Post by ck4829 on Apr 28, 2017 11:26:39 GMT
Trump’s 100 days: Credit due for his flip-flops, moved goalposts, and bluffs
Critics who say President Trump knows nothing about governing aren’t being fair. There are at some well-worn Washington politician maneuvers he’s mastered fast and is already practicing at expert levels: Flip-Flopping and Moving the Goalposts. He’s pioneered a third, uniquely Trumpian move: Blustering Up to the Brink of No Return, and . . . Backing Down.
Give Trump credit where it’s due — his flip-flops have been tremendous: NATO, China, Syria, Export-Import Bank, to name a few.
He’s moved the goalposts big-league, vowing Mexico would pay for our border wall, and now tweeting, with more caveats than commas, that “eventually, but at a later date so we can get started early, Mexico will be paying, in some form, for the badly needed border wall.”
Trump promised to “immediately” repeal and replace Obamacare, to demand a bill on his “first day,” which would “be so easy.” When the GOP bill performed the legislative circus act of bursting into flames, Trump waved off the defeat: “I never said repeal it and replace it within 64 days.”
When it suited him, Trump thought the 100-day metric was pretty spiffy; he put his 100-day action plan on his website. On Feb. 16, naming his second choice for labor secretary after his first went down in ignominy, he declared: “We have made incredible progress. I don’t think there’s ever been a president elected who in this short period of time has done what I have done.”
On April 8, he said, “I think we’ve had one of the most successful 13 weeks in the history of the presidency,” citing job numbers, his planned military buildup, and his hard bargaining to bring down aircraft prices. On April 18, Trump added hyperbolically, “No administration has accomplished more in the first 90 days.”
Really, President Trump? Really?
So let’s take stock of Trump’s own checklist. He got a Supreme Court justice. He pulled out of the Trans-Pacific trade deal. He signed entry bans affecting several Muslim countries, but those are held up in courts. He signed an order that for every new regulation, two others must be removed. He cleared the way for two pipelines. He banned White House officials lobbying for foreign governments. That’s it so far. Now with few points on the board, Trump calls the 100-day measure “ridiculous."
www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2017/04/27/trump-days-credit-due-for-his-flip-flops-moved-goalposts-and-bluffs/97D0BwQ0Q6WBQcGt3c6iJJ/story.html
Critics who say President Trump knows nothing about governing aren’t being fair. There are at some well-worn Washington politician maneuvers he’s mastered fast and is already practicing at expert levels: Flip-Flopping and Moving the Goalposts. He’s pioneered a third, uniquely Trumpian move: Blustering Up to the Brink of No Return, and . . . Backing Down.
Give Trump credit where it’s due — his flip-flops have been tremendous: NATO, China, Syria, Export-Import Bank, to name a few.
He’s moved the goalposts big-league, vowing Mexico would pay for our border wall, and now tweeting, with more caveats than commas, that “eventually, but at a later date so we can get started early, Mexico will be paying, in some form, for the badly needed border wall.”
Trump promised to “immediately” repeal and replace Obamacare, to demand a bill on his “first day,” which would “be so easy.” When the GOP bill performed the legislative circus act of bursting into flames, Trump waved off the defeat: “I never said repeal it and replace it within 64 days.”
When it suited him, Trump thought the 100-day metric was pretty spiffy; he put his 100-day action plan on his website. On Feb. 16, naming his second choice for labor secretary after his first went down in ignominy, he declared: “We have made incredible progress. I don’t think there’s ever been a president elected who in this short period of time has done what I have done.”
On April 8, he said, “I think we’ve had one of the most successful 13 weeks in the history of the presidency,” citing job numbers, his planned military buildup, and his hard bargaining to bring down aircraft prices. On April 18, Trump added hyperbolically, “No administration has accomplished more in the first 90 days.”
Really, President Trump? Really?
So let’s take stock of Trump’s own checklist. He got a Supreme Court justice. He pulled out of the Trans-Pacific trade deal. He signed entry bans affecting several Muslim countries, but those are held up in courts. He signed an order that for every new regulation, two others must be removed. He cleared the way for two pipelines. He banned White House officials lobbying for foreign governments. That’s it so far. Now with few points on the board, Trump calls the 100-day measure “ridiculous."
www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2017/04/27/trump-days-credit-due-for-his-flip-flops-moved-goalposts-and-bluffs/97D0BwQ0Q6WBQcGt3c6iJJ/story.html