Trump’s Dwindling Street Credibility
It’s time to call a Mulligan on the Trump presidency and start over. From false accusations to his endless stream of exaggerations and other falsehoods, Trump’s first 100 days has had all the makings of a Jerry Springer episode and does not show any signs of stopping.
For a president who is enjoying the first Republican supermajority in over a decade, the first 100 days should have been a cakewalk in terms of setting an agenda and getting down to business; however, the Executive branch is too busy picking fights with the press and trying to strong-arm Congress into passing the second worst health care bill in our nation’s history.
There is little question that the tone being set over the first 100 days is that of a series of SNL skits with more to come and has the potential to carry on until 2020 and may very well cost Republicans dearly in 2018, especially Speaker of the House Paul Ryan.
As Trump continues to send Sean Spicer on kamikaze missions in the form of press briefings, fellow Republicans are working to tow the party line and the unsteadiness of the Trump agenda. Politically speaking, there are former presidents who would have given anything to see their party with a supermajority in the government. Trump has the golden goose of the political gods and is choosing to send his people on a witch-hunt, based on false accusations and junk information.
Stepping back and looking at this week, it should have been a slam-dunk for Trump and Republicans on Capitol Hill, from watching Neil Gorsuch pass his confirmation with flying colors and little fanfare to the progress of the health care reform bill. These events under any other presidency would be pegged as historic and made the front page above the fold. Instead, these momentous events are becoming lost in the fray and rubble because the president would rather hold steady on his wiretapping claims than apologize.
Regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum, I think we can all agree, the chaos and the fickleness of Trump’s campaign has spilled over into his presidency and his approval rating is taking a hit. With Trump polling at 37%, American voters are sending a clear message on how they think Trump is doing at his job as president.
The worst part is that the circus this presidency has become is not doing any favors to Trump’s legitimacy as president of the free world. Overall, Trump may be struggling with his credibility at home and abroad, but it is never too late for him to turn it around and act like the commander in chief who addressed Congress last month.