Literally billions of people oppose Trump – tens of millions in his own country, and reams of people in the rest of the world. And yet, as of today his approval rating is at re-election levels at 48%. The disapproval rating is 50%. But usually at the mid-point in any president’s term, their approval rating is often far worse. For example, at this point in his presidency, Obama’s approval rating was at 42%.
Why is this man still so popular?
If you ask the opposition – Democrats and CNN - he is the devil incarnate. He lies like no one before, literally blasting his relentless lies everywhere via Twitter; he divides, especially along the racial divide, and stokes the fires through his propaganda arm at Fox News; he embarrasses his countrymen overseas, cozying up to the likes of Putin and Kim Jong-un, while insulting the leaders of most of America’s major allies including Germany, France, Canada and the UK; he abuses his authority, skirting the constitution on the advice of some of the real vagabonds of American political life; he ignores American political traditions; he is shamelessly partisan, seemingly loving the political civil war in America; he is a total creep when it comes to women, being almost the poster boy for the "Me Too" movement.
So…why 48%? What is the Trump Doctrine of Politics?
Since he came to power, Trump has done things!!!
His presidency has been VERY active. Consider that he has done this….
He took on North Korea, getting them to the disarmament table in a way that no other president ever had or ever could. His approach was bizarre, but the two countries are talking, and there is a real thaw between North and South Korea only sparked because of Trump’s approach.
He moved the embassy to Jerusalem, as promised by every recent president before him.
He cancelled the Iran deal, rightly noting that it only strengthen their support for terrorism. He is now pushing Iran harder than any president before him, clearly seeking regime change if they do not stop sponsoring terror.
He took NATO to task about their contributions to the collective defence – Obama did the same thing.
He is taking to task the Chinese and the remarkably unfair trade situation between the USA and that country.
He remade NAFTA, as promised.
He fired Comey, and now Sessions.
He cancelled the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in an effort to force China to join.
He abandoned the TPP, as promised.
He strengthened Immigration enforcement, is cracking down on illegal immigrants and still plans to build a wall.
He moved forward one of the largest tax cuts in US history.
He tried to repeal Obamacare, and when that failed he did reduce some of its regulatory requirements.
He took the war more aggressively to ISIS…they no longer have a country.
He expanded the military.
He repealed reams of regulations, especially environmental ones.
He left the Paris Accord.
He ignores anything that is politically correct – often mocking its many “flavour of the day” precepts, to the delight of multiple millions who are tired of hearing how awful they are.
He has started to remake the court system into a Republican stronghold for generations to come.
He campaigned hard in the recent mid-terms, and effectively thwarted a Democratic Party sweep, dramatically reducing the damage to the Republican cause. The fact that the Republicans still hold the Senate means the campaign to convert the Judiciary to Republican can continue.
So what do we have?
This man has done a massive amount of work that his base absolutely loves. Others hate what he has done, but one of the Trump Doctrine of Politics' precepts and strengths is the realization that Trump does not need everyone’s support to win, and as a result, he truly does not care about the opposition or what it thinks. His supporters focus on his results not his style, and unlike his opposition...he knows it.
Looking at and considering the above, one could say that The Trump Doctrine of Politics comes down to...
...Divert on Style while Advancing on Substance (DSAS).
There is no question that Trump’s outrages are calculated; the man is not an idiot, quite the opposite. He knows precisely what he is doing. With every lie and every outrageous utterance he diverts his opposition through style, then he moves in for the kill on substance.
To be effective, opposition must be focused. The Democrats and their media propaganda arms like CNN seem to take the style bait every single time, and clamour like lost sheep as he runs rings around them on the things that matter – legislative change, foreign and economic policy, and remaking the judiciary. He is like a military leader who launches 12 feint attacks at points of no importance causing maximum chaos to his enemy, and while they are distracted he drives home at the point that really matters.
Can I say it?
This crop of Democrats may be the most incompetent political opposition in the history of the USA. They stand for opposition to the style of the president and they stand seemingly for nothing else. Can anyone say what they would do if they were in power? And even on style, they are in many ways totally lost compared to Trump. On that…
…“Make America Great Again!”…so simple and so effective. If politics is about getting the message out, this guy is a genius.
What was Hillary’s mantra? Do you remember?
Try “Hillary for America!”….so utterly narcissistic and so utterly ineffective. This is the mantra of a person who was and still is completely out of touch. Many people rankled at that mantra, as in “…have we not had enough of these people?” (No…she is going to run again.)
Those who hate the man need to deal with an essential reality - He won because she ran a terrible campaign and he ran a great one.
His complete dominance of the Democrats continues.
Trump has just come out in favour of Nancy Pelosi as the leader in the House of Representatives, saying he can work with her.
Reality – he needs Pelosi - who has supported Hillary Clinton’s bid for the presidency since at least 2013 - in a strong position so that she can support Hillary’s next run. You see, Trump is already planning the next campaign, and he wants Hillary to be his opponent, because he knows he can beat her.
Expect Trump to be very kind to her few remaining friends and very hard on her possible opponents in the weeks and months to come.
To conclude - the more the Democrats underestimate him and continue to focus on style not substance, the more he is guaranteed to keep winning where it matters.
In normal times Trump would be a terrible candidate – this political battle has always been the Democrats to lose, and they keep losing right on cue. If they do not change their approach, and Mueller’s report and indictments to come do not destroy Trump’s presidency, he will likely be the president until 2024.
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