intend to rip off the world's biggest piggy bank, the US annual budget. They plan to outsource everything they possibly can, and arrange as many no-bid contracts for themselves and their cronies.
Wait and see. Jobs? Infrastructure? Other socially useful programs? Don't hold your breath.
Emperor Donnie and his essentially totally incompetent Cabinet (Mattis and Kelly are competent) intend to rip off the world's biggest piggy bank, the US annual budget. They plan to outsource everything they possibly can, and arrange as many no-bid contracts for themselves and their cronies.
Wait and see. Jobs? Infrastructure? Other socially useful programs? Don't hold your breath.
9
Such fun to watch pundits on the right and left trying to suck significance and purpose out of Trumpery. Grow up people!! There is nothing there! The nation is lead by an empty suit and every day this grows more apparent.
10
Gentlemen, the country is in a big political mess and unless a miracle happens in the Controlled Republican Senate and a few senators stop voting the party line, we will be slowly seeing the destruction of our democratic institutions and will face something totally unfamiliar to us: a fascist dictatorship.
By that time it will too late to save our country.
By that time it will too late to save our country.
11
RD,
The simple, commonsense changes you suggest are impossible for POTUS to achieve; He controlled by a very fragile psyche, the strain of which these simple changes would put such pressure as to cause it to shatter.
The situation is much more dire than you let on here, but you must know it.
The GOP themselves mainly called him unfit for POTUS during the primary for a reason.
The simple, commonsense changes you suggest are impossible for POTUS to achieve; He controlled by a very fragile psyche, the strain of which these simple changes would put such pressure as to cause it to shatter.
The situation is much more dire than you let on here, but you must know it.
The GOP themselves mainly called him unfit for POTUS during the primary for a reason.
8
Is this column a joke? You really think Trump is going to pivot, still? Carrier, which was a sham PR stunt, involved a few hundred jobs. Stack that up next to the roughly 34,000,000 jobs created by Presidents Clinton and Obama. The Republican disinformation machine has many outlets. This column is one of them.
23
Ross, your proposed remedies for the Trump administration ("Infrastructure. Tax cuts for workers and parents. A better tax code for business.") show that you don't fully understand Trump's mindset or the true intents of his administration.
Trump is mentally ill. The ineffectual and fractious chaos of his administration comes from Trump's inability to think clearly on anything for more than 10 minutes at a time, follow responsible counsel, and formulate productive alliances.
Trump is not going to magically change his personality while in office. He will never admit that he's made mistakes or needs to adapt to reality; doing so would be a sign of weakness in his eyes.
As for his administration, it's not going to help the working or middle-class. Trump made vague promises to help but provided almost no reality-based details on those plans. Many of his proposals, such as his tax cut plan, wind up hurting his base, damaging the economy and favoring the top 1%. Trump suckered the working poor, just like the GOP has in the past.
The GOP abandoned responsible governing years ago and let the mob take over. Trump is the face of that mob, and he's even more incoherent and rudderless than it is. Don't expect some magical improvement. Welcome to the hell of irresponsible democracy.
Trump is mentally ill. The ineffectual and fractious chaos of his administration comes from Trump's inability to think clearly on anything for more than 10 minutes at a time, follow responsible counsel, and formulate productive alliances.
Trump is not going to magically change his personality while in office. He will never admit that he's made mistakes or needs to adapt to reality; doing so would be a sign of weakness in his eyes.
As for his administration, it's not going to help the working or middle-class. Trump made vague promises to help but provided almost no reality-based details on those plans. Many of his proposals, such as his tax cut plan, wind up hurting his base, damaging the economy and favoring the top 1%. Trump suckered the working poor, just like the GOP has in the past.
The GOP abandoned responsible governing years ago and let the mob take over. Trump is the face of that mob, and he's even more incoherent and rudderless than it is. Don't expect some magical improvement. Welcome to the hell of irresponsible democracy.
9
"A reasonably competent cabinet."?? Michael Flynn is the most deplorable of a deplorable lot. At least no grizzlies will eat American (private) school kids.
8
Can this presidency be saved? The answer is very simple: No, it cannot be, more over, it should not be saved. It should be gotten rid of ASAP, along with its cabinet of dilettantes, its deplorable, lying spokes people, and the so-called president's mispoche. Enough already.
18
"He has to his credit, assembled a reasonably competent cabinet."
What definition of reasonably and competent are you using?
What definition of reasonably and competent are you using?
19
Douthat writes of Trump, "He has, to his credit, assembled a reasonably competent cabinet." Once I read that, I realized Ross is keeping the same panic everyone else feels firmly at bay by living in fantasy. The Secretaries of Energy, Education, and Housing and Urban Development are, to use a Trump word, disasters. They have no experience at all in the job areas to which they have been tasked. The Treasury Secretary and Economic Advisor are from Goldman Sachs (along with Bannon.) The Secretary of State has only ever held one other job - at Exxon Mobil. Not to even mention the problems with Sessions and Scott Pruitt. Douthat undoubtably knows all these details and yet committed to using the phrase "reasonably competent." What would be unreasonably incompetent?
24
"A reasonably competent cabinet.." Seriously? I think Mr Douthat needs to re-think that bizarre assessment and take another look at the steamy brown piles of accomplishment this bunch of boondoggling billionaires are leaving on the Oval Office carpet.
9
Gosh, a Ross Douthat column I completely agree with!
Even though I dislike Trump viscerally, I agree he still has a chance to deliver bread-and-butter promises to his working class base AND serve the national interest around the globe.
But he has to shed his outer thin skin, wrestle down the demons in the big shaggy, and defer to the adults in the room. A tall order and perhaps an impossible task for somebody so insecure and vainglorious.
Even though I dislike Trump viscerally, I agree he still has a chance to deliver bread-and-butter promises to his working class base AND serve the national interest around the globe.
But he has to shed his outer thin skin, wrestle down the demons in the big shaggy, and defer to the adults in the room. A tall order and perhaps an impossible task for somebody so insecure and vainglorious.
2
Here's the first compliment I've ever given you; this is a well conceived and reasonably objective article. What I take issue with here is that trump simply took the tactics of the party and the philosophies that you have long championed, spun for and apologized for -to crude extremes. What you call for doesn't work, hasn't worked and never will. The political success of the republican party has been based on courting the least of our angels, and through mounting a decades-long propaganda campaign through the megaphones of right wing media. The voters who buy into it are those most hurt by it. As far as any long term course correction for trump; Forget it. He doesn't have the ability to expand beyond the limits of his clearly disordered personality, and there are the twin tsunamis of the Russia Problem and the overseas financial entanglements heading to shore. Trump will drown, take several republicans with him, and hopefully not the country as a whole.
6
On the campaign trail Trump made no end of promises. Promises about jobs. Promises about bringing back industry. Promises about bringing back coal. Promises about walls. Promises about a healthcare system that will be byootiful and cover everyone and save us an ocean of money. Promises promises, promises that he will be unable to keep. But he has to throw his base red meat so he falls back on the one thing he does superlatively--demagogy. A so-called judge has reminded him that there is a so-called Constitution. Thus thwarted he rounds up a few hundred undocumented workers and throws them out of fortress America to show his base he meant what he said.
So...middle class tax cut; tax reform for corporations; throw a trillion at infrastructure. Like W´s Darth Vader said, deficits don´t matter any more. And Ross Douthat thinks that´s simple. Truly we are lost.
So...middle class tax cut; tax reform for corporations; throw a trillion at infrastructure. Like W´s Darth Vader said, deficits don´t matter any more. And Ross Douthat thinks that´s simple. Truly we are lost.
5
Publicly owned infrastructure, not privatized. Basic healthcare for all Americans. Reduce corporate subsidies. Keep Social Security promises to the elderly. Prosecute laws against nepotism, foreign engagement by non-elected officials, and personal economic gains. Protect consumers against usury laws and dishonest business practices.
Just a few simple things that he can do but will not.
Resist, persist, bear witness against these liars then vote them out at the next opportunity (2018).
Just a few simple things that he can do but will not.
Resist, persist, bear witness against these liars then vote them out at the next opportunity (2018).
9
The problem with this column is that you make the assumption that Donald Trump has a modicum of self control and discipline. He has neither. I think this white house will go from crisis to crisis, a victim of its own incompetence, trump's itchy twitter finger and Steve Bannon's dark impulses. The republicans have hitched their star to an incompetent, unstable man and they are hoping to somewhat keep him in line while they try to push through their agenda. Pass the popcorn, this could get interesting.
8
Ross, you are missing the point---Trump does not do simple, he does huge. Now, what Trump does not understand, to do the huge demands you do the simple well----
1
Mr. Douthat is an optimist . Why try and save a Presidency which brought such shame on our nation. The changes he wants to see will never happen under the leadership of a malignant narcissist , advisers who peddle alternative truths, white supremacy, unreasonable cabinet picks. We must stop deluding ourselves and resist!
9
The GOP engendered this mess and gave him to us, now they better get to the hard work of cleaning up the mess, if still possible. The Ds can't do it alone.
2
"He has, to his credit, assembled a reasonably competent cabinet."
Reasonably competent at what?
This must be the first "fake" New York Times Op-ed.
Am I right, are you guys testing us or something?
Reasonably competent at what?
This must be the first "fake" New York Times Op-ed.
Am I right, are you guys testing us or something?
30
Trump sold illusions to voters and became President without popular support that didn't approach a majority. He was destined from the start to be viewed as someone who didn't earn his office. Except for the few times he read from a script, his agenda was uttered in 140 characters or rally rants about his greatness: "build the wall', "lock her up", "I'm really rich", you'll be wining so much, you'll get so tired of winning", "drain the swamp", "the election's rigged", "make American great again", and few other meaningless morsels he pedaled and fed to those with a visceral disgust about "Washington" and how things seemed to them, those meaningless epithets designed to draw reactions to himself, the oxygen that keeps all narcissists alive.
Did Trump create jobs at Carrier or was that one more illusion? Ask the union local president who said the number of jobs was fewer than the number of jobs Carrier has earlier decided to retain. Does Trump have a rationally based economic plan, or does he just plan to pop off a series of tax cut proposals, or an unfunded infrastructure idea. Trump doesn't read. He won't nurture relationships. He incites conflict gratuitously. He scissors off potential support by thoughtless things he says in public, and seems to thrive on chaos. He won't appreciate that a President is unlike a sole owner of a company: a President's commands are subject to support and votes of others.
Trump is so mismatched in this job, he may not last long in it.
Did Trump create jobs at Carrier or was that one more illusion? Ask the union local president who said the number of jobs was fewer than the number of jobs Carrier has earlier decided to retain. Does Trump have a rationally based economic plan, or does he just plan to pop off a series of tax cut proposals, or an unfunded infrastructure idea. Trump doesn't read. He won't nurture relationships. He incites conflict gratuitously. He scissors off potential support by thoughtless things he says in public, and seems to thrive on chaos. He won't appreciate that a President is unlike a sole owner of a company: a President's commands are subject to support and votes of others.
Trump is so mismatched in this job, he may not last long in it.
299
So, you're saying Trump can save his presidency by acting like a Democrat. Infrastructure and tax cuts for workers and parents are Democratic ideals. Where business is concerned, the Democrats want to keep the high rollers from gouging the rest of the country and sending us back into a recession. Sounds like you want Trump to reach out to Democrats. They are the only ones who will help him on those things. Maybe Trump should have run as a Democrat.
1
Um, please define "reasonably competent."
5
Ross: Your big three: "Infrastructure. Tax cuts for workers and parents. A better tax code for business." Let's assume the tax code reform isn't just a give-away. Anybody from any party, who could do those from a centrist position and without slashing existing programs, would make maybe 80% of Americans happy and be widely viewed as a successful president. It is a no-brainer that no-body seems to be able to accomplish. Our leaders just go on pushing their own uncompromising versions of liberal or conservative purity.
Treading water is better than drowning, I suppose. Unless the waters are full of sharks. Tough one.
We should worry more about the totally unsuitable cannot picks than about Trump. Trump is a disaster waiting for impeachment- which will please the Christian, misogynist far right. Who will defend YYZOUR right to vote? Not Jess Sessions,
who will save public land for public purpose- who will fund basic and applied science? Who will protect the works?
who will guarantee medicare for all?
