Skeptic Bob
DP Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2014
- Messages
- 16,626
- Reaction score
- 19,488
- Location
- Texas
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Libertarian - Left
Yes, that also figured into my thoughts.
He is so covetous of good approval numbers, and at any point in his presidency he could have seen a large jump in approval numbers if he would just have controlled his tongue and twitter fingers for a whole week. But he can't do it. He digs his hole and then gets embarrassed and upset that he's in the whole and so he digs it deeper. I did not expect that from ... well, from anyone who had any sort of stature in the business world.
So, though he still stews about not getting approval from more people, he seems mostly to have given up on even making the simplest adjustments to try to earn it, and instead he has doubled down on the giant dog-whistle laden pity party he throws with his loyal supporters.
Even the media has given him a shot from time to time -- like after his first address to a joint session of Congress. Happened on a Tuesday. He was getting great press. But he couldn't even ride that triumphal train until Sunday. He had to step all over his good press on Saturday with a garbled version of a conspiracy theory about Obama. So of course that became the topic of the Sunday talk shows and Trump was outraged again about how negative the press coverage was. He could have had good coverage. He HAD good coverage. But he just couldn't shut up and enjoy it. Couldn't build on it. Couldn't let the growing economy help him broaden his appeal. He just doubles down on what it is that he thinks will fire up those loyal few who won't turn their backs on him even if his trade wars put them in the unemployment line.
I am still hopeful about one thing, and it is a major thing. While it is still early in his term he hasn’t gotten us into any new wars, and that is something his last several predecessors can’t say. And I do realize that could change but for now I consider that a major positive of his Presidency because that is something he could do, practically speaking, without Congress or the courts stopping him, in the immediate term at least.
If he finishes his term without getting us into a new war, I wouldn’t in good conscience be able to call him the worst President of my lifetime.