Posted on 05/11/2018 5:49:04 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
The instant analysis on cable TV of President Donald Trump's decision to dump the Iran deal had a weary resignation to it: He said he would do this.
Indeed, he had. Trump repeatedly promised on the campaign trail to pull out of the deal and had made it a target from the time that President Barack Obama first entered into it in 2015.
His exit from the agreement is another instance of the Trump paradox: The president who says more outlandish and untrue things than anyone who has ever occupied the office of the presidency is also extraordinarily determined to deliver on his big promises.
Trump often doesn't mean what he says, but when he says what he means – watch out. The combined forces of international pressure, polite opinion, outraged New York Times editorials, resistant advisers and sheer inertia aren't an obstacle.
Many of Trump's loose promises in the campaign weren't remotely deliverable (he was never going to drop Bowe Bergdahl out of an airplane over Afghanistan with no parachute).
But on his signature pledges, he's been committed, usually more than anyone around him. He's been particularly stalwart on those promises that require blasting through entrenched conventional wisdom and elite resistance.
What was most remarkable about Trump's promise to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move the U.S. Embassy there wasn't that he said it – every recent president made similar sounds – but that he actually did it.
George W. Bush said in 2000 that "as soon as I take office I will begin the process of moving the U.S. ambassador to the city that Israel has chosen as its capital." Bill Clinton said he supported "the principle" of moving the embassy there. Barack Obama was more circumspect, although he said that "Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel."
On this, Trump was more a man of his word than all of his predecessors.
One line of criticism of Trump from the right is that he's just doing what any other Republican president would do (with lots of uniquely Trumpian baggage). But it's not at all clear that another GOP president, even if he was on record favoring these moves, would have pulled out of the Paris climate accord and withstood the howls about imperiling the planet; or ended DACA despite all the media pressure to keep it; or exited the Iran deal with the Europeans waging an intense lobbying campaign in its favor.
It wasn't simply that these decisions had opponents. Their opponents were overrepresented in (allegedly) sophisticated circles with disproportionate cultural clout. Even conservatives who disdain the elite feel this cultural pull. Whereas Trump, who has never been housetrained as a politician, is more immune to it. He might crave the approval of respectable opinion, but he's also perfectly content to outrage it.
So, he is following through where others might equivocate or back off.
Of course, Trump is not, as a general matter, scrupulous with his words. Even when he's being relatively rigorous, he piles superlatives on top of exaggeration in what the real estate business calls, delicately, "puffery." He'll simply make up things to wound his adversaries, and he's not telling the truth about the Stormy Daniels controversy.
Yet he is taking seriously the most important things he told his voters he'd do if elected, a key element of his bond with his base. They aren't always within his power to deliver, especially anything involving Congress. It clearly drives him crazy that on his most famous (and unrealizable) promise, to build a wall and have Mexico pay for it, he can't even get some photogenic construction going.
When Trump was elected, it seemed he might be endlessly flexible and up for grabs. He certainly is willing to say anything at any time. But he hasn't shifted or shrunk from the core commitments that defined his candidacy. So far, "he said he would do this" has been a remarkably reliable guide to the Trump agenda.
Parts of THE WALL is being built right now!
And aside from a few small things, Trump has managed to fulfill an enormous amount of his campaign promises in less than 2 years! He's even better than Reagan was and that's saying a lot.
“Many of Trump’s loose promises in the campaign weren’t remotely deliverable (he was never going to drop Bowe Bergdahl out of an airplane over Afghanistan with no parachute).”
You mean Rich Lowery took that literally? You mean Rich Lowery cannot detect the use of hyperbole to make a point?
Rich Lowery cannot understand someone who has lived in the real world, very successfully, with his feet planted on the ground and not with his head in the clouds.
President Trump is trying to restore the Constitution and the rule of law and the sovereignty of the citizens after the Kenyanesian Usurpation against most of the US government, both parties, the Ministry of Propaganda and all of our enemies abroad.
He’s done admirably so far.
You know, a year or year and a half ago, if you disliked Trump’s style, or were ambivalent or agnostic, it could be understood or be seen as a reasonable alternative viewpoint. But if you are not solidly behind Trump today with fervor, you are either an imbecile, corrupt as Hell, or a traitor.
“The president who says more outlandish and untrue things”...Lowry is in another universe, the Fake News one.
Even writing a few kind words about Trump sticks in his throat and I hope they are choking him! ;^)
And your post is spot on; especially the last bit! :-)
“The president who says more outlandish and untrue things than anyone who has ever occupied the office of the presidency . . . “
Didn’t bother reading any more.
Yep.
This constant barrage of negativity must be wearing people down, including people who have a fundamental misunderstanding of who President Trump is and what he is doing.
I met someone recently who was totally anti-Trump. I asked him point by point what he was against. We ended up laughing, because he could only say “you got me.” Pride is a thing, so he dug his heels in a bit.
Saw him yesterday, and we talked about the Americans being released from NK. He said, “Ok, yes, I will give him credit for that.”
I pray there are many others whose eyes open.
I would prefer people be solidly behind the LORD with fervor.
Anything else, and we will end up excusing what is still inexcusable.
I kind of wish these carping lefties would agree on some Official List of Outlandish and Untrue Things Trump Said.
With all these generalities bandied around, there’s nothing substantial to discuss.
At the same time, Donald could well afford to greater emphasize the worth of the grace of God to him. It wasn’t all that long ago that he was a playboy and a Democrat. This ultimately ain’t about Donald. It’s about God.
In the final analysis, everything President Trump says is true. They can twist things to their heart’s content; it doesn’t change things. Once in a blue moon he makes a mistake, but boo hoo. President Trump, unlike the liberals, has no intent to deceive the American people. Going to a school with a strict honor code generally stays with a person. This drives the dems crazy (a very short drive). They feel they must drive Trump’s trust numbers down like they did with George W. George W. had very high trust numbers when he came into office and that was a real threat to the dems.
Rich Lowry just can’t stand that Trump is doing a great job and is already one of the best presidents ever.
It was the #NeverTrump dingbats that ultimately capitulated to the Left’s agenda — never willing to confront it.
The #NeverTrumpers are about style without substance. And that’s okay when writing fiction.
We should rebrand the #NeverTrump gang to #NeverWilling.
Rich Lowery used to be a conservative and was once able to discern the difference between irony and probity. When he changed sides he necessarily abjured all ability to make such distinctions
>>The president who says more outlandish and untrue things than anyone who has ever occupied the office of the presidency<<
Complete nonsense. Examples please? This constant backhanded and demeaning ridicule is sickening.
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