Not any one of these. Who will enforce safety in nuclear storage?
Not any of these.
who will save public land for public purpose- who will fund basic and applied science? Who will protect the works?
who will guarantee medicare for all?
Not any one of these. Who will enforce safety in nuclear storage?
Not any of these.
1
"He has, to his credit, assembled a reasonably competent cabinet. "....
I know this is an opinion piece but there are still standards to live up to and I would argue with he truth of that statement. The dictionary's definition of competent: "having the necessary ability, knowledge, or skill to do something successfully..." The cabinet fails to meet that definition of the word so perhaps Mr. Douthat meant the meaning of competent that is defined: "acceptable and satisfactory, though not outstanding: she spoke quite competent French." Again I think the cabinet fails almost across the board under that metric as well. Price, Pudzer, Ross, DeVos, Carson, are all prima facie distinctly not qualified to lead their respective cabinet departments. Mr. Douthat should come to grips with the fact that this country has a highly incompetent Chief Executive, I offer up the past 30 days as evidence, and any tweet from the president as ample proof. At best his advisors and cabinet members might best best be described as neo-fascists, corporatists, bigots and denier of scientific fact, yet somehow manage to believe, each and every morning that when they turn the key in their car's ignition, that it will start. Get a clue, this countries very soul is in peril. Thanks be to our framers, the Judicial branch and my fellow citizens, who know the score and who will not sit still. They will not come for my neighbor, they will not come for our country. We will prevail. God Bless America.
I know this is an opinion piece but there are still standards to live up to and I would argue with he truth of that statement. The dictionary's definition of competent: "having the necessary ability, knowledge, or skill to do something successfully..." The cabinet fails to meet that definition of the word so perhaps Mr. Douthat meant the meaning of competent that is defined: "acceptable and satisfactory, though not outstanding: she spoke quite competent French." Again I think the cabinet fails almost across the board under that metric as well. Price, Pudzer, Ross, DeVos, Carson, are all prima facie distinctly not qualified to lead their respective cabinet departments. Mr. Douthat should come to grips with the fact that this country has a highly incompetent Chief Executive, I offer up the past 30 days as evidence, and any tweet from the president as ample proof. At best his advisors and cabinet members might best best be described as neo-fascists, corporatists, bigots and denier of scientific fact, yet somehow manage to believe, each and every morning that when they turn the key in their car's ignition, that it will start. Get a clue, this countries very soul is in peril. Thanks be to our framers, the Judicial branch and my fellow citizens, who know the score and who will not sit still. They will not come for my neighbor, they will not come for our country. We will prevail. God Bless America.
9
Well done, pertinent, hard-hitting.
Shouldn't it be perfectly clear by now that Trump doesn't have the mental discipline, focus, government experience, or management skills needed to set an agenda and then follow on its implementation? I don't expect my dog to play the violin! And to call his cabinet of fat cats who also lack government experience "reasonably competent" is charitable, to say the least.
10
One season of Presidential Apprentice is enough, thank you.
7
Who wants him to be saved. He has proven he does not deserve any respect from anyone.
7
Ross, Your comments will likely fall on deaf ears because they pre-suppose a mentally competent President, rather than a narcissistic man-child still reliving the highlights of his electoral victory. Whom do you suppose the "adult" is in the Oval Office who will take your words to heart and say, "Yes! Great idea! Let's do it!" With the cabal of dark-hearted neo-Nixonites jockeying for power in this dysfunctional White House, they're more likely busy reading Nietzsche's "Beyond Good and Evil" or Machiavelli's "The Prince" (or in Trump's case, "Babar Loses His Crown" SAD!) than the New York Times Op-Ed page.
2
Where to begin? Perhaps by saying, "What have you done with the real Ross Douthat?" You know, the smart, realistic Republican who didn't try to pave over reality with wishful thinking.
Infrastructure rebuilding and tax reform are pretty easy? This must be a message from some universe where the Republican party is not opposed to all government spending, Trump's idea of building infrastructure is not by giving public property away to well-connected contractors, and tax reform is not reserved by the Republicans to their wealthy benefactors.
The President has free will? Really, Ross? That's what you've got? Because this isn't Philosophy class (where you would have to actually argue convincingly for that position rather than just asserting it). This is the world in which a man with a malignant case of Narcissistic Personality Disorder, a nearly untreatable mental dysfunction, would have to get a brand new psyche somewhere in order to change, and he is not even interested in treatment.
Hey, and last, it's been a long time, but how about not insulting Jimmy Carter, a man who has proved his decency over and over for the past 40 years as one of our finest, if not THE finest ex-president. Trump's "presidency is in danger of being very swiftly Carterized"?? SO UNFAIR! SAD!
Infrastructure rebuilding and tax reform are pretty easy? This must be a message from some universe where the Republican party is not opposed to all government spending, Trump's idea of building infrastructure is not by giving public property away to well-connected contractors, and tax reform is not reserved by the Republicans to their wealthy benefactors.
The President has free will? Really, Ross? That's what you've got? Because this isn't Philosophy class (where you would have to actually argue convincingly for that position rather than just asserting it). This is the world in which a man with a malignant case of Narcissistic Personality Disorder, a nearly untreatable mental dysfunction, would have to get a brand new psyche somewhere in order to change, and he is not even interested in treatment.
Hey, and last, it's been a long time, but how about not insulting Jimmy Carter, a man who has proved his decency over and over for the past 40 years as one of our finest, if not THE finest ex-president. Trump's "presidency is in danger of being very swiftly Carterized"?? SO UNFAIR! SAD!
6
Fr. Douthat, in his perfect hermeneutically sealed idealized13th century world, presumes the answer to the question. Unfortunately the five proofs and the innumerable consequences for the existence of Mr. Trump are not merely a priori but have real life consequences for breathing living individuals. Therefore the question which needs to be asked reads: Should this Presidency be saved?
5
You may be seeing the self-limitations of this form of Chavez-Duterte populism as applied to the US. Trump ran on Trumpism--the sense that he has the strength, and the willingness, to break eggs (and skulls, if necessary) to reach a result that the majority craves. But Trump doesn't have the backing of the majority. What he has is the purely political calculation of Congressional Republicans who see him as as noisy signing-machine for a down-the-line conservative agenda--and that type of agenda will provide minimal help to those who are looking for those good-paying jobs. And what he's done, so far, is pick fights and look for reasons to be aggrieved. His fans are still with him--his petty grievances are now theirs, and they forgive, and even cheer, his excesses. But what will they do a year from now when they find out that all the money is in pockets of the suits. And all they got was talk?
1
I don't see how Mr. Donald Trump could possibly see any Presidency. He has nominated people to literally every single key position who are ideologically-opposed to that department, as well as to common sense. He has politicized the National Security Council be making Steve Bannon and Reince Priebus permanent member status, while making the DNI and Chairman of the JCS mere auditing members. Is that what caused the Yemeni Raid to have been such a disaster, perhaps committing without sufficient Intel, for show Trump's bravado?
Donald Trump has attracted individual Judges, as well as the overall Judiciary. By doing that, he disrespects the U. S. Constitution. And whenever he meets defeat, he lies about protecting the American People. That is the mark of a demagogue, and no wonder Germany--and its people--fear Trump. That saw his kind back in the 1930s and 40s.
By 2018, he will be so disgusting that the GOP will lose its majority in both houses, for what out has cheated. At that time, the Democrats will take over, muzzle or Impeach him and, if the Nation hasn't been destroyed by then, save what's left.
https://thetruthoncommonsense.com
Donald Trump has attracted individual Judges, as well as the overall Judiciary. By doing that, he disrespects the U. S. Constitution. And whenever he meets defeat, he lies about protecting the American People. That is the mark of a demagogue, and no wonder Germany--and its people--fear Trump. That saw his kind back in the 1930s and 40s.
By 2018, he will be so disgusting that the GOP will lose its majority in both houses, for what out has cheated. At that time, the Democrats will take over, muzzle or Impeach him and, if the Nation hasn't been destroyed by then, save what's left.
https://thetruthoncommonsense.com
1
Ya it's simple, just more tax cuts, cause that always works(?), cut Obamacare taxes, lets see that's 700 plus billion over ten years, and on and on. All for Bid'ness. So where is the revenue to come from for social and cultural expression. Oh ya from the scions who got the tax break!
Rubes. Suckers, fools. So badly educated you can't discerne your own well being. Please try to keep the nukes in your pants purile silly boys.
Rubes. Suckers, fools. So badly educated you can't discerne your own well being. Please try to keep the nukes in your pants purile silly boys.
2
Douthat should know better than to write a column which holds out any hope. He should be familiar with Trump's personality and history. Trump obviously suffers from Narcissitic Personality Disorder. He has no interest in anything outside of puffing himself up. Any criticism whatever, sets him off into a twittering frenzy. He has no ability to focus on different aspects of complex problems, and rather than choose staff people who can do the job, he will opt for the people who excel at flattery. It seems that Bannon is good at that.
Yesterday's article in the NYT on the influence of the Italian fascist Evola on Steve Bannon should be required reading for everyone who is trying to make sense of this administration.
3
Jeez, Douthat, I hope you washed your hands after pulling out these notions.
A "reasonably competent cabinet?" You, apparently, don't even read the paper that employs you. Ben Carson competent? Betsy DeVos? Rick Perry?? Steve Puzder is practically a career criminal and Tom Price a likely poster boy for white-collar crime. Scott Pruitt acts like he received his law degree from Lucifer U. Sonny Perdue seems to be Huey Long reborn. Rex Tillerson might as well have hands dripping with some unholy slurry of blood and oil. Bannon, Flynn, Spicer, Miller, Conway ... on and on and on. This is not the face of 'competence,' nor does it even rise to 'gang who couldn't shoot straight' status. These are idealogues with huge blinders shielding them from great swaths of reality.
Your value of 'competence' is on a par with Trump's estimation of Putin. Sad!
A "reasonably competent cabinet?" You, apparently, don't even read the paper that employs you. Ben Carson competent? Betsy DeVos? Rick Perry?? Steve Puzder is practically a career criminal and Tom Price a likely poster boy for white-collar crime. Scott Pruitt acts like he received his law degree from Lucifer U. Sonny Perdue seems to be Huey Long reborn. Rex Tillerson might as well have hands dripping with some unholy slurry of blood and oil. Bannon, Flynn, Spicer, Miller, Conway ... on and on and on. This is not the face of 'competence,' nor does it even rise to 'gang who couldn't shoot straight' status. These are idealogues with huge blinders shielding them from great swaths of reality.
Your value of 'competence' is on a par with Trump's estimation of Putin. Sad!
9
A big infrastructure bill, a middle-class tax cut, a better tax code for business. These are sensible measures that are easy to state. But not so easy to implement.
All would increase the deficit, which was the main item Republicans railed against during the Obama presidency. Are they likely to reverse this position under pressure from Donald Trump?
Regarding an infrastructure proposal, the Democrats have already put one forward. But neither Trump nor the Republicans are likely to support it, since it would involve borrowing large sums at interest rates that are bound to increase. They would prefer a plan that privatizes the costs by allowing big builders to finance it themselves, and recover their investments and earn profit by charging customers for the use of these roads, bridges, and airports. Unlike the Democratic plan, that would not stimulate demand and thus general business investment.
So far no one in the White House has the legislative skill to enact such projects, tax cuts, and changes in the tax code. No Lyndon Johnson or Ted Kennedy.
So what is Trump to do: Setting aside his bluster and lies, he is carrying through on promises made to his core supporters:deporting non-citizens; escalating fear of Muslims and of the possibility of new terrorists attacks. These core supporters probably amount to about 25 per cent of the electorate. Another 20 per cent are conservative Christians and evangelicals, who want to reverse abortion and gay rights.
All would increase the deficit, which was the main item Republicans railed against during the Obama presidency. Are they likely to reverse this position under pressure from Donald Trump?
Regarding an infrastructure proposal, the Democrats have already put one forward. But neither Trump nor the Republicans are likely to support it, since it would involve borrowing large sums at interest rates that are bound to increase. They would prefer a plan that privatizes the costs by allowing big builders to finance it themselves, and recover their investments and earn profit by charging customers for the use of these roads, bridges, and airports. Unlike the Democratic plan, that would not stimulate demand and thus general business investment.
