One year on and they are still learning

[Suff]

Far from then heady days of blocking Trump's executive orders on immigration, the activists are standing by fuming and impotent today.

When are they going to learn? The press assumed that Trump was just another politician when every single thing they knew about him meant that he was not. The press assumed that he would go for votes. The liberal lefties assumed that they could just keep taking Trump to court and that it would all be OK and that some day (3 years from now), they would get back to morally bankrupt Presidents, so deep into the pockets of donors that they were under control.

Slowly, but surely, they are learning different. The Paris climate accord. The Israeli embassy, now the Iranian Nuclear deal. All sole competencies of the Executive office in 1600 Pennsylvania avenue.

Rather than work with Trump, in the early days; those who foamed at the mouth about the "Racist joke" of a President, who partied when they won in the courts and backed the President down, have now found they have absolutely NO leverage whatsoever with Trump. Had they worked "with" him on immigration, they could have threatened his immigration rules if he stepped out of line on much more important issues.

So they are trying to impeach him. They are trying to block him and they are running head on into a concrete wall.

In fact those who foam at the mouth at Trump are creating their own worst nightmare, his re-election to a second term. Why?

Trump is a showman and he's keeping each promise to be fulfilled when he needs his biggest distractions from Russia and the Stormy Sleazestorm. But the point is this. When Trump goes back to the campaign trail in 2 years time, his message will be simple. "I told you what I was going to do, you voted for it and I did it. How many other Presidents can you say that about?". Those who voted for Trump, who took a leap in the dark, a leap of faith, will read that and say "Yep you did". So when Trump goes back again and says "I will do this". What are they going to do? Say, yeah well I'll vote for the other guy because I believe him? They voted for Trump because they wanted a change and they sure as hell got a change.

He pulled out of Paris and broke the Apologist trend for Global warming emissions which had been building for a few decades. Those voters will love that. He will, by then, have enacted his tariffs on trade to "balance" out barriers which face the US. His budget was a masterstroke. The Democrats didn't want to fund his schemes and "stood on principle" over the size of the budget deficit. Well until he offered them so much money for their little slush funds that they simply wouldn't say no. If anyone thinks Trump is not going to use that in 2 years time, the are political Naïfs.

Right now we have the Iran deal. After decades of demonising Iran, Obama, in the minds of middle America, capitulated. Trump is back to American Might and has pulled out. What most people don't realise is that he's also revitalised the US Fracking industry because they won't be getting all that cheap Iranian Oil coming out. Saudi will be pleased and that is a big part of this whole thing.

Step by step Trump is moving towards re-election. Simply by doing what he promised. Yep, he's going to do them ALL. Everyone said "you can't". They fought him in the courts and they won. They stood on the sidelines and watched him bring down all the other things they could not touch. Now he is doing the "you can't" step by step. The last one will certainly be the "wall"/fence with Mexico. It will be begun before he goes back to the people.

Unless, of course, the Republicans lose so many seats in the mid terms that the Democrats actually manage to Impeach Trump. This is a possibility because any Republican who has stood against Trump has found out that they are at danger in the polls. Trump voters will not vote for Senators or Congresscritturs who speak out against him...

Meanwhile the learning process continues. I do wonder just how much this has changed the landscape of US politics. Voters have a different view. Voters have actually learned that you can vote for change and you can have change. They have learned something else too and that is pretty dangerous. They have learned that if you vote for the person who is branded a racist and a bigot and a misogynist, you might actually get someone you like in government. The problem there is that gambling that way, with that much power, can have seriously negative effects if you gamble on the wrong person.

And if it all goes horribly wrong? Who will blame those who made it necessary by lying to the voters on the campaign trail??

[cromwell]

Trump is hated by the professional political class because he is not one of them. He is a complete outsider who never held office before. They don't like that.

He doesn't speak like they do, in the language of politics. He doesn't use the standard cliches. The whole thrust of politics in the west is TINA - There Is No Alternative.

Trump is showing that there is, and he is hated for it.

I don't know where we'll end up with it all.

[Workingman]

The US public gave him a couple of months of positive ratings, but since then he has been in negative territory making him unique in post war presidents. It also means that he is not a shoo-in for another term.

He is a loose cannon and a maverick who believes his own hype a bit too much, however, his legacy could still go either way - a great president or one who brought the world to WWIII.

I will not be putting any money on either option.

[Suff]

Ratings. Yes. He was going to lose the election too. According to the ratings.

It is very true that he could be great or a disaster. But you also have to look at the statements made during the election campaign. After all, if you voted for Obama, he was going to strangle the US and destroy the recovery from the financial crisis. If you voted for Cameron and the Tories in 2010, the same would happen as crippling austerity would cripple UK businesses, only spending £200bn more than we earned, every year, would drag us out of i.t.

I am keen to see what happens with NK. I'm also keen to see what happens with Iran. The EU may make a big thing about continuing with the deal, but the US is 24% of the world economy and if you deal with Iran, that same firm can't also deal with the US without facing punishing fines.

Well at least it won't be boring..

[AliasAggers]

He is obviously upsetting the bunch of typical politicians in the USA.

We could certainly do with someone like him in this country. Our present bunch of politicians are an extremely useless lot.

Well, that's my opinion.

[Suff]

True Aggers but there is a difference in the Governments.

In the UK the executive branch is the Cabinet of the party in power. In the UK we can have a leadership challenge and the PM will change.

In America the office of the President is an elected role and forms the Executive Branch. In the US the President does not have to be in either of the parties in power and, short of impeachment, cannot be removed.

This difference allows Trump to do things the sitting PM of the UK cannot. When you get someone like Trump, who has not bought his way up the ladder with favours to be repaid, very interesting things can happen.

We may be living in interesting times. Time will tell. And as in the oft quoted Chinese saying, incorrectly, about living in interesting times; it is true that people don't actually like interesting times. What they like is staid, boring and, relatively, unchanging times. So that they can plan their lives out. Interesting times include War, Famine, huge booms, economic depressions and general mayhem of all kinds. They also portend rapid and meteoric ascendency for the few who know how to surf those times. Plus general misery and uncertainty for the masses.

So we live with the illusion of these interesting times. Like believing that we can have pay rises over inflation indefinitely and the prices will never catch up. That we can have promotion every year but never have to bear the responsibility of high level executive office. That we can keep on expanding the money supply forever but nobody ever has to pay for it...

Illusions keep people happy and in their place. Trump is shattering those illusions. Some like it. Most won't.