Trump's first days are a great success.
He's just having a bit of fun with the Media and settling in.
His agenda is progressing. Mexicans are scuttling toward Mexico like panicked cucarachas. Extreme vetting is being implemented. Gorsuch will be confirmed. Economic indicators remain good.
If they misbehave, he will deal harshly with North Korea and put an end to the problem. That's why they'll behave.
We have decisive leadership for the first time in a long time. The world is afraid. That is good.
Please, put down the Kool Aid.
The administration has been a total mess.
Trump has whipped himself into a frenzy over phantasmagorical claims of "tapps" on Trump Tower, which has forced the FBI to admit that the campaign is under investigation in connection with Russia sabotaging the election. The mere allegations has cost him a National Security Advisor, has forced Sessions to recuse himself from any campaign-related investigations, and repeatedly dragged the President off track. And for all his bro-love, Putin is already preparing to put a shiv in Trump's back.
The House is rushing to pass what one GOP Rep calls "the most universally detested piece of legislation." Even if it survives the House (they don't have the votes yet), it will probably ignominiously die in the Senate. If it passes, it will be a disaster for Republicans, as it will utterly fail to meet several Trump promises such as "no one will lose coverage" and "I won't cut Medicaid" and "everyone will be covered." Premiums will go up and millions will lose coverage, and Republicans will have no one to blame but themselves.
Needless to say, this affair is also helping to deteriorate our standing abroad. Trump insulted our allies by accusing British intelligence of spying on him, despite the Five Eyes agreement and utter lack of evidence to support the claim. Trump wants to slash the State Department by 1/3, and Tillerson -- who apparently didn't want the job in the first place -- is completely out of his depth. Trump is alternately snubbing and insulting NATO, with no understanding of how it actually works.
His immigration moves are another disaster. His travel ban is getting blocked in courts, in no small part because he proclaimed far and wide that he wanted a ban on Muslims entering the US. Border crossings are down at Mexico... as they have been for years during the Obama administration, as well as temporary dips when some American politician proclaims they're going to get tough. Meanwhile, the reality is that more and more people are merely flying into the US, and overstaying tourist or other visas. Trump's wall will be like the Maginot Line; all you have to do is fly over it.
Unsurprisingly, the current downturn is most likely a reaction by Wall Street to the realization that they won't get their beloved tax cuts in 2017, because Trump thought it would take 5 minutes to fix health care in the US. Apparently, our President is such a blithering idiot that he believes "nobody knew health care could be so complicated."
Speaking of Wall Street: The Wall Street Journal, a paper owned by Murdoch, shredded Trump last night: "We’re not sure, which speaks to the damage that Mr. Trump is doing to his Presidency with his seemingly endless stream of exaggerations, evidence-free accusations, implausible denials and other falsehoods.... Two months into his Presidency, Gallup has Mr. Trump’s approval rating at 39%. No doubt Mr. Trump considers that fake news, but if he doesn’t show more respect for the truth most Americans may conclude he’s a fake President."
So at the very least, the WSJ doesn't see his tenure so far as an unqualified success, or getting traction on his agenda. Gosh, I wonder why...?