So far no one in the White House has the legislative skill to enact such projects, tax cuts, and changes in the tax code. No Lyndon Johnson or Ted Kennedy.
So what is Trump to do: Setting aside his bluster and lies, he is carrying through on promises made to his core supporters:deporting non-citizens; escalating fear of Muslims and of the possibility of new terrorists attacks. These core supporters probably amount to about 25 per cent of the electorate. Another 20 per cent are conservative Christians and evangelicals, who want to reverse abortion and gay rights.
2
The problem - Trump has no big vision. Never did, never will.
"He faces no immediate foreign policy or economic crises, no threat that requires him to act sweepingly and instantly." Until he does. And then what? Can you imagine Trump standing over the smoldering ruins of the World Trade Center and consoling a nation? Can you imagine Trump fine-tuning a response to Chinese military provocations in the South China Sea, or the launch of another Korean ICBM and explaining it to the American people? Nothing he has done so far suggests he or his "team" has this in them.
1
NO, it can't.
I was willing to give Trump a chance but after one day in office my "hope" was erased by a continuation of his deranged campaign modus operandi.
His slogan "I alone can fix (everything)" is not a belief. It's a permanent genetic mutation. There is no "we" or "team" in Trump. Expect exponential increase in chaos & division from this dictatorial presidency.
Now that it's apparent to his followers that Obamacare(s) and the ACA are exactly the same thing, he will not show mercy. Just tweet how dumb those protesting at town halls are. So ironic that the Republicans branded the ACA as Obamacare and now all those Obama haters, Trump followers are apoplectic that they might lose healthcare. I feel very sorry for them. But don't count on Trump reversing his fiat to repeal, oh and replace.
Today's tweet about the refugees corroborates further that there is no hope.
Our legal system is broken! "77% of refugees allowed into U.S. since travel reprieve hail from seven suspect countries." (WT) SO DANGEROUS!
Obviously all the explanations of the extreme vetting that refugees undergo made no impression.
Finally, his denial of Rex Tillerson's request to appoint Elliott Abrams as Deputy SecState demonstrates utter disregard for his presidency. Rex selected Abrams for his experience which Rex knows he lacks. Trump denied Rex's request because Trump is holding a grudge about comments Abrams made about him.
Too many mutations need repair to save a presidency.
I was willing to give Trump a chance but after one day in office my "hope" was erased by a continuation of his deranged campaign modus operandi.
His slogan "I alone can fix (everything)" is not a belief. It's a permanent genetic mutation. There is no "we" or "team" in Trump. Expect exponential increase in chaos & division from this dictatorial presidency.
Now that it's apparent to his followers that Obamacare(s) and the ACA are exactly the same thing, he will not show mercy. Just tweet how dumb those protesting at town halls are. So ironic that the Republicans branded the ACA as Obamacare and now all those Obama haters, Trump followers are apoplectic that they might lose healthcare. I feel very sorry for them. But don't count on Trump reversing his fiat to repeal, oh and replace.
Today's tweet about the refugees corroborates further that there is no hope.
Our legal system is broken! "77% of refugees allowed into U.S. since travel reprieve hail from seven suspect countries." (WT) SO DANGEROUS!
Obviously all the explanations of the extreme vetting that refugees undergo made no impression.
Finally, his denial of Rex Tillerson's request to appoint Elliott Abrams as Deputy SecState demonstrates utter disregard for his presidency. Rex selected Abrams for his experience which Rex knows he lacks. Trump denied Rex's request because Trump is holding a grudge about comments Abrams made about him.
Too many mutations need repair to save a presidency.
Anyone still believing Trump and Bannon are interested in policy as opposed to domination through cultivating fear and anger hasn't been paying attention. Using the words "pledge" and "focus" with Donald Trump as the subject is almost oxymoronic.
1
Save it??? All I can think about is how to sink it?
Any normalizing of this administration should be over now. I want to see his tax returns . If the media were to hammer on that half as hard as the Republicans hammered on some emails of Hillary's we might get to see them.
I want to see every able-bodied and minded journalist tracking down the Russia connection. Is there no one in this land that cares about this experiment in Democracy being successful?
Do not pretend that having a competent cabinet is going to save us, or that we should even be talking about his cabinet, or his picks for the supreme court, or his tweets. Get to the nitty-gritty. This man is stealing us blind and not one of my dollars will be paying taxes until he is handed his head on a silver platter..... WOW! That was fun to write!
Any normalizing of this administration should be over now. I want to see his tax returns . If the media were to hammer on that half as hard as the Republicans hammered on some emails of Hillary's we might get to see them.
I want to see every able-bodied and minded journalist tracking down the Russia connection. Is there no one in this land that cares about this experiment in Democracy being successful?
Do not pretend that having a competent cabinet is going to save us, or that we should even be talking about his cabinet, or his picks for the supreme court, or his tweets. Get to the nitty-gritty. This man is stealing us blind and not one of my dollars will be paying taxes until he is handed his head on a silver platter..... WOW! That was fun to write!
2
As Trump has made quite clear, there is going to be a big bump in the defense budget (and it's simply inconceivable that the Republican Congress will deny him); thus your prescription for Trump's salvation ("Infrastructure. Tax cuts for workers and parents. A better tax code for business.") is impossible without drastic cuts to Medicare & Social Security. Time for every honest Republican to stand up and admit it, starting with you.
3
Oh, come on. Bannon is not a rational actor -- he's our Loki, and chaos is his method. He's not about tax cuts and realignment and infrastructure; he's about holy war, and a clash of civilizations, and tearing it all down to make way for a form of government that doesn't give a hoot about the rights of the minority, or that quaint notion of checks and balances. A government of, for and, about Christian White nationalist war-mongers, safe from outlanders, dark-skinned folk, and uppity women. Survival of the fittest (obviously, not literally in his case) uber white guys, courtesy of the hollow-headed Trump-puppet.
He will kill others, ostensibly to make us stronger, and Trump has no clue what Bannon is up to.
He will kill others, ostensibly to make us stronger, and Trump has no clue what Bannon is up to.
3
Well, look at it this way. If they decide to put Steve Bannon's likeness up on Mount Rushmore, at least there won't be that much carving to do.
So, more infrastructure spending and less tax revenue. What about the deficit? (Yes, I'm trolling those Republican platitudes...)
1
At the moment the two people who have the most sway with Donald Trump are Steve Bannon and Sessions' former aide, Miller-both idealogues with fixed, almost Manichean views on the world. His 'reasonably competent' cabinet? A baglady for the religious zealots at Education, a doctor out of his depth at HUD, a man who didn't know that the Dept. of Energy primary mission deals with nuclear facilities? If that is reasonably competent, Douthat is smoking something.
3
Short answer to headline: NO!
CIA's refusal to grant Flynn's deputy a really, really top-secret (sensitive compartmented information) clearance is evidence that the intelligence agencies know much more than they are saying about the current regime's relationships to Russia. This information will come out, maybe in dribs and drabs, until even the Republican Congress will have to conclude that the nation is "led" by a person who is both mentally unstable and evil in his intent for our country. Of course Pence will be little better, but he's only evil, not insane.
Trump has forgotten what his mother tried to teach him, at her knee: "Son, don't ever **** with intelligence agencies."
CIA's refusal to grant Flynn's deputy a really, really top-secret (sensitive compartmented information) clearance is evidence that the intelligence agencies know much more than they are saying about the current regime's relationships to Russia. This information will come out, maybe in dribs and drabs, until even the Republican Congress will have to conclude that the nation is "led" by a person who is both mentally unstable and evil in his intent for our country. Of course Pence will be little better, but he's only evil, not insane.
Trump has forgotten what his mother tried to teach him, at her knee: "Son, don't ever **** with intelligence agencies."
2
Trump got elected because people (e.g. in the rust belt) want better jobs - but he never explained how he would achieve that and indeed clearly had no clue (and seemingly no-one else does either). He seems to hope that excluding Moslems will somehow create good jobs.
2
No, Trump's administration cannot be saved. In order to save it, he and his team would have to start recognizing facts like:
1. Immigration is necessary for to achieve the economic growth Trump has promised
2. There is no viable GOP health plan to replace the ACA, and achieve universal coverage Trump has promised.
3. Contrary to Mr. Douthat's assertion, the cabinet is not reasonably competent, and they are working toward common goals.
4. Contrary to Mr. Douthat's assertion, the Carrier deal is not a policy, it was a publicity stunt.
5. Mr. Trump has free will, but he has no clue, or interest in, the finer points of policy, and will not set a common agenda, which will result continued chaos.
6. Facts matter - and they will sooner or later catch up to the administration, and us.
1. Immigration is necessary for to achieve the economic growth Trump has promised
2. There is no viable GOP health plan to replace the ACA, and achieve universal coverage Trump has promised.
3. Contrary to Mr. Douthat's assertion, the cabinet is not reasonably competent, and they are working toward common goals.
4. Contrary to Mr. Douthat's assertion, the Carrier deal is not a policy, it was a publicity stunt.
5. Mr. Trump has free will, but he has no clue, or interest in, the finer points of policy, and will not set a common agenda, which will result continued chaos.
6. Facts matter - and they will sooner or later catch up to the administration, and us.
6
Infrastructure. Tax cuts for workers and parents. A better tax code for business.
------
Yes, those domestic policy those plus
--> A foreign trade policy which engenders economic growth in the free world by ensuring fair trade with China, while being bit more than fair to neighbor Mexico.
--> Stabilize long term security with an effective check on Russia and China, by reinforcing NATO and Asian pivot
--> A sensible policy on Middle East which leads to no further flare up, and brings peace in Syria
All these are within reach even while the zealous Bannon keeps making his soulful verbiage in the roles assigned to him.
------
Yes, those domestic policy those plus
--> A foreign trade policy which engenders economic growth in the free world by ensuring fair trade with China, while being bit more than fair to neighbor Mexico.
--> Stabilize long term security with an effective check on Russia and China, by reinforcing NATO and Asian pivot
--> A sensible policy on Middle East which leads to no further flare up, and brings peace in Syria
All these are within reach even while the zealous Bannon keeps making his soulful verbiage in the roles assigned to him.
1
What you need to understand Ross is that Donald Trump is part of a vast left wing conspiracy. He is playing his part perfectly and will soon be richly rewarded by George Soros who will make him a real billionaire. Your read it here first. Alex Jones hasn't found out about it yet.
4
Oh, but your plans of infrastructure and middle class tax cuts are so mundane. The grotesque Bannon views himself as an 'historic figure' and Trump is impulsive and seemingly incapable of any rational action (see latest tweet on media abuse of Ivanka.) They will continue to make messes and drag the rest of us down with them. What the two of them HAVE done is make some of us liberals think Mike Pence—who cannot give a straight answer on any question—is the less dangerous of two evils. Pence is creepy as h@#l but I would be he is familiar with the constitution. American optimism (if it still exists) might survive Pence, but not Trump and Bannon.
2
Ross,
I have been anticipating the Trump Presidency for a long time. I was not alone people like Canadian philosopher John Ralston Saul wrote NYT non fiction best seller Voltaire's Bastards (The Dictatorship of Reason in the West) in 1992 and presented a Trumplike Presidency as a likely outcome.
Since the fascist and language manipulator William F Buckley Jr left the CIA and started calling fascism conservatism our political and educational language has been under assault. I cannot remember when a group calling itself the Michigan Militia came into being and the media acquiesced and called them a militia. Our esteemed media could not see this attack on our constitution as the attempt to delegitimise an informed analysis of the second amendment.
Militias are a part of America's armed services and the second amendment is clearly about the rights of sovereign nations. Arms are weapons of war and always have been.
Donald Trump is not an aberration. He is where we were headed when men like Buckley, McCarthy, Goldwater, Hess, Scalia and Cruz manipulated language so that America's constitution seemed more a product of the Inquisition than the enlightenment. Ross I respect your conservatism and welcome your input into the political debate and I do try to listen but you know and understand who wrote the constitution and what they meant. If you love your country won't you at least respect its history?
I kind of feel like Alice arguing with Humpty Dumpty. Words must have meaning.
I have been anticipating the Trump Presidency for a long time. I was not alone people like Canadian philosopher John Ralston Saul wrote NYT non fiction best seller Voltaire's Bastards (The Dictatorship of Reason in the West) in 1992 and presented a Trumplike Presidency as a likely outcome.
