In politics, I have been told that you pick your battles. But President Trump has a different theory, and he has decided to fight everyone that does not agree with his opinion, and that is a terrible way to start your administration.
There are over 600 administrative positions that must be filled, and staffers who have been hired are having meetings in the dark because they don’t know how to turn on the lights. There are leaks coming from aides who are questioning if the top staff understands the processes of the White House and/or the federal government.
“While the administration tries to exude confidence and sure-footedness in its opening weeks, it has made multiple embarrassing public stumbles. The bungled rollout of his executive order barring immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim countries, a flurry of other miscues and embarrassments, and an approval rating lower than that of any comparable first-term president in the history of polling has Mr. Trump and his top staff rethinking an improvisational approach to governing” says David Ferguson from Raw Story and the New York Times.
At this point, Trump’s most significant political setback in his new administration is the 9th Circuit Court ruling against reinstating the president’s travel ban. The unanimous ruling from a three-judge panel means that citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries will be able to continue travel to/from the US, despite Trump’s executive order last month.
Trumps immediate response was an angry tweet. “See you in court, the security of our nation is at stake.” So now Trump’s top staff will hold numerous meeting trying to determine how they can circumvent the Circuit Court’s decision and fall further behind in organizing its administration.
Instead of presenting evidence to explain the need for the executive order, Trump’s legal team came to the hearing unprepared. This is significant, because it raises questions about many of the other executive orders, and lawyers will start to investigate them, and see if they follow the rule of law.
An environment of chaos is not new for Trump, and he appears to thrive on disorder. During the campaign the new president promised that he would blow up Washington with confusion and now people are watching it happen every day.
Trump, the reality TV star, loves confusion, and believes chaos produces the sort of results he likes. “Read any of those stories and the word ‘chaos’ jumps to mind. Or ‘turmoil.’ Or ‘dissension.’ All of them convey the same thing: Less than three weeks into his presidency there is a knife fight happening daily among Trump’s top aides” says Chris Cillizza from the Fix.
Trump is well aware that Republicans have a 52-to-48 majority in the Senate and eventually, all of his nominations will be confirmed. The West Wing is basically empty, and there are small cracks of disappointment and disapproval with the dysfunction of the administration. As the aides support different factions in the administration, someone from the senior staff will become the most powerful.
Many think that Stephen Bannon, Trump’s senior advisor, is the architect of many of the executive orders and the top staff person in the Trump administration with all the power.
Bannon’s appointment to the National Security Council has upset America because now he has unlimited power. With Bannon on the National Security Council, he has a political platform for hateful ideologies instead of the council making critical decisions based upon facts from experts on the ground. Things are a mess, and after 21 days, very little have actually been accomplished.
There are still hundreds of jobs to be filled and very few bills have been presented from either House. Most con men give the impression that they are rolling, but in this administration, when you roll back the fluff, there is no substance and no one knows what they are doing.
