After only a few weeks, it is far too early to judge the
eventual outcome of the Trump Administration. Nevertheless, there are
disturbing signs that, in some ways, President Trump is following in the
footsteps of none other than Barack Obama and may be repeating some of his
predecessor’s worst mistakes.
One of the most obvious parallels between Presidents Trump
and Obama is their tendency to go it alone. President Trump started his
administration with a flurry of Executive Orders, some rolling back Obama’s
executive actions and some starting his own initiatives. Some of this was to be
expected since Trump promised to end several of Obama’s executive actions. More
disturbing to those who support the rule of law, during the campaign Donald
Trump said that President Obama “led
the way” on Executive Orders, hinting that he may use them to bypass Congress
as Obama did.
When President Trump’s Executive Order on immigration lost
several prominent court cases, the president’s reaction was similar to what one
might expect from President Obama. Trump attacked
the judges who ruled against him on Twitter.
Trump’s attacks hearken back to President Obama’s own
antagonism against judges. In 2010, Obama
attacked the Supreme Court, not on Twitter, but in his formal State of the
Union Address. The remark in the wake of the Citizens United decision was Obama’s
most famous attack on the bench, but it was only the tip of the iceberg. Obama
frequently criticized the Court and tried to influence its decisions on
cases, including the challenges
to the Affordable Care Act. The fact that Obama’s challenges to the
independence of the judicial branch were not delivered via Twitter does not
make them any less problematic.
Even after losing in court, President Trump’s response is to
craft
a new Executive Order rather than work with Congress in an attempt to find
a bipartisan solution to the immigration problem. This echoes President Obama’s
strategy of circumventing Congress after Republicans won control of the House. Reports
from Republicans indicate that Mr. Trump has been uninvolved in the process
of crafting a replacement for Obamacare even though his own party controls both
houses of Congress. Voters have indicated that their preference was for both
presidents to work
with Congress, rather than go it alone.
The two presidents also tend to personalize any criticism of
their administrations or their policies. President Obama typically refused to
consider that his opponents were patriotic Americans who had genuine
disagreements on policy. According
to Obama, his Republican opponents were anti-science, warmongers, and prejudiced
against minorities and immigrants. He called Republicans “hostage
takers,” saboteurs
and “deadbeats”
to name a few insults. Largely forgotten now, President Obama even had problems
with the press and was accused of trying to censor
the media.
President Trump has done nothing to elevate the level of
political discourse. President Trump’s numerous insults to anyone who
criticizes him, from Khizr
Khan to Ted
Cruz, are numerous and well known. Even after taking office, Mr. Trump’s
penchant for insulting his critics has continued and even gone international as
he engaged in tiffs with President Enrique
Peña Nieto of Mexico and Prime Minister Malcolm
Turnbull of Australia. Trump also frequently attacks
the press and, of course, a wide variety of Democrats.
The insults form a part of the strategy of division and
victimhood of both presidents. President Obama marshaled his supporters against
the “bitter
clingers,” the wealthy and any hint of racism. For his part, President
Trump focuses his supporters against the establishment, the press and foreign
influences of trade and immigration. In both cases, the strategy is one of
unifying the base against ideological bogeymen, rather than attempting to unify
the country as a whole. Rather than bringing people together, both presidents
stir up factions against each other.
Further, the two presidents share an affinity for
campaigning, even after the campaign is over. President Obama was often criticized
for his frequent fundraising and political rallies. This weekend, a month
into President Trump’s term, he returns to the campaign trail with a political
rally in Florida. The coordinator of the rally told Fox
News that the event was Trump’s “first re-election rally.” The election is
44 months away.
The love of partisan audiences may reflect the need of both
men for adulation and affirmation. It is much easier and more rewarding to
deliver a stump speech to throngs of admirers than to engage in the gritty work
of legislative “sausage
making.” It is this work of governing that determines the success or
failure of a president, however.
All this leads to the most serious mistakes that President
Obama made for his party: Overconfidence and overreach. In January 2009, President
Obama told congressional Republicans, “Elections have consequences, and at
the end of the day, I won.” By that he meant, I get what I want. Obama quickly
poisoned the well and made future cooperation with Republicans difficult, if
not impossible.
Donald Trump is heading down that road as well. Like Barack
Obama, President Trump currently has majorities in both houses of Congress. It
is easy to imagine that the Trump Administration has a blank check to enact
whatever initiatives President Trump deems appropriate. However, the president and
the Republicans must realize that, unless Mitch McConnell eliminates the
filibuster, bipartisan cooperation is going to be needed to advance any bill
past a cloture vote in the Senate. The withdrawal of Andrew
Puzder should serve as a warning that the president does not get everything
he wants.
President Obama’s eight years are over. His legacy is being
erased and he will be judged a failure, largely because he was unable to build
a consensus and compromise. After Republicans took control of the House in
2011, President Obama never passed any significant legislation. All of his
landmark laws were passed with Democratic majorities in both houses.
The question is
whether President Trump will repeat his mistakes or will use the historic
opportunity that he has been given to make America great again. To do so, the
new president will have to drop the role of the victim and look beyond his base
to build a majority. To be successful and build a lasting legacy, President Trump
must win over at least some of the voters who didn’t vote for him. He must work
with Congress to pass legislation that is more durable than an Executive Order.
President Trump needs to stop preaching to the choir and start working on
converting the masses.
Originally published
on The
Resurgent
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