Since the fascist and language manipulator William F Buckley Jr left the CIA and started calling fascism conservatism our political and educational language has been under assault. I cannot remember when a group calling itself the Michigan Militia came into being and the media acquiesced and called them a militia. Our esteemed media could not see this attack on our constitution as the attempt to delegitimise an informed analysis of the second amendment.
Militias are a part of America's armed services and the second amendment is clearly about the rights of sovereign nations. Arms are weapons of war and always have been.
Donald Trump is not an aberration. He is where we were headed when men like Buckley, McCarthy, Goldwater, Hess, Scalia and Cruz manipulated language so that America's constitution seemed more a product of the Inquisition than the enlightenment. Ross I respect your conservatism and welcome your input into the political debate and I do try to listen but you know and understand who wrote the constitution and what they meant. If you love your country won't you at least respect its history?
I kind of feel like Alice arguing with Humpty Dumpty. Words must have meaning.
2
Do you actually think that trump can stick to a plan? Once, in the 1980's maybe, he did fairly well in business. But that was a long time ago. He gives no sign of having any abilities any more; he is being prop up
4
Trump has nothing worthwhile to offer the American people. Nothing.
7
Oh, no, Ross, you actually believe that your Republican party is going to pass a jobs bill, better known as a stimulus, now that we no longer need a jobs bill because we are at "full employment" (i.e. a rate of 5 to 5.2%).?? I remember when this country was really really hurting eight years ago and Republicans absolutely refused to pass a jobs bill because they were determined above all else to destroy President Obama along with the workers in this country. And NOW you talk about a jobs bill? And then you were to be so worried about the deficit and inflation when there never was a sign of inflation during the eight years of recovery. And we could have financed a jobs bill at a borrowing rate of 0%. Your proposed jobs bill will now actually increase inflation AND the deficit. Silence on inflation and the deficit is deafening whenever Republicans control the government. Is it all a game to you guys?
11
I've begun reading your columns Mr. Douthat but I don't think Trump does. What does he read exactly? You write as though he has political skill to actually govern...but look at who his role models are? What exactly have Paul Ryan and his evil twin in the Senate done since they took control?
I'm afraid you make too much sense, Ross, and you are screaming, tweeting, or doing reality TV. So forget about Trump. He's the disaster you seem to intimate through this piece. Great theatre but quite unnerving, don't you think?
I'm afraid you make too much sense, Ross, and you are screaming, tweeting, or doing reality TV. So forget about Trump. He's the disaster you seem to intimate through this piece. Great theatre but quite unnerving, don't you think?
3
75,000 people lose their jobs everyday. The Carrier deal was nothing. It is called something that is in the noise.
4
"He faces no immediate foreign policy or economic crises, no threat that requires him to act sweepingly and instantly." Bet you this will change fairly soon. And imagine, God forbid, that Trump faces simultaneous multiple crises: an international crisis, an economic or financial meltdown of some sort, and a domestic political crisis or natural disaster. Alas, I think Trump's personality, leadership style, and his chaotic policy "team" increase the likelihood of multiple crises. God help us if and when they occur.
186
I like all the concessions implied by Ross' statement: ' no immediate foreign policy or economic crises', clearly implying that his predecessor, Mr. Obama, handed over to Trump, a steady ship of state.
1
In a 2007 tv interview Trump said, "I have to have enemies'. I know that might not be a good thing, but it's true. I have to have enemies" (that is paraphrased but very close).
That's it. That's all he cares about. Enemies. So he's already succeeded dramatically in his first three weeks. He's got enemies galore! He's got millions of us here in America and around the world. He should be the happiest man on our increasingly sick planet. And he's so ignorant that he probably is, not understanding the terrible effect he has already had on so many people.
We, the American People, must find a way to make him go away. Will he pull a Palin and decide that, after another year, he just doesn't want to do this anymore?
Or will he die of a stroke? Those white bags under his eyes are growing exponentially by the day. It's been reported that he really doesn't like the job, finding it a little too tough (as if that's a surprise). Maybe he'll have to step down because a real doctor will find real problems.
Maybe the Republicans will get all they can out of him and then impeach/convict him for a Pres. Pence, who will then force America to become a 'christian' nation (a 'christian' nation that Jesus would not recognize as good).
He'll most likely try to get us into a war before his incompetence is just too plain for even the hardcore Trumpers.
I hope however he leaves, he leaves soon. Before America dies.
That's it. That's all he cares about. Enemies. So he's already succeeded dramatically in his first three weeks. He's got enemies galore! He's got millions of us here in America and around the world. He should be the happiest man on our increasingly sick planet. And he's so ignorant that he probably is, not understanding the terrible effect he has already had on so many people.
We, the American People, must find a way to make him go away. Will he pull a Palin and decide that, after another year, he just doesn't want to do this anymore?
Or will he die of a stroke? Those white bags under his eyes are growing exponentially by the day. It's been reported that he really doesn't like the job, finding it a little too tough (as if that's a surprise). Maybe he'll have to step down because a real doctor will find real problems.
Maybe the Republicans will get all they can out of him and then impeach/convict him for a Pres. Pence, who will then force America to become a 'christian' nation (a 'christian' nation that Jesus would not recognize as good).
He'll most likely try to get us into a war before his incompetence is just too plain for even the hardcore Trumpers.
I hope however he leaves, he leaves soon. Before America dies.
7
Had Mr. Obama followed your very specific advice instead of wasting his political capital and filibuster-proof edge in Congress, this country, including Rust Belt that elected Trump, would now be much better off, and Trump would be playing producer and real estate developer.
No !
1
Ross, why do you insist on analyzing Steve Bannon as if he's just a normal presidential advisor? Right after you call him a "clearer-than-your-average Republican," you then wonder why he's not getting his guy to follow through on infrastructure & working-class tax cuts. Do you think he just forgot (like his boss)?
But if, just for the sake of paranoid Leftist argument, one assumes that Bannon's objective all along is a Fascist-style power grab right here in Potomac City, then consolidating the national security apparatus is exactly what he'd do first (and second, and third....).
I'll admit I'm wrong only if I see ANY evidence of Steve Bannon -or Donald Trump --caring for anything but power.
But if, just for the sake of paranoid Leftist argument, one assumes that Bannon's objective all along is a Fascist-style power grab right here in Potomac City, then consolidating the national security apparatus is exactly what he'd do first (and second, and third....).
I'll admit I'm wrong only if I see ANY evidence of Steve Bannon -or Donald Trump --caring for anything but power.
2
"......even with Congress controlled by its own party, it can’t get anything of substance done."
Except destroy health care for innocent people, round up immigrants, ruin the environment, and cut taxes for those who least deserve it.
Stop being a Trump apologist.
Except destroy health care for innocent people, round up immigrants, ruin the environment, and cut taxes for those who least deserve it.
Stop being a Trump apologist.
10
Wow, starts with delusion, and works through it to the land of Oz.
2
"He has, to his credit, assembled a reasonably competent cabinet. He campaigned, again to his credit, on a reasonably popular policy agenda. He faces no immediate foreign policy or economic crises, no threat that requires him to act sweepingly and instantly."
It just takes your breath away.
It just takes your breath away.
3
The real question is whether the nation is better served by a bumbling president whose massive ego and love for chaos and spectacle will continue to undermine the unity and effectiveness of the GOP Congress, or by a focused and ruthless Mike Pence who disdains church/state separation and civil rights and never promised to hinder the GOP Congress in its efforts to dismantle Medicare, Social Security, and every other federal program favoring public good over private enrichment.
1
Unfortunately, Donald Trump isn't interested in doing right for the country. He is interested in praise for himself. He is an insecure and spoiled man who thinks everyone should love him, and who reacts with the emotional age of a 2-year-old when that doesn't happen.
This Presidency isn't to enrich him financially, as some believe. It is, instead, a mechanism for him to feel loved, admired, and important. His insecurity will do us all in. We are all just actors in the play that stars him.
This Presidency isn't to enrich him financially, as some believe. It is, instead, a mechanism for him to feel loved, admired, and important. His insecurity will do us all in. We are all just actors in the play that stars him.
3
Objection, Your Honor, to the word "Carterized". Jimmy Carter made the peace between Egypt and Israel happen. Without showing any contempt to the rule of law.
9
Sir,
Oh, boy. Let me take this in order.
Can this presidency be saved? The appropriate answer is: should it be? "He has assembled a reasonably competent cabinet". By what standards??? Jesus in the temple with the money changers? Larry, Moe and Curly? Kindergarten cop?
The"simple plans" . Why, those all seem familiar. Let me think. Oh, yes, OBAMA.
Please stop with the explaining and excusing, or just give it up and become an " independent ". Your party is a hideous joke, unfortunately upon us all.
Oh, boy. Let me take this in order.
Can this presidency be saved? The appropriate answer is: should it be? "He has assembled a reasonably competent cabinet". By what standards??? Jesus in the temple with the money changers? Larry, Moe and Curly? Kindergarten cop?
The"simple plans" . Why, those all seem familiar. Let me think. Oh, yes, OBAMA.
Please stop with the explaining and excusing, or just give it up and become an " independent ". Your party is a hideous joke, unfortunately upon us all.
13
Reasonably competent cabinet? Seriously? DeVos, with her laughable and absurd comments? Tillerson, Secretary of Exxon/Russia? Sessions...a man whose judgments and racial attitudes are so flawed they had to shut down someone reading a latter from Coretta Scott King? Pruitt, who is so in the pay/pocket of polluting industries he doesn't even bother rewriting the letters they send him when he sues the EPA, now in charge of the EPA? In what world are these reasonable picks?
583
Sounds like good advice to us watching in wonderment from the wide brown land down under. There is a strong sentiment down here that you guys are far too dangerous now to be allied with.
3
Trump has chosen a ..."reasonably competent Cabinet".
Really? Talk about alternative facts...
Really? Talk about alternative facts...
7
"He has, to his credit, assembled a reasonably competent cabinet." In what universe? A Secretary of Education who knows nothing about it. A Secretary of State with a medal of friendship from the KGB colonel now leading our most hostile adversary. An attorney general who could not pass as a federal judge because of a history of racism. A Secretary of Energy who had to learn that his department manages nuclear weapons since he didn't know it. Etc. etc.
The only competence this collection of ultra-wealthy clowns might have will be in destroying the departments that they are supposed to lead.
Where does Ross get this crazy stuff from?
The only competence this collection of ultra-wealthy clowns might have will be in destroying the departments that they are supposed to lead.
Where does Ross get this crazy stuff from?
10
Why, when the subject is the middle class, is it a tax CUT, but when the exact same thing is done for the corporate sector it is tax REFORM? It's not reform, Ross. It's a cut from a top rate of 35% to 15%. No secrets here, so why try to obfuscate?
7
A reasonably competent cabinet? Just on the basis of Mattis and Tillerson? Mattis, perhaps, but has Tillerson's competency been demonstrated outside Exxon's boardroom? But let's let that slide.
What about Betsy DeVos? Ben Carson? Scott Pruitt? Tom Price? Steve Mnuchin? Rick Perry? Do these names inspire any confidence other than that they will diminish their respective departments to the best of their abilities? Is this competence?
What about Betsy DeVos? Ben Carson? Scott Pruitt? Tom Price? Steve Mnuchin? Rick Perry? Do these names inspire any confidence other than that they will diminish their respective departments to the best of their abilities? Is this competence?
4
I prefer that Trump leaves the economy alone and just makes speeches.
In the same period of time as Trump ran his casinos into the ground, he billed his companies lavishly for professional services, and in the end, investors received pennies on the dollar.
Tax cuts plus enormous outlays for infrastructure = inflation.
In the same period of time as Trump ran his casinos into the ground, he billed his companies lavishly for professional services, and in the end, investors received pennies on the dollar.
Tax cuts plus enormous outlays for infrastructure = inflation.
3
Well, we've got the Big Beautiful Wall. That should provide plenty of jobs, except the people who are complaining want the jobs delivered to their doorsteps by Santa Trump. Not going to work.
That you normalize Bannon is horrifying. Please stop it.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/interrogation/2017/02/hi...
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/interrogation/2017/02/hi...
