The Incompetent Presidency

I know that President Trump, his administration, and his die hard supporters will just scream "fake news," but can't help but be somewhat stunned when a well established conservative publication like The National Review publishes something like this article. I suppose, however, that it is unavoidable due to the complete ineptitude displayed by the Trump Administration nearly three months into assuming the office.

The first 100 days is typically a time where a new administration passes a good many new initiatives, strengthened by the political capital and "mandate" stemming from the election. In the case where the President has entered office without a resounding mandate, such as the 2000 election and George W. Bush, the administration has typically worked aggressively with the other party to achieve bipartisan legislative achievements. These are the two options, historically and for good reason: if you have the capital you should use it before circumstances dictate that you lose it. If you don't have the capital, working with the other side can garner respect and support in the event that you gain it in the future.

The Trump Administration, inexplicably, has seemingly settled on a third option: go to war with everyone. Accordingly, it seems likely at this point that they will end their first 100 days without a single headline achievement on which to rest their hats. The buildup to the midterm election will be fast and furious this time around, similar to what was observed in 1994 or 2010. An Administration without a mandate (no President in modern times has had less of a mandate than President Trump did upon taking the oath of office) has decided to try to operate by strong arming people. He has served to stir up the opposition to the point where they are apparently poised to oppose nearly everything. He has also served to further fracture his own party, splitting off extreme and moderate portions of his party already.

In sum, it is inarguable at this point that this administration is ill equipped for the responsibility of governing. With issues spiraling out of control in the realm of foreign policy (Syria and North Korea most disconcertingly), and with their own administration in the line of fire for a series of apparent lies told by campaign and administration personnel regarding their own involvement with Russia, as well as the President's own inability to stay out of his own way on social media, it seems simultaneously essential that the administration somehow rush through their own steep learning curve and catastrophically impossible that they can learn at all. Three months in things look bad. They are poised to look a lot worse in three months if there isn't a miraculous turnaround hidden just out of sight.