President Donald Trumps words have been horrid, from liberals standpoint.
But three weeks in, things arent so bad in lib-land. Republicans are in disarray on repealing the Affordable Care Act, which citizens increasingly like, and President Trump says the GOP now may not have a bill until 2018. Courts are toying with Trumps Justice Department over his grandstanding emergency ban on people from countries that have never sent the U.S. an adult terrorist. Stuff he has done approving oil pipelines, ordering more study of a regulation designed to keep financial advisers from ripping off clients is mostly talk.
By mid-February 2009, Barack Obama was within days of passing a major tax cut, was restructuring General Motors, galvanizing clean-energy and digital-medicine industries through the stimulus, and was well underway on financial-services reform. By mid-2010, all that, plus Obamacare, was law.
So should Democrats calm down? Yes and no. Yes, because Trumps not getting much of anywhere on issues that matter most. But, really, no.
No, because keeping the heat on has pushed Trumps disapproval rating to 54% in Gallup surveys. In other surveys by Quinnipiac University, voters said Trump is wrong on repeal of Obamacare, refugees, climate change, even his beloved Mexican-border wall.
And no, because heat makes Trump obsess over minutiae and make unforced errors, like wasting three of his first four of his first 100 days in office debating the size of his inaugural crowd and spending days going on about appellate-court judges he says politicize immigration. Thats rich, coming from one who publicly said Muslim ban so many times not even Rudy Giuliani denied his intent.
Read: Appeals court upholds suspension of Trumps immigrant ban
Keeping heat on plays to the presidents lack of discipline and makes him do kid-with-ADHD things like griping about his daughters clothing line getting dropped by Nordstrom a tweet the president launched Wednesday when he was supposed to be in an intelligence briefing. Nordstrom shares rose 4% JWN, -1.21% , in a shock to everyone who doesnt read MarketWatch: We pointed out weeks ago that markets are learning to blow Trump off.
For liberals, a distracted Donald is a weak Donald, who did nothing important Wednesday and signed some empty executive orders Thursday. He was too busy claiming a political rival lied about Trumps own Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, throwing the president under the bus, only to have his own staff confirm Gorsuchs comments.
Liberals should hope Trump spending four years throwing meat to 35% of voters who think the Keystone XL pipeline is a jobs program (35 full-time jobs once up and running!), coal mining is the industry of the future, and Uhmurkas hidin in fear from refugees who are Obamas Muslim cousins innyway.
And, Australia!
Liberals will always have Australia.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) is dealing with pressure from both President Donald Trump and Democrats over issues including trade, infrastructure spending and the controversial Trump travel ban. WSJ's Gerald F. Seib outlines how Sen. Schumer can navigate this tricky terrain over the next four years. Photo: AP
For Trump to do damage a Democratic president cant easily undo in 2021, hed need enough self-discipline to craft a sensible replacement for the Affordable Care Act. Ted Cruz scored rhetorical points about subsidized health care remaining expensive in a debate with Bernie Sanders this week but wait for the price of unsubsidized insurance the GOP thinks can replace it, all so people earning $250,000 a year and up can get a less-than-1% tax cut.
Trump said Thursday hell have a phenomenal tax announcement in a few weeks, but coming from him that could mean anything. And the next shiny butterfly may yet distract him.
For Trump to do real damage, hed cut corporate taxes in some way that doesnt add as much as $17,000 to imported-car prices, as a study from auto-industry researchers Baum and Associates projects. That plan would also boost prices for cheap Wal-Mart clothing, not to mention Ivankas classy Chinese-made duds.
Or hed figure out how to gut Dodd-Frank financial reforms without making it an obvious sap to Goldman Sachs. Then hope no less-savvy Goldman wannabe goes belly-up by 2020.
Instead, Mr. President, liberals demand you propose things that are obviously bonkers. Send marshals (or, troops!) to Chicago to help cut a murder rate lower than in the 1990s. Send more troops to Mexico to hunt bad hombres. Have your attorney general fight nonexistent voter fraud. Comp Japans Prime Minister at Mar-a-Lago! Better, charge him rack rate, like the WWII loser Japan is.
That way, you can spend time on these things, not gutting health-insurance markets or divvying up Syria with your new bruh Vladimir Putin.
And theyd like you to tweet all day long. Especially during intelligence briefings. About Nordstrom, or judges throwing your plans out faster than you can stack the Supreme Court.
Or the National Park Services coverup of photos proving your inaugural crowd was bigger than President Obamas, but got lost and went to Area 51.
I checked with Sen. Elizabeth Warren you know, Pocahontas? and she swears this would be splendid, much like telling Frances president you want a refund on NATO defense spending, which you already did.
I explained that its nuts. I warned her!
Nevertheless, she persisted.
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Opinion: Should liberals calm down about President Trump? - MarketWatch