12
Douthat has not understood Trump if he thinks that Trump can leave hard decisions to others. Trump (and the necessity to repeat his name is indicative of his problem) thinks that he knows more than generals, diplomats, politicians, businessmen, so leaving things to any of them is not in his perception of himself.
Moreover, his goal to undo everything: health, treaties, environment, nuclear agreements, immigration is not the kind of program that can be left easily to others. No, Ross, you better pray for another road to Damascus.
Moreover, his goal to undo everything: health, treaties, environment, nuclear agreements, immigration is not the kind of program that can be left easily to others. No, Ross, you better pray for another road to Damascus.
19
If Trump's high moment was the Carrier deal, for sure this presidency has no value, because he lied about his influence in the deal. Sorry you haven't examined the facts sufficiently to realize that. Do check the WaPo story from December 6th, or any other reputable source. Also, check the number of jobs created during the Obama administrations, and divide by the number of days he was in office, to calculate number of jobs created each day, which will give you a better understanding of the effective, active power of a quiet but caring leader.
Sorry also to see columns published here being used as a means to try to soften or bend the public's understanding of the disastrous nature of 45's influence on American lives, laws, ethics and values.
Sorry also to see columns published here being used as a means to try to soften or bend the public's understanding of the disastrous nature of 45's influence on American lives, laws, ethics and values.
11
Oh, please. Stop. This presidency needs to be gone. Try investigative journalism. Cover some protests. Complete waste of ink and pixels.
14
"This is not going to work."
"He has, to his credit, assembled a reasonably competent cabinet."
Say what?
Betsy DeVos has never stood in front of a class nor mapped out a lesson plan.
Jefferson Davis (oh, sorry, I meant Sessions) will roll back voting rights to Jim Crow days.
Andrew Puzder will demand that women serve fast foot in bikinis (tops optional) for less than the minimum wage.
Steve Mnuchin will (someday) track down that $100-million he left in a Midtown taxi.
Tom Price is worried more about doctor compensation than he is patient health.
Rex Tillerson polishes the Order of Friendship that his boss's BFF, Komrade Vladimir Putin, bestowed upon him in 2013.
Gentle Ben Carson never met a ghetto street ("dead bodies everywhere") that he couldn't cure with decent housing.
Rick Perry is in charge of a department he forgot existed.
All the above, brought to you by not Donald Trump, but by Stephen Bannon. You didn't see this coming, did you, Ross, so obsessed with "liberals" and "the left" are you.
Now that Mike Flynn has been undressed as an American spy to a foreign government (America's historically worst enemy) while His Orangeness was campaigning for president, "nothing has gone well for him since." And you're surprised?
Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan giggle while awaiting orders from Bannon. Well, you do have Kellyanne Conway pimping Ivanka's line. You have Sean Spicer giving White House press corps precedence to fringe news outlets.
Well, it's something.
"He has, to his credit, assembled a reasonably competent cabinet."
Say what?
Betsy DeVos has never stood in front of a class nor mapped out a lesson plan.
Jefferson Davis (oh, sorry, I meant Sessions) will roll back voting rights to Jim Crow days.
Andrew Puzder will demand that women serve fast foot in bikinis (tops optional) for less than the minimum wage.
Steve Mnuchin will (someday) track down that $100-million he left in a Midtown taxi.
Tom Price is worried more about doctor compensation than he is patient health.
Rex Tillerson polishes the Order of Friendship that his boss's BFF, Komrade Vladimir Putin, bestowed upon him in 2013.
Gentle Ben Carson never met a ghetto street ("dead bodies everywhere") that he couldn't cure with decent housing.
Rick Perry is in charge of a department he forgot existed.
All the above, brought to you by not Donald Trump, but by Stephen Bannon. You didn't see this coming, did you, Ross, so obsessed with "liberals" and "the left" are you.
Now that Mike Flynn has been undressed as an American spy to a foreign government (America's historically worst enemy) while His Orangeness was campaigning for president, "nothing has gone well for him since." And you're surprised?
Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan giggle while awaiting orders from Bannon. Well, you do have Kellyanne Conway pimping Ivanka's line. You have Sean Spicer giving White House press corps precedence to fringe news outlets.
Well, it's something.
27
This simple answer is No the complex answer is No.
7
Steve Bannon is an unprecedented danger, even next to Cheney and Rove.
Bannon's agenda is not only in the right, it is expressly that of white nationalism. And Bannon has unusual tools to push a nefarious agenda.
Bannon's career as a professional liar makes him an especially potent manipulator. He has no shame in duping people.
Bannon's time in the military, no matter that it ended decades ago, give him the perception of expertise. You can be sure that he will exploit his position on the National Security Council.
Bannon's time on Wall Street, no matter that it flies in the face of Trump's act of being against the financial power players, give him the perception of expertise when it comes to fiscal policies. You can be sure that he, Trump and Mnuchin will not prioritize Main Street over Wall Street.
Bannon should use his influence to promote jobs and infrastructure? Please. The only work he will foster is for cronies, and the only infrastructure that interests him is that fabled wall from Mexico.
Bannon's agenda is not only in the right, it is expressly that of white nationalism. And Bannon has unusual tools to push a nefarious agenda.
Bannon's career as a professional liar makes him an especially potent manipulator. He has no shame in duping people.
Bannon's time in the military, no matter that it ended decades ago, give him the perception of expertise. You can be sure that he will exploit his position on the National Security Council.
Bannon's time on Wall Street, no matter that it flies in the face of Trump's act of being against the financial power players, give him the perception of expertise when it comes to fiscal policies. You can be sure that he, Trump and Mnuchin will not prioritize Main Street over Wall Street.
Bannon should use his influence to promote jobs and infrastructure? Please. The only work he will foster is for cronies, and the only infrastructure that interests him is that fabled wall from Mexico.
8
I had hoped that Your President Trump would consult with party people in setting his agenda, to rush the things needed the most and not fooling around with his idiot iPhone. We wouldn't be seeing so many leaks had the party helped him with his top insiders, too.
While Bannon's shiny-object status is golden in keeping the haters away from the rest of the staff, he's trying to wear too many hats. Since chiefs of staff are more important, I'd have him do that only.
While Bannon's shiny-object status is golden in keeping the haters away from the rest of the staff, he's trying to wear too many hats. Since chiefs of staff are more important, I'd have him do that only.
"He has, to his credit, assembled a reasonably competent cabinet."
The same team which Trump, as an alternative fact, claimed had the highest IQ of any cabinet? The same team where the nearest representative of sanity is known as "Mad Dog?" The same team which has placed foreign policy in the pockets of a businessman in Putin's pockets? The same team in which our Attorney General treats civil rights as frivolous? The same team in which trust for the nation's education has been placed in a woman who would not recognize a public school if she fell into one? The same team in which our housing policy has been handed to a man whose sole "qualification" was growing up in public housing?
Reason and competence have no place in this cabinet, Ross.
The same team which Trump, as an alternative fact, claimed had the highest IQ of any cabinet? The same team where the nearest representative of sanity is known as "Mad Dog?" The same team which has placed foreign policy in the pockets of a businessman in Putin's pockets? The same team in which our Attorney General treats civil rights as frivolous? The same team in which trust for the nation's education has been placed in a woman who would not recognize a public school if she fell into one? The same team in which our housing policy has been handed to a man whose sole "qualification" was growing up in public housing?
Reason and competence have no place in this cabinet, Ross.
14
You lost me at "reasonably competent cabinet," Ross.
32
"So there is no necessary reason why he could not wake up tomorrow and decide to show...(proficiency intelligence, compeyence)". Except there is. Trump is clueless, a blustering fool who managed to get where he is through bullying and arrogance. He has not a clue what it means to be president, he's lost. Which is the only way a paranoid psycho like Bannon gets anywhere near the levers of power. Trump is incapable of leadership, and Bannon lives in a Manichean dystopia far removed from reality. This won't end well, but when it does, both men will be cast out in disgrace. Republicans should be ashamed that they let these two men assume power.
374
Unlikely he will heed your comments about "going slow" for awhile. His business and political life thrive in chaos: lawsuits, name calling, insults; only tempered somewhat by his family.
He will, however, roll out an ambitious public works project during the next few months. Democrats will say, "we can work with the president on this plan" and for a time, it will sound like detente. Republicans will weigh options and many will become deficit scolds, falling back on their tired economic policies.
Trump will see this big infrastructure project of $1 trillion or more as a way to appease many democrats, build likelihood for successful mid terms in his bid to transform the GOP and smooth his path to re-election.
Democrats need to up their game and beware Trump offering gifts.
He will, however, roll out an ambitious public works project during the next few months. Democrats will say, "we can work with the president on this plan" and for a time, it will sound like detente. Republicans will weigh options and many will become deficit scolds, falling back on their tired economic policies.
Trump will see this big infrastructure project of $1 trillion or more as a way to appease many democrats, build likelihood for successful mid terms in his bid to transform the GOP and smooth his path to re-election.
Democrats need to up their game and beware Trump offering gifts.
4
I'm skeptical that any significant infrastructure spending would get through the Republican Congress. If anything we are more likely to see phony tax credit incentives to crony capitalists. This is the economic side of classic fascism.
2
Mr. Douthat, I cannot understand how you can possibly think Trump has assembled a "reasonably competent" cabinet.
I would bet the other day was the first time Betsy DeVos has ever been inside a public school.
Rick Perry didn't know what the Dept. of Energy was, even after he remembered that he wanted to eliminate it.
Ben Carson? What is there to say.
Scott Pruitt. Currently involved in eight lawsuits against the department he's expected to run.
Andy Puzder at Labor. Interesting. A man who wants to eliminate the minimum wage, cripple unions and turn to automation as soon as possible.
Steve Mnuchin. Treasury. The foreclosure king who will take a retired person's home for 27 cents. What a guy.
Need I go on? And you consider this reasonably competent? I want to know your definition of incompetent.
I would bet the other day was the first time Betsy DeVos has ever been inside a public school.
Rick Perry didn't know what the Dept. of Energy was, even after he remembered that he wanted to eliminate it.
Ben Carson? What is there to say.
Scott Pruitt. Currently involved in eight lawsuits against the department he's expected to run.
Andy Puzder at Labor. Interesting. A man who wants to eliminate the minimum wage, cripple unions and turn to automation as soon as possible.
Steve Mnuchin. Treasury. The foreclosure king who will take a retired person's home for 27 cents. What a guy.
Need I go on? And you consider this reasonably competent? I want to know your definition of incompetent.
31
"...Bannon is trying to be both Dick Cheney and Karl Rove..."
If Bannon thinks this is a good thing then he's even crazier than Trump.
If Bannon thinks this is a good thing then he's even crazier than Trump.
5
“Not a war with the judiciary. Tax cuts. Not CNN or Nordstrom’s perfidy. Jobs. Not Bannon’s theories about Islam or the crisis of the West… Bridges and roads and tunnels.”
Everyone believed prior to the election that it was Donald Trump the messenger who had people enthralled, which might have been true to a certain degree. But in reality it was his message, “Make America Great Again,” as reflected in some of Mr. Douthat’s suggestions in the quote above, that resonated with his followers.
But Trump being Trump is a petty man given to petty squabbles because he can’t take a slight and he has to hit back personally against anyone or any institution who he thinks has slighted him. This behavior is going to be the reason for the unraveling of his presidency.
Pre-election and pre-inaugural he could take on his opponents and the media much to the delight of his base. But as president, he is foolishly attacking a very well respected judiciary and continuing his ridiculous attacks on the media. More significantly, he is continuing to engage in perpetuating outright falsehoods and lies. Such behavior does not behoove a president and if he does not get his act together soon, his presidency is going to go downhill real fast.
Everyone believed prior to the election that it was Donald Trump the messenger who had people enthralled, which might have been true to a certain degree. But in reality it was his message, “Make America Great Again,” as reflected in some of Mr. Douthat’s suggestions in the quote above, that resonated with his followers.
But Trump being Trump is a petty man given to petty squabbles because he can’t take a slight and he has to hit back personally against anyone or any institution who he thinks has slighted him. This behavior is going to be the reason for the unraveling of his presidency.
