Sunday, January 21, 2018

What he wants - the DACA débâcle.

There has been much discussion this week of what exactly it Trump wants. The question was bought into sharp relief by the DACA débâcle. Perhaps his clearest statement was at the Tuesday publicity stunt meeting in which he loudly declared he'd sign whatever the bipartisan group of senators brought to him.  Before they could present him their plan, John Kelly rather sneakily bought Tom Cotton to see him - something he didn't need to have done but which suggests that Kelly sees the opportunity to advance his own political agenda.  Suddenly Trump had stipulations as to what he would and wouldn't sign.

Now the Democrats are fuming that he reneged on his Tuesday commitment, and McConnell is reluctant to move forward without a clear indication from Trump as to what he actually wants.  That's a forlorn hope. Trumps has no fixed policy goals; what he wants is to look as though he's accomplishing something - anything - it doesn't matter the content as long as he gets the credit and praise to placate his insecurity. Trump is fundamentally weak and unprincipled, making him a prime target for manipulation by sycophantic toadies.  His behavior suggest he feels deeply undeserving and out of his depth. What he want's isn't any particular policy; it's to be admired, worshiped and adored. In the immortal words of Mr. T. "Pity the fool".       

No comments:

Post a Comment