An internal conflict over the trajectory of the GOP’s evolution in the Trump era quietly reached a turning point in late 2017 that has become clear only in hindsight. The “originals”–who joined Trump’s campaign when no other Republican political professionals would–have been purged or sidelined. The president has opted to outsource his legislative priorities to conventional Republicans in Congress, and he has delegated the conduct of foreign affairs to responsible administration officials. The contemptible alt-right and their “America First” allies are beside themselves even as erstwhile Trump skeptics in the GOP are suddenly finding a lot to like about this presidency. But there is a danger in all this success. As establishment-friendly Republicans succeed in hijacking Trump’s administration, they risk adopting the #MAGA movement’s most debilitating conceits. Responsible Republicans might just convince themselves of the need to ignore the most glaring defect of Trump’s presidency: the president.
For many of the president’s die-hard defenders, the notion that policy-related accomplishments are the only metric by which a presidency should be judged has become a safety blanket. The tweets, they contend, are a distraction that preoccupies only the uninitiated in effete coastal enclaves. As National Review’s David French admirably demonstrated, Donald Trump’s old oaks engage in self-flattery when they insist that conservatives who remain skeptical of Trump are merely embarrassed by his compulsive habit of making a spectacle of himself. Indeed, they are; any person with a healthy self-respect ought to be. But these Republicans also believe earnestly that presidential statements should carry the weight of the office, whether they are issued on a social-media platform or from behind the Resolute Desk.
The delusion adopted by those most committed to #MAGA is that only they are capable of taking a truly objective look at this presidency, but they achieve this objectivity by being selective about what presidential behaviors they believe are worthy of their concern. They are doing the president a disservice. Trump’s Republican critics have managed to compel this president to abandon his most unfeasible panders to the populist wing of the GOP. The next phase of Trump’s transition into a competent chief executive will require him to relinquish his Twitter habit. Not only is it undermining his presidency at home, it is also stripping the president of authority abroad.
When the president’s Twitter account is used sparingly and with precision, it can be an effective tool to advance U.S. interests. Recently, the president issued a series of comments regarding ongoing unrest in Iran, in which he warned the Islamic Republic to moderate its behavior while galvanizing resistance against the regime. It’s doubtful these calls to action would have had their reach had they been issued as a sterile presidential memo. But these fleeting and laudable moments are eclipsed by the president’s attachment to bomb-throwing. And those bombs erupt with consequence.
When the president promotes violent videos purporting (erroneously, as it turns out) to show Muslim migrants in Europe engaging in violence advanced by a far-right activist, it ignited a scandal in London. This row eventually compelled the British government to postpone a scheduled “working visit” to the U.K., a development that would have been the cause of paroxysms had it been a Democrat recklessly alienating America’s closest ally.
When Trump tweeted at the government of Pakistan, declaring them to be double-dealing on the issue of terrorism, he was only stating a fact. When he threatened (and later followed through) with a demand to pull a piddling $225 million in foreign assistance for Pakistan over this frustrating fact, some saw it as a refreshing change in policy. But recklessly antagonizing political elites in a nuclear-capable Muslim-dominated state in South Asia carries risks, among them anti-American demonstrations in Islamabad and lost influence over a country whose cooperation the U.S. needs to combat terrorism and prevent Afghanistan from coming apart. The president’s fans may try to contend that this is all part of a carefully considered strategic realignment, but none have been able to articulate what that strategy is, exactly.
More critically from the perspective of Trump’s supporters, the president’s habit of tweeting recklessly only diminishes his stature at home. When the President of the United States attacks a morning television host for having cosmetic surgery, withdraws invitations to the White House for NBA players in a fit of pique, and announces his intention to judge the first annual “most dishonest and corrupt media awards,” he cheapens the office and belittles himself. When Trump tweets cavalierly about the prospect of a thermonuclear exchange with a rogue state, he thinks he is being entertaining. He’s not; he’s making people nervous. There is a reason why Donald Trump is presiding over a roaring economy and relative global peace amid a well-earned victory over the ISIS “caliphate” and yet has an anemic job-approval rating that only seems to rebound when he’s out of the spotlight.
With some exceptions, Donald Trump’s conservative critics in the pundit community have been pleasantly surprised by this administration’s turn away from reckless isolationism, protectionism, and radical immigration hawkishness. They’ve changed their views of the administration accordingly. By contrast, Trump’s diehard supporters appear to be allergic to this kind of introspection. Few of Trump’s committed apologists have entertained the obvious: The president’s exceedingly fragile ego and addiction to sowing division are sabotaging his prospects for success. It is fortunate that this president has surrounded himself with people who appear to have little use for those diehards, or else this presidency may not be salvageable.