Pre-election and pre-inaugural he could take on his opponents and the media much to the delight of his base. But as president, he is foolishly attacking a very well respected judiciary and continuing his ridiculous attacks on the media. More significantly, he is continuing to engage in perpetuating outright falsehoods and lies. Such behavior does not behoove a president and if he does not get his act together soon, his presidency is going to go downhill real fast.
3
Trump is a disgrace, and possibly the biggest disgrace in American political history when the full extent of his ties with Russia and his Taxes are made public. If he is in fact compromised and is a "puppet" controlled by Putin as it appears then I suggest there has never been a bigger story in American politics.
2
Oh, yes, please, let's have more tax cuts and see how that works out. That has been the Republican answer for so many years it must be the first two words out of their babies' mouths. I get sick of hearing it. Of course, we know who will get the biggest cuts and it won't be the middle class.
Jobs. Infrastructure. Good ideas, but don't count on it happening with this man in the white house. My president, Barack Obama, practically begged the R's to buy into that, but noooooo sir. Not if he would get any credit for helping people get jobs. (He accomplished that anyway).
As we well know by now, anything good that happens will get the so-called president crowing with how great he is. Anything bad will be either Obama's fault or the Democrats' or the press or the liberals or the Muslims or the Mexicans or Schwartznegger's or who knows whose.
I agree, Ross, it needs to be kept simple. Because there's a simpleton at the helm now. Can this presidency be saved? I hope not.
Not. My. President.
Jobs. Infrastructure. Good ideas, but don't count on it happening with this man in the white house. My president, Barack Obama, practically begged the R's to buy into that, but noooooo sir. Not if he would get any credit for helping people get jobs. (He accomplished that anyway).
As we well know by now, anything good that happens will get the so-called president crowing with how great he is. Anything bad will be either Obama's fault or the Democrats' or the press or the liberals or the Muslims or the Mexicans or Schwartznegger's or who knows whose.
I agree, Ross, it needs to be kept simple. Because there's a simpleton at the helm now. Can this presidency be saved? I hope not.
Not. My. President.
21
You seem to be suggesting that Mr. Trump risk the voter's approval of government?? When his political success--when the Republican party's political success--depends on perpetual blind rage?
You suggest a middle class tax cut? What would be the point--who in Mr. Trump's family is middle class? Why should the wealthy let their taxes go to infrastructure repair, when they get so much political mileage out of its deterioration?
So far Mr.Trump's occupation of the White House has been an unqualified success, from his point of view. First and foremost we are all talking about him. He has picked a cabinet committed to policies that will profit him. Few of his supporters would ever support those policies if they bothered to inform themselves, but they will dutifully blame the consequences on government and on liberals, when the time comes. I think things are going perfectly according to plan.
You suggest a middle class tax cut? What would be the point--who in Mr. Trump's family is middle class? Why should the wealthy let their taxes go to infrastructure repair, when they get so much political mileage out of its deterioration?
So far Mr.Trump's occupation of the White House has been an unqualified success, from his point of view. First and foremost we are all talking about him. He has picked a cabinet committed to policies that will profit him. Few of his supporters would ever support those policies if they bothered to inform themselves, but they will dutifully blame the consequences on government and on liberals, when the time comes. I think things are going perfectly according to plan.
16
"But a White House run this way will be politically impotent long before it reaches its first midterm. Is a different scenario possible? Of course, because the president still has free will."
Mr. Douthat: To what extent does President Trump have "free will"? To what extent is he capable of reflective and deliberative decisions, actions and policies? This strikes me as a question well worth pursuing, preferably by the appropriate healthcare specialists.
Since you are a Roman Catholic, Ross, I assume you are familiar with the notion of "freedom of choice"--of "liberum arbitrium"--as set forth by St. Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century. As you may recall, (1) the will is a blind appetitive power, and (2) "freedom of choice" is a function of an integral persons intellectual ability to present and evaluate the appropriateness or inappropriateness of alternative courses of decision and action. This presupposes that the person in question is capable of distinguishing truth from falsity, fact from fiction, and reality from irreality.
Day after day, as we all watch in amazement, President Trump, demonstrates that a short attention span, narcissism, impetuosity and other habitual defects of character pose major impediments to the proper functioning of the intellect.
So to what extent does President Trump evidence "free will"? Willful appetitive responses? Yes. Freedom? Not so much.
Mr. Douthat: To what extent does President Trump have "free will"? To what extent is he capable of reflective and deliberative decisions, actions and policies? This strikes me as a question well worth pursuing, preferably by the appropriate healthcare specialists.
Since you are a Roman Catholic, Ross, I assume you are familiar with the notion of "freedom of choice"--of "liberum arbitrium"--as set forth by St. Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century. As you may recall, (1) the will is a blind appetitive power, and (2) "freedom of choice" is a function of an integral persons intellectual ability to present and evaluate the appropriateness or inappropriateness of alternative courses of decision and action. This presupposes that the person in question is capable of distinguishing truth from falsity, fact from fiction, and reality from irreality.
Day after day, as we all watch in amazement, President Trump, demonstrates that a short attention span, narcissism, impetuosity and other habitual defects of character pose major impediments to the proper functioning of the intellect.
So to what extent does President Trump evidence "free will"? Willful appetitive responses? Yes. Freedom? Not so much.
18
"But it featured Trump following through..."
Hmm...
"No, no, no, no, don’t take him literally, take him symbolically,” Anthony Scaramucci
Since now we know that we SHOULD take Donald Trump literally you cannot say he has not delivered on his promises.
I will give you the jobs promise but he DID say he was going to restrict immigration. He DID say he was going to ban Muslims. He DID say that he was going to shake up the international order. He DID say he was going to abrogate free trade agreements.
No Ross, the problem is exactly that Trump IS "following through".
"...the more plausible it becomes that the Trump-era House and Senate set a record for risk avoidance and legislative inactivity."
Nope, that was the last eight years. The next four years will be setting a record for legislative activity albeit on badly thought-out laws.
"He has, to his credit, assembled a reasonably competent cabinet."
LOL, I see Ross mixed his breakfast kool-aid a little strong today!
"If you can’t figure out how to handle the hardest stuff, try something simple for a while."
Like not mixing personal and governmental business perhaps? Or releasing his tax forms? Or not burdening the American taxpayer with costs to secure his palaces in New York and Florida?
You know, things that would actually make America greater?
==
The sound of an intellectual void in an echo chamber:
http://userctl.com/BlueVsRed/002.png
Hmm...
"No, no, no, no, don’t take him literally, take him symbolically,” Anthony Scaramucci
Since now we know that we SHOULD take Donald Trump literally you cannot say he has not delivered on his promises.
I will give you the jobs promise but he DID say he was going to restrict immigration. He DID say he was going to ban Muslims. He DID say that he was going to shake up the international order. He DID say he was going to abrogate free trade agreements.
No Ross, the problem is exactly that Trump IS "following through".
"...the more plausible it becomes that the Trump-era House and Senate set a record for risk avoidance and legislative inactivity."
Nope, that was the last eight years. The next four years will be setting a record for legislative activity albeit on badly thought-out laws.
"He has, to his credit, assembled a reasonably competent cabinet."
LOL, I see Ross mixed his breakfast kool-aid a little strong today!
"If you can’t figure out how to handle the hardest stuff, try something simple for a while."
Like not mixing personal and governmental business perhaps? Or releasing his tax forms? Or not burdening the American taxpayer with costs to secure his palaces in New York and Florida?
You know, things that would actually make America greater?
==
The sound of an intellectual void in an echo chamber:
http://userctl.com/BlueVsRed/002.png
19
Infrastructure spending is a democratic idea dissed by the Republicans who can't stand federal deficits except when they are in power. Doesn't it figure that is what would save this republican president. Social Security, Medicare, the 5 day work week, clean water and air , civil rights, to name a few , were all Democratic accomplishments. I can't think of a single Republican accomplishment or policy that matters to me on a daily basis. They are all hat and no cattle. But boy do the dumb voters in this country like big hats.
17
"If you can't figure out how to handle the hardest stuff, try something simple for a while". If you can't figure out the hard stuff, you should resign, and let someone who is qualified for the job take over. Pence may be odious, but at least he is sane. I will settle for sanity right now.
12
Serving as President or a Cabinet member is a duty and one should always put country before self. Current members should study such statesmen as George Marshall, or even the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius. Trump has made some good picks such as Mattis, but many others such as Betsy DeVos are clearly ideological appointees without qualifications. Why do they want the job in the first place? Ego tripping? Vanity?
Service before self. What a concept.
Service before self. What a concept.
9
Ross Douthat ignores the rabid, canker-covered elephant convulsing in the middle of the room:
President Donald J. Trump is a profoundly ignorant, mentally unhinged narcissist. As such, he is not likely to respond positively to Mr. Douthat's sagacious counsel.
President Donald J. Trump is a profoundly ignorant, mentally unhinged narcissist. As such, he is not likely to respond positively to Mr. Douthat's sagacious counsel.
40
Electro convulsive therapy is not going to cut it. This Presidency is going to require a complete frontal lobotomy.
24
Ttim Berry
I disagree.
A frontal lobotomy assumes the existence of gray matter in the frontal lobe.
One cannot subtract from a void.
I disagree.
A frontal lobotomy assumes the existence of gray matter in the frontal lobe.
One cannot subtract from a void.
1
I despair. "Good-paying jobs," Ross? I thought Ross had an excellent Catholic school education where they taught the difference between adjectives and adverbs. He knows the correct term is "well-paying." Maybe this is his way of being a regular guy?
As to the rest of the piece: The cabinet appointments are another sign of contempt for government, period. None of them believe in the mission of the agencies they will head. Their goal only is to strip away all protections and hand the keys over to that great god Business, which in their eyes can do no wrong.
As to the rest of the piece: The cabinet appointments are another sign of contempt for government, period. None of them believe in the mission of the agencies they will head. Their goal only is to strip away all protections and hand the keys over to that great god Business, which in their eyes can do no wrong.
58
While Steve Bannon has become a household name, and rightfully so, it seems he has a younger and just as frightening a protege in Stephen Miller. How these two men rose to such high positions in this White House should be a topic of a future column, Ross. We need conservatives to call out these fueled-by-anger men before they lead the country in ever more dangerous directions.
75
Republicans dream on, what else can Trump do but eventually fall in line and act like a conservative politician? It is this dream that keeps them craven and purposely ignore an outrageous President whose number one priority is to enrich himself and family. With this hope they are letting Trump vent, insult everyone that does not kow-tow to him, and use the Presidency as a means to promote his business. Not even dictators in poor countries are that brazen, they steal with impunity but hide it from public view. Mr. Trump has made it quite clear. He has no intention to let any one scrutinize his tax returns and any divesting of assets will be pro forma. He intends to keep profiting from his business by putting his family in charge of it. This leopard is never going to change his spots and those that keep hoping that this administration will eventually be not much different than others once the chaos of the first couple of weeks subside are not doing the country any favors. The only way to slow down the coming train wreck is to apply all the available brakes now without waiting for Trump to change his behavior.
69
Trump is mentally ill and Bannon wants to blow the world up. You think this Presidency can be saved? It is a cruel and evil joke. We have an administration that is both extreme and incompetent at the same time.
381
Please give one scintilla of evidence that " Bannon wants to blow the world up"
Trump and the Republicans will fail and fall. Trump has brought out the mean, the creepy, the monsters. Trump's words and nastiness are emboldening those who want violence.
Today I read about a Michigan Republican party official, Dan Adamini, who said the people protesting Trump's policies should be shot like those students at Kent State. He said one bullet will stop the protesting. Fortunately, he was forced to resign. But why would he even say something that awful if he wasn't emboldened by the violence in Trump's rhetoric?
Here is a link to the words of Dan Adamini:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/michigan-gop-another-kent-state_us_5...
Peaceful protesting works. Eventually, the public turns against the bullies.
Today I read about a Michigan Republican party official, Dan Adamini, who said the people protesting Trump's policies should be shot like those students at Kent State. He said one bullet will stop the protesting. Fortunately, he was forced to resign. But why would he even say something that awful if he wasn't emboldened by the violence in Trump's rhetoric?
Here is a link to the words of Dan Adamini:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/michigan-gop-another-kent-state_us_5...
Peaceful protesting works. Eventually, the public turns against the bullies.
508
The murders at Kent State helped pave the way for an NLF victory and the end of the war.
