'I'm a Republican: I think Trump's first year was monumental flop'
"Ignorant, unreliable and thin-skinned" - Trump had the single worst first year of any POTUS ever, says our guest writer.
Saturday 20 January 2018 05:38, UK
Has Trump had a good first year?聽No, he has not. In fact, it has been a devastatingly bad year that likely makes the rest of his term doomed to failure, writes former US congressman John LeBoutillier.
Let us examine what happened - and what it portends for the future.
I write this piece as a life-long conservative Republican - a Reagan Republican who proudly served as a US congressman - and a believer that over the past three decades America was in desperate need of a "political revolution" to shake up a stagnant, lethargic, out of touch, arrogant political class in Washington DC.
Trump - a very smart political analyst as long as he keeps himself out of the analysis - correctly read the need for this in 2015 and 2016. But in 2017 - as President - he has proven to be the wrong leader of this revolution.
His toxic character, his ego and narcissism, dwarf that of almost all other egotistical revolutionaries such as Lenin, Castro and even Mao.
And it is these personality problems that have infected his presidency and the Republican Party to the point where they are reviled by 60% of American voters.
:: All you need to know about Trump's incredible first year in power
Trump began his presidency a year ago and immediately made a mistake typical of many newly elected officials: he misread why he won and thus what he had to do to govern.
In fact, Trump even disputed the narrow nature of his victory.
Three days after his Inauguration, the new president told congressional leaders in their first joint meeting in the White House: "You know, I won the popular vote."
In fact, Trump lost the popular vote by 2.8 million votes.
And he won the Electoral College by very, very narrowly winning Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania by a total of 77,000 votes.
Instead of acknowledging the closeness of the vote - and thus the deep divisions in our country - Trump began issuing executive orders (something he and GOP leaders decried when President Obama did it) on an almost daily basis.
And Trump kept telling staff and friends: "The base loves it."
And then the base - which began with the 46% he won in November 2016 - soon began to shrink. Within weeks it was down to 36%, where it remains today.
How can you effectively run a democratic republic with just 36% of the people supporting you?
Not well - despite the fact that the Republican Party controls both houses of Congress.
As 2017 evolved the party morphed into the Trump Party. They defended his abhorrent behaviour and encouraged - not criticised - his disgusting outbursts.
Yes, they did manage to confirm a new conservative Supreme Court Justice - Neil Gorsuch - and other federal judges - through Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's decision to change Senate rules and allow judicial votes to be filibuster-proof.
(Trump, of course, did not realise McConnell's unique role in doing this and instead viciously trashed him in August when McConnell was quoted at questioning whether Trump could rescue his floundering presidency).
Yes, Trump's cabinet officers did repeal stifling regulations.
And the stock markets have shown explosive growth (as they have worldwide); but legislatively 2017 was a unique - one party control - and a wasted opportunity to govern;
They failed repeatedly to "repeal and replace" Obamacare - their singular campaign promise over four election cycles. They also failed to legislate a new immigration system, the other hot-button 2016 campaign issue.
They even failed to pass a budget, instead they are scrambling to keep the government up and running.
Yes, they did pass a sweeping tax bill. But the country - so far - is not enthused over it; only 26% support it and believe they will pay lower taxes.
Last week - with just over a week left in Trump's first year - the Quinnipiac poll told us all we need to know: 63% of Americans rate the economy as "good or excellent." But only 36% approve of the job Trump is doing.
Normally a good economy elevates a president's approval ratings.
But in Trump's case he has shown himself to be so negative, so sour, so acidic, so inept, so ignorant, so insecure and - yes - so incompetent, that his personality has overwhelmed the good economic news.
This poison has also rubbed off on the Trump (formerly Republican) Party: most polls show that the public by a 10-point margin favours a Democratic takeover of Congress in November.
This is buttressed by the results in this past November's off-off-year elections and the special Alabama Senate election where the 'Passion Differential' heavily favoured the Democrats; in each of those 2017 races Democratic turnout was huge while Republican turnout was down.
And, of course, Trump's first year was haunted by 'Russia-gate' and Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and whether the Trump campaign - and Trump himself - conspired with Russia to break the law and tip the election in his favour.
That particular story will come to its conclusion in 2018 - and it could prove fatal to the Trump presidency.
In sum, 2017 was the single worst first year of any POTUS - ever. And it raises the question of whether this president can even make it through 2018.
An ancillary question is this: will the Republican Party survive Trump?
My answer is: No, it will die because of Trump, just as the Democratic Party has died because of Obamacare (not President Obama himself).
That healthcare law has destroyed Democrats across the nation. It caused them to lose control of both the House and Senate, governorships and state legislatures.
Each voter has his or her own moment when "Trump went too far."
For me it wasn't any one incident. It was the accumulation of all of them. And it was the realisation that he is all bluster, woefully ignorant, unreliable, too-thin-skinned for the job, and is only interested in himself.
The likelihood is that America - perhaps in 2020 - will elect an independent president, a dynamic, unique candidate who will run "against both parties who have degraded our country".
:: John LeBoutillier was a US congressman for New York's 6th district from 1981-1983.
On Saturday, we will have an alternative opinion. Come back to find out why President Trump "had a truly great year".