Jonah Goldberg tells New York Post readers why he’s unwilling to praise the president for his debt deal with Democrats.
Many conservatives have feared such a move from the earliest days of Trump’s candidacy. The former New York Democrat holds no deep love for ideological conservatism, and many of his favorite issues (protectionism, infrastructure, etc.) are more naturally part of the Democratic portfolio.
But those fears didn’t pan out at first. The president and congressional Republicans tried mimic the Democrats in the wake of Barack Obama’s victory in 2008 and run the table, particularly on ObamaCare “repeal and replace,” on a partisan basis. Unfortunately, the GOP couldn’t get it done. This infuriated many conservatives, Republicans and Trump himself, and to some extent rightly so.
For years, Republicans said that if they could win both Congress and the White House there’d be nothing they couldn’t do. Whether this was a lie or just wishful thinking is debatable. …
… This is why Trump’s decision this week to throw Sen. Mitch McConnell and Speaker Paul Ryan under the bus was greeted with such glee by many Trump boosters. They place the blame for all of Trump’s myriad blunders on the GOP “establishment.”
They’d rather see Trump pivot and work with Democrats if it means Trump can declare victory about something — anything — and if it makes the establishment look bad. What was once a fear is now a hope.
The problem is there’s another reason Congress has disappointed the president and his most ardent supporters: Donald Trump doesn’t know what he’s doing.