Ross, why don't you worry about whether or not America can be saved? The sooner Trump crashes and burns, the sooner we can undo the mess your party has wrought.
312
HDNY: I wish what you said was true. But Pence is more in line with traditional Republicans... and they all agree with the Cabinet appointments and the direction Trump/Republicans want to take our country.
1
"Can This Presidency be Saved?"
This presidency does not care about policies, boring or otherwise. It is all about raw power, which it will exercise and attempt to perpetuate by hook or by crook (mostly crook). Easy to see how it works: persuade the masses that we live in the most fearful times ever, with false claims about immigrants, refugees and crime rates.
This presidency does not care about policies, boring or otherwise. It is all about raw power, which it will exercise and attempt to perpetuate by hook or by crook (mostly crook). Easy to see how it works: persuade the masses that we live in the most fearful times ever, with false claims about immigrants, refugees and crime rates.
241
No, a Trump Admin cannot be saved to do Douthat's purposes.
Trump never intended that.
Douthat knew that, and opposed Trump during the election for that reason.
So now, no Douthat, you don't get any cheese.
Trump never intended that.
Douthat knew that, and opposed Trump during the election for that reason.
So now, no Douthat, you don't get any cheese.
137
You were a Trump supporter right? So you know what he intends?
Pay no attention to the Cheez Wiz behind the curtain Ross.
Pay no attention to the Cheez Wiz behind the curtain Ross.
2
Ugh, Mark pretends to care about America. "...to do Douthat's purposes." Mark isn't defending our country, only his own endorsement of the clown president.
4
I suspect the answer to Ross's question is that Trump wasn't really serious about that policy agenda. It was just campaign stuff that played well in the states Trump thought he could win. If he were really interested in that agenda, he'd be talking about it instead of tweeting about his daughter's shoe business. It looks from all indications that Trump isn't actually interested in being president -- he just wants to be Donald Trump he was before the election, and he's happy to let others -- Bannon, chiefly, but also Priebus -- be president for him.
I should add that this might be a preferable outcome to letting the far-right of the Republican Party run the country. And there's still a good possibility that will be the outcome -- that extremists will rule and American democracy will end.
I should add that this might be a preferable outcome to letting the far-right of the Republican Party run the country. And there's still a good possibility that will be the outcome -- that extremists will rule and American democracy will end.
101
The only way Trump can get a trillion+ for a real infrastructure program, and not one that merely gives away public funds and property to Republican fatcats, and cut taxes on the middle class while keeping Obama rates for the rich is to work with Democrats and a few Republicans. The entire Congressional Republican leadership will be opposed. What are the chances that Trump wakes one day and calls Schumer and Pelosi to come to the WH and make a deal? Forget it.
58
Jack, I think both you and Ross are exhibiting the tyranny of low expectations towards the national Democratic Party.
There should be nothing that stops the Ds from announcing and relentlessly promoting the details of an infrastructure program that they would be proud to fully support and that they want to help the president make a reality for the good of the country. Jobs for roads and bridges and water and sewer system repair and an electric grid both hardened against cyber attack and expanded to make it possible to bring many more clean energy jobs to the heartland and affordable clean energy to the country.
There should be nothing that stops them from saying repeatedly and loudly that they'd be happy to work with the Republicans to help fix the parts of our health care system that need fixing. If the Rs want to call it repeal and replace instead of fixing what needs fixing, fine, what you call it and who gets the credit is not as important as doing right by the American people.
But you know, the fact that neither of you thought to bring up the Ds is perhaps telling with regard to the national Ds. I don't think I'm going to hold my breath waiting for them to take the initiative, either.
There should be nothing that stops the Ds from announcing and relentlessly promoting the details of an infrastructure program that they would be proud to fully support and that they want to help the president make a reality for the good of the country. Jobs for roads and bridges and water and sewer system repair and an electric grid both hardened against cyber attack and expanded to make it possible to bring many more clean energy jobs to the heartland and affordable clean energy to the country.
There should be nothing that stops them from saying repeatedly and loudly that they'd be happy to work with the Republicans to help fix the parts of our health care system that need fixing. If the Rs want to call it repeal and replace instead of fixing what needs fixing, fine, what you call it and who gets the credit is not as important as doing right by the American people.
But you know, the fact that neither of you thought to bring up the Ds is perhaps telling with regard to the national Ds. I don't think I'm going to hold my breath waiting for them to take the initiative, either.
Boy oh boy! You must have been smoking something to write this column. How can the Republican party create infrastructure spending and at the same time eliminate the national debt? How can the party create a better tax code for business and at the same time end Obamacare? You are whistling past the graveyard and ignoring the realities.
364
Mr. Trump snatched defeat from the jaws of victory even on the Carrier deal.
He exaggerated the number of jobs saved, and tweeted insults at union leader Chuck Jones, a natural hero if ever there was one. In Jones' memorable words, "He lied his a-- off."
Sort of like the election -- instead of being gracious in victory, he had to inflate his victory, claiming a landslide, and flat-out lie. Its a pattern, and a fatal flaw.
He exaggerated the number of jobs saved, and tweeted insults at union leader Chuck Jones, a natural hero if ever there was one. In Jones' memorable words, "He lied his a-- off."
Sort of like the election -- instead of being gracious in victory, he had to inflate his victory, claiming a landslide, and flat-out lie. Its a pattern, and a fatal flaw.
860
Paula, you beat me to it! Carrier was maybe a 33% victory, because that's about the percentage of jobs that he saved. Not only that, the CEO of United Technologies/Carrier says that new money invested in Indy Carrier will be for automation which will void many of the "Trump jobs."
7
"He has, to his credit, assembled a reasonably competent cabinet. "
Competent at what? Clearly not the cabinet would have chosen if he really cared to " focus on good-paying jobs for people"
1) A Labor Secretary who favors a loophole to get around paying low-wage workers overtime: call them "Managers" even when they are mopping floors, and opposes a minimum wage?
2) A Health Secretary who wants to eliminate the ACA and to destroy Medicare by voucherizing it?
3) An Education Secretary who wants to drain funds from public schools and give them to families as vouchers to pay tuition at un-accountable for profit private schools that only upper middle class families can afford?
4) A Treasury Secretary who foreclosed on people who were struggling to pay their mortgages after losing their jobs in the financial crisis caused by hedge fund managers such as himself?
Competent at what? Clearly not the cabinet would have chosen if he really cared to " focus on good-paying jobs for people"
1) A Labor Secretary who favors a loophole to get around paying low-wage workers overtime: call them "Managers" even when they are mopping floors, and opposes a minimum wage?
2) A Health Secretary who wants to eliminate the ACA and to destroy Medicare by voucherizing it?
3) An Education Secretary who wants to drain funds from public schools and give them to families as vouchers to pay tuition at un-accountable for profit private schools that only upper middle class families can afford?
4) A Treasury Secretary who foreclosed on people who were struggling to pay their mortgages after losing their jobs in the financial crisis caused by hedge fund managers such as himself?
740
You beat me to it: competency; this is government that makes a Three Stooges short seem mature and coherent.
5
Then there is the brain surgeon running Housing and Urban Development.
3
And let's not forget the Secretary of HUD, whose sole qualification is having spent some childhood years in public housing.
1
IF Trump is serious about investing in infrastructure, he doesn't have to figure this out from scratch.
He could jump right in with this
https://www.hillaryclinton.com/issues/fixing-americas-infrastructure/
and here
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/democrats-set-to-unveil-a-trump-...
He could jump right in with this
https://www.hillaryclinton.com/issues/fixing-americas-infrastructure/
and here
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/democrats-set-to-unveil-a-trump-...
97
Taxes and infrastructure are uncomplicated and easy, but they are also boring and full of nuts and bolts. Trump doesn't do smooth and steady. He manages by creating chaos and upheaval so that he can look like he's taking charge of something. Half of his own party would fight against the cost of the infrastructure, throwing another wrench in the works. It's all about appearances, and that requires alternative facts, especially when you want everyone to be scared of anyone from countries that refuse to do business with the brand. Maybe this whole thing with Russia is because Putin won't let him have hotels in Moscow.
150
"He has, to his credit, assembled a reasonably competent cabinet."
OMG, Ross Douthat. You have truly lost your mind. I think you need to go back to debating the future of Catholicism, or something, or post-modern theories of conservative thought in Europe.
But Trump's "reasonably competent" cabinet? I still can't wrap my mind around that. I would venture to say there's maybe 2 qualified, sane people in the entire bunch: Mattis and somebody else (I'm having a Rick Perry moment).
But Betsy DeVos for Education? A wealthy campaign donor who hates public schools? Or Department of Labor Pudzer who hates workers because they take bio breaks? Or Scott Pruitt for EPA who spent most of his life fighting the EPA? And Jefferson Beauregard Sessions--a son of the deep south with the confederate name and anti-civil rights bona fides to prove it from fighting voting rights legislation to voting against violence against women laws?
Just about everyone else has some problem too, from serious ethical issues (Tom Price) to a troubling lack of experience in the sector they are to run (Ben Carson).
I have nothing more to say. That you so cavalierly treat Bannon as some sort of mainstream appointment when he's steeped in the wild, whacky theories of Mussolini's muse and certain Manichean theories of a Russian philosopher, makes me want to throw up my hands.
Trump doesn't need or want your advice, because he won't follow it anyway.
OMG, Ross Douthat. You have truly lost your mind. I think you need to go back to debating the future of Catholicism, or something, or post-modern theories of conservative thought in Europe.
But Trump's "reasonably competent" cabinet? I still can't wrap my mind around that. I would venture to say there's maybe 2 qualified, sane people in the entire bunch: Mattis and somebody else (I'm having a Rick Perry moment).
But Betsy DeVos for Education? A wealthy campaign donor who hates public schools? Or Department of Labor Pudzer who hates workers because they take bio breaks? Or Scott Pruitt for EPA who spent most of his life fighting the EPA? And Jefferson Beauregard Sessions--a son of the deep south with the confederate name and anti-civil rights bona fides to prove it from fighting voting rights legislation to voting against violence against women laws?
Just about everyone else has some problem too, from serious ethical issues (Tom Price) to a troubling lack of experience in the sector they are to run (Ben Carson).
I have nothing more to say. That you so cavalierly treat Bannon as some sort of mainstream appointment when he's steeped in the wild, whacky theories of Mussolini's muse and certain Manichean theories of a Russian philosopher, makes me want to throw up my hands.
Trump doesn't need or want your advice, because he won't follow it anyway.
1475
Or maybe throw up.
3
A perfect response
1
Don't forget that "Trump-in-Law" will bring peace to the Middle East. That's competence for you!
2
"He has, to his credit, assembled a reasonably competent cabinet."......If that is the most positive thing you can say about Trump, boy is he in trouble.
512
Furthermore : Boy, are We in trouble .
6
Two clearly competent cabinet officials (Mattis and Kelly), and one thoughtful, if inexperienced one (Tillerson), combined with a clown car full of haters and incompetents and foxes in charge of henhouses, does not a "reasonably competent cabinet" make.
And if the President is in trouble, America is in trouble.
And if the President is in trouble, America is in trouble.
8
Ross, in order to be a successful President, one needs both a prodigious attention span and an ability to keep one's eye on the truly important rather than the trivial yet emotionally engaging.
Trump clearly lacks both a prodigious attention span and that ability to keep one's eye on the ball, instead of the hot blond sitting in the box seats behind first base.
While I cannot currently imagine a scenario where it would make sense for one of our international rivals to want to bait Trump, given the reality of US military superiority, I could easily imagine Trump being baited and played for the strategic sucker he is.
As has oft been stated, past is prelude - and Trump's business past surely provides a template for his Presidency and our nation's immediate future. It is a fearsome template, to be sure.
My advice would be to prepare to buy low - because lower is where Trump will have us headed, sooner or later. To echo an insight from Ms. Dowd's column of this evening, Trump's best chance of making America great again is through inspiring a heroic resistance to every form of political and cultural idiocy that he has come to stand for.
Trump clearly lacks both a prodigious attention span and that ability to keep one's eye on the ball, instead of the hot blond sitting in the box seats behind first base.
While I cannot currently imagine a scenario where it would make sense for one of our international rivals to want to bait Trump, given the reality of US military superiority, I could easily imagine Trump being baited and played for the strategic sucker he is.
