The Trump presidency is only 79 days old and for those few days, the POTUS has already gotten into enough trouble. Commentators, especially liberal ones, are now starting to think that maybe the idea of a Trump presidency is not as bad as it appeared during the campaign. Jonathan Chait, writing for the New York Times, noted that as Trump is slowly digging a hole for himself, his popularity will continue to dwindle, and the Republican Party will pay the price over the years ahead. For Trump, it was about winning the election. He gambled and he won the jackpot.
However, part of the momentum that propelled the real estate magnate to the White House still rides on a number of promises he made without any realistic or tangible strategy to fulfill them. Whatever gains Trump is likely to make as the President over the next four years might come at huge political cost. But nonetheless, the gains will be nothing compared to the scale of promises he made during the campaign. But ardent Trump supporters will argue and say that every politician makes promises and fails to keep them. And while that is absolutely true, Trump ran as the premier anti establishment candidate.
He was the orange in the apple tree keen on draining the swamp and reclaiming Washington. Judging him by the standard used to judge politicians would be underselling the magnitude of his failures. What couldn’t really have escaped the eyes of many people is just how effective the checks and balances in the US governance system are. At the height of his campaign, some commentators even went as far as comparing Donald Trump to Hitler. However, those people have changed the tune and are now saying that it doesn’t matter who Trump is. As long as the system of checks and balances keeps working as it has so far, then there is nothing to be worried about.
The failure to repeal Obamacare in a house dominated by the Republican Party just goes to show that Trump won’t just have it his own way. The judiciary has done its work well in reining in on the POTUS. Even though judges who have been involved in stopping Trump’s executive orders have borne the brunt of the President’s ire, they have held firm and have showed no sign that they will be cowed by anyone moving forward. In addition to this, the independence of the executive arm of government remains intact. A clear example can be drawn from the intelligence community that has performed its duty without fear or favor even in cases where the President’s name has been mentioned.
These are some of the things that show that being a US President is not just about getting your way politically. Respect for the law and the constitution is important and whatever policies the administration implements or plans to implement. There is no doubt they will be critically reviewed and assessed before they are affected. Checks and balances are simply here to prevent abuse of power and while Trump might not like what is going on, it’s actually a great thing for his presidency. After all, he has already absolved himself of the blame for the shambles of the Trumpcare bill and put it all square on the shoulders of the Freedom Caucus.
