Donald Trump speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2013.
Photo belongs to Lawrence Lease.
Contributed by Lawrence Lease
Before his move into the White House, Donald Trump already assembled his 2020 campaign committee. This just presents a growing brand of unorthodoxy that the president has embraced as evidenced by his tweets, his bombastic claims and his sharp rhetoric. Experts say that no president has done so much to undermine himself.
But Trump is not going to change. For anyone.
The constant reminder of the popular vote margin in the 2016 election proves there is a side to Trump that is inherently provocative given the enigmatic condition towards his public persona. The condemnations towards his fitness to serve could bring imperil to his presidency and hopes for re-election.
Trump’s response to London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, opened up a can of worms that enabled his detractors to mount their criticism on the president. Over the weekend, Trump attacked Khan for telling Londoners not to be alarmed of the recent terror attacks in his city.
Given the climate of Trump’s rhetoric, the same fuel of his comments are only more likely to empower his base once more and discredit the opinions of his critics on such a heated issue as the mass influx of Muslim asylum seekers into Europe.
The president is now focused on his “travel ban” from six Muslim-majority countries that have famously been rejected by federal judges on two separate occasions. The controversy that has played out by the judges and the mainstream media is whether this ban imposes itself on religious liberties and discriminates against Muslims. Critics are now saying that Trump’s labeling of the executive order as a “ban” might potentially harm his legal case.
Trump has also just lawyered up to take on the Russia Probe in which former FBI Director, James Comey, will speak to testify in front of the Senate Committee.
Reports were also released by the Washington Post where Trump reportedly told Russian officials in the Oval Office that he considered the director to be “crazy” and a “nut job”.
Yet despite the chaos surrounding the legal battles in the White House, Trump still has a clear-cut agenda in place. He is focused on enacting the “travel ban”, the repeal and replace of Obamacare, tax cuts, building a wall on the border with Mexico and infrastructure projects. The fulfillment of Trump’s campaign promises will reach a longer duration than himself or his aides could have projected.
Trump’s loose talk and unfiltered rhetoric present a long challenge in winning over supporters and the hearts of minds of European leaders abroad.
House Republicans, Justin Amash and Carlos Cubero, have both condemned Trump on separate occasions. British Prime Minister, Theresa May, defended the London mayor’s comments on Monday saying, “Sadiq Khan is doing a good job. It’s wrong to say anything else.”
Trump has proven that he is willing to sacrifice policies and priorities in order to assert power in a particular moment. When presented with a life’s epiphany of choosing between being the president or Donald J. Trump, he will always choose the latter and that’s what his supporters love about him.