As has oft been stated, past is prelude - and Trump's business past surely provides a template for his Presidency and our nation's immediate future. It is a fearsome template, to be sure.
My advice would be to prepare to buy low - because lower is where Trump will have us headed, sooner or later. To echo an insight from Ms. Dowd's column of this evening, Trump's best chance of making America great again is through inspiring a heroic resistance to every form of political and cultural idiocy that he has come to stand for.
454
Most discuss the Trump presidency as if it is temporary 1 or 2, 4 year term. I think of it as a test of whether Trump will turn his presidency into a violent murderous fascist regime. His "me and me alone," personality is so like Hitlers. Muslims are the new Jews. He is targeting Hispanics like Hitler targeted Slavs and gypsies. He wants to build up the military and police forces around the country like Hitler. He is villainizing the media and Courts just like Hitler. Congress is ineffectual and does not see the threat Trump poses to the democracy.
970
The Jews would have been lucky if Hitler had only banned them or deported them rather than actively rounding them up an shipping them off to gas chambers in box cars. But other than that, everything else is identical, I suppose.
congress is not ineffectual...they are enabling this wacko.
9
"Congress is ineffectual and does not see the threat Trump poses to the democracy."
Congress, and certain pundits.
Congress, and certain pundits.
1
Interesting. “Can this presidency be saved?” I didn’t ask that question in this forum until two years into Obama’s first term. And Ross believes that three weeks into Trump’s is an appropriate time to be asking it.
I guess I disagree.
ALL reform administrations seek to get a lot done fast, knowing that the time is short when they’re likely to have serious impact. Trump, with his executive orders and his nominations has telegraphed a resolve to roll back unnecessary environmental and financial regulation, taxes, regain control of our borders, better protect us against Islamist terrorism and lessen a political correctness that hangs like a pall over everything we say and do. If a Republican Congress follows through, he will have an IMMENSE impact on our governance.
But it’s certainly absurd to suggest that THREE WEEKS into a new presidency is the most propitious moment to declare that its peak actually was reached in the PAST. I’m not sure how seriously the Greeks took Delphi, but I’m having problems not laughing out loud at the monumental arrogance of the Oracle of Ross.
I suspect that just a few themes WILL emerge in a few MONTHS, but don’t expect to see them distinguish themselves much from the scrum before then – and which ones DO emerge may have something to with individual successes in the scrum.
I agree with Ross’s legislative priorities. But three WEEKS? The man is starting to read like a Democrat.
I guess I disagree.
ALL reform administrations seek to get a lot done fast, knowing that the time is short when they’re likely to have serious impact. Trump, with his executive orders and his nominations has telegraphed a resolve to roll back unnecessary environmental and financial regulation, taxes, regain control of our borders, better protect us against Islamist terrorism and lessen a political correctness that hangs like a pall over everything we say and do. If a Republican Congress follows through, he will have an IMMENSE impact on our governance.
But it’s certainly absurd to suggest that THREE WEEKS into a new presidency is the most propitious moment to declare that its peak actually was reached in the PAST. I’m not sure how seriously the Greeks took Delphi, but I’m having problems not laughing out loud at the monumental arrogance of the Oracle of Ross.
I suspect that just a few themes WILL emerge in a few MONTHS, but don’t expect to see them distinguish themselves much from the scrum before then – and which ones DO emerge may have something to with individual successes in the scrum.
I agree with Ross’s legislative priorities. But three WEEKS? The man is starting to read like a Democrat.
11
I agree that three weeks isn't enough time to begin accomplishing much with respect to infrastructure, middle-class tax cuts and corporate taxes (especially when our Republican Congress is too busy asking itself whether the first two priorities are even worth pursuing). On the other hand, a few weeks is plenty of time to insult every world leader you're supposed to be working with, to announce that you're ready to ban Muslims (I mean, "terrorists") from entering the United States and to start kicking out Latino immigrants whose only crime was to come here and work for peanuts without having received a personal invite from someone who actually employs them. A president can do an awful lot of damage in just a few weeks' time, especially if the only facts he's willing to accept are of the alternative variety.
65
I am so relieved to learn that President Trump will rollback solely unnecessary regulations and programs--and I suspect Mr. Luettgen, President Trump, Speaker Ryan and all the rest of the GOP laissez faire regressives infallibly know what is necessary and what is unnecessary.
Surely we are blessed to be in such discriminating hands.
Surely we are blessed to be in such discriminating hands.
20
"But three WEEKS? The man is starting to read like a Democrat."
Nope, Ross has still not evolved enough to become a Democrat:
http://userctl.com/BlueVsRed/061.png
And in my opinion three weeks was a bit LONG, Ross should have written this column after the FIRST DAY of the smoking car wreck known as the Trump administration.
==
Angry people make the BEST Presidents!
http://userctl.com/BlueVsRed/031.png
Nope, Ross has still not evolved enough to become a Democrat:
http://userctl.com/BlueVsRed/061.png
And in my opinion three weeks was a bit LONG, Ross should have written this column after the FIRST DAY of the smoking car wreck known as the Trump administration.
==
Angry people make the BEST Presidents!
http://userctl.com/BlueVsRed/031.png
8
The “peak” of this so-called presidency was a Carrier deal that actually saved only a handful of jobs for a seven million dollar bribe, and those jobs could go at any time. Some peak.
Is anyone surprised that the president, and the country, is in such disarray? His presidency isn’t in danger of being Carterized. It will soon need to be cauterized to stop the hemorrhage of good will and honest governance that is draining away every time he opens his mouth.
For a president to have an agenda he has to have ideas, and to have ideas he must have a functioning brain. Strike one. He needs reliable, grounded advisers who aren’t crypto-clansmen, nodding cronies, sycophants and fools. Strike two. He also needs to know not to bring up Arnold Schwarzenegger's name at public gatherings that aren’t meetings of the Terminator fan club. Strike three.
Douthat says the president has assembled a reasonably competent cabinet. He must have done that in his woodworking shop, because the people he appointed to run key segments of the government seem to be uniquely unqualified for the job. Billionaires are in charge of helping the little guy. An utterly inexperienced uber-Christian is in charge of education. Ben Carson is in charge of …you name it. There is no right answer for that one.
The country can’t be run on tax cuts alone. And there is nothing simple about the government. Unless it’s the president.
Is anyone surprised that the president, and the country, is in such disarray? His presidency isn’t in danger of being Carterized. It will soon need to be cauterized to stop the hemorrhage of good will and honest governance that is draining away every time he opens his mouth.
For a president to have an agenda he has to have ideas, and to have ideas he must have a functioning brain. Strike one. He needs reliable, grounded advisers who aren’t crypto-clansmen, nodding cronies, sycophants and fools. Strike two. He also needs to know not to bring up Arnold Schwarzenegger's name at public gatherings that aren’t meetings of the Terminator fan club. Strike three.
Douthat says the president has assembled a reasonably competent cabinet. He must have done that in his woodworking shop, because the people he appointed to run key segments of the government seem to be uniquely unqualified for the job. Billionaires are in charge of helping the little guy. An utterly inexperienced uber-Christian is in charge of education. Ben Carson is in charge of …you name it. There is no right answer for that one.
The country can’t be run on tax cuts alone. And there is nothing simple about the government. Unless it’s the president.
1637
A perfect description of Mr. Trump.
One can only hope that if he returns to NYC, the NYPD will cart hom off to Bellevue instead of Trump Tower.
One can only hope that if he returns to NYC, the NYPD will cart hom off to Bellevue instead of Trump Tower.
4
gemli.
I have to say you are just too good. Keep it up!
Now we have to translate it into action.
Having a mentally challenged president is not okay.
I have to say you are just too good. Keep it up!
Now we have to translate it into action.
Having a mentally challenged president is not okay.
6
Let's not forget my favourite there Rick Parry at Energy. The guy didn't even know that the department he was appointed to lead was responsible for nuclear weapons! Clearly qualified--NOT!
14
Many of us are betting that The Con Don cannot and must not be "saved" once WE have taken back OUR U.S. Senate and House, state legislatures, governor seats and OUR government agencies they are trying to destroy.
He can go ahead and bully blather away until the because the alternative is worse. Meantime, Steve Bannon is the one who needs to meet oblivion.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/steve-bannon-apocalypse_us_5898f02ee...
He can go ahead and bully blather away until the because the alternative is worse. Meantime, Steve Bannon is the one who needs to meet oblivion.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/steve-bannon-apocalypse_us_5898f02ee...
150
If you're going to cut & paste, at least try to word things as if you were writing a note to your family. You lost the Senate because you actually thought it smart to elect a blank slate from Chicago. Of course the guy lost Congress within a year.
Old news, L'Osso. Obama's presidency is over. The "blank slate" left the country in much better shape than the last guy. It's time for you to stop deflecting -- the ball is in your team's court. Or more aptly, the loose cannon is rolling across your ship's gun-deck. All eyes are on him, not Obama.
13
Sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows.
1) Bannon is a fascist.
2) The Cabinet is a sick joke.
3) Tax cuts will not pay for themselves.
4) Trump's idea of "infrastructure" is corporate, crony, privatizing of the commons and is odds with Republican deficit hawks.
5) The only real cure for the ACA is single payer.
6) Good, well-paying, jobs, require either a college degree or vocational education; therefore, making college more affordable to the middle class will do wonders for the health and well-being of our youth, not to mention easing the debt burden on parents.
7) A report in this paper regarding the rapid crack in the Antarctic ice makes all of the above moot if we continue to deny the effects of man-made global climate change and not dedicate a significant percentage of our resources to renewable energy.
1) Bannon is a fascist.
2) The Cabinet is a sick joke.
3) Tax cuts will not pay for themselves.
4) Trump's idea of "infrastructure" is corporate, crony, privatizing of the commons and is odds with Republican deficit hawks.
5) The only real cure for the ACA is single payer.
6) Good, well-paying, jobs, require either a college degree or vocational education; therefore, making college more affordable to the middle class will do wonders for the health and well-being of our youth, not to mention easing the debt burden on parents.
7) A report in this paper regarding the rapid crack in the Antarctic ice makes all of the above moot if we continue to deny the effects of man-made global climate change and not dedicate a significant percentage of our resources to renewable energy.
1995
Thank you.
7
@Kevin Rothstein
Re: point 6) I would like to put in a strong word for higher public investment in vocational education pari passu with higher ed investments.
Watch daytime TV and you'll see commercials for various for-profit trade schools that are priced between 10x and 50X the cost of community college. Community colleges have been underfunded and therefore lack the infrastructure as well as skilled instructors.
The scam is the for-profit trade school customer, I mean student, is set up for a government-backed loan that ensures profits for the school, but a life of penury for too many students.
We need more plumbers, electricians, skilled trades, mechanics, technicians, medical assistant, dental assistants, etc. but we don't need them to be in hock with lousy skills and no job prospects.
Re: point 6) I would like to put in a strong word for higher public investment in vocational education pari passu with higher ed investments.
Watch daytime TV and you'll see commercials for various for-profit trade schools that are priced between 10x and 50X the cost of community college. Community colleges have been underfunded and therefore lack the infrastructure as well as skilled instructors.
The scam is the for-profit trade school customer, I mean student, is set up for a government-backed loan that ensures profits for the school, but a life of penury for too many students.
We need more plumbers, electricians, skilled trades, mechanics, technicians, medical assistant, dental assistants, etc. but we don't need them to be in hock with lousy skills and no job prospects.
19
Kevin, you totally nailed it! And, thanks! There is much worse to come ahead, starting with Conway's severe ethical breach and Flynn's Lynch Act violation. Both of who should be thrown into the street. Perhaps, there will be a needed bipartisan, but unlikely, investigation into Trump's COIs and Russia connections. Where are Woodard and Bernstein in this current era?
6
Douthat poses the question, but doesn't make the case for why such a regime should (pretend that's in all caps) be saved; being POTUS is not an intern position to get on-the-job training in basic government administration nor a vanity resume addition to leverage a family's wealth.
Being POTUS is about service, sacrifice, compromise, and very often humility, traits that are acquired/exercised/developed long before the dawn of the 7th decade of life.
Being POTUS is about service, sacrifice, compromise, and very often humility, traits that are acquired/exercised/developed long before the dawn of the 7th decade of life.
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