Even the guy you nominated to the Supreme Court, your first attempt at building a solid conservative majority there, has taken a shot at you.
Everybody knows by now that Judge Neil Gorsuch of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found your remarks about some of his fellow jurists “demoralizing and disheartening.” And it’s obvious there are times you think being president trumps (pun intended) everything else, including the judicial branch of government. Your handling of this particular situation squarely fits the pattern you’ve established in your first few weeks in office: Attack the source of your discomfort. Never ignore.
So, when Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said Gorsuch had expressed his personal discomfort, you turned your wrath on Blumenthal’s credibility, citing a discrepancy about Vietnam duty revealed several years ago. Never mind that a White House adviser had confirmed Gorsuch’s remarks.
Well ho hum, just another day in the White House Now You See it Now You Don’t Office.
Why, just before Gorsuch gave you heartburn, you tied into the media — a favorite target — after citing false figures about rising crime rates. You said the rates are growing rapidly when they actually are in decline over all despite the exception of a few cities.
To your credit, you came back the next day with more accurate statistics that showed crime is far below what it was 47 years ago. The numbers showed a recent 14 percent jump in the number of murders but much of that apparently can be attributed to wild and wooly Chicago, where the mayor and everyone else seem to be at a loss about how to prevent the daily slaughter.
As one sits back watching snafu after snafu arise out of your apparent desire to change the world and clean up its ills in biblical time — the alleged seven days, or somewhere near that — one must wonder if the mistakes are from an inept, politically untutored staff or just a boss who doesn’t understand how this constitutionally guided country really works.
You seem to sense that making up things is workable and useful because your loyal supporters really don’t care as long as the promises you made brashly throughout the primaries and general election campaigns are fulfilled. So, you lie.
“Who cares? So did (name your president),” you’d say.
Your penchant for having things both ways is clear in your promise that this nation of mayhem will be significantly cleaned up when criminal immigrants are dealt with yet dedicating yourself to preserving one of the true causes of modern crime, the Second Amendment’s nearly unfettered authorization of the distribution of firearms. Gun control? What the heck has that got to do with anything? Once again, check with Chicago.
Clearly, there are going to be mistakes in the early days of a presidency, especially when a new chief executive is out to fulfill campaign promises without first determining what already is being done about particular issues and how those efforts can be tailored to meet his own objectives. Prudence is a powerful tool as one makes his way through the pitfalls of the most difficult job on earth.
The presidential ban on immigrants from seven nations under injunction is a timely example. The ban was cobbled together by Donald Trump and his key advisers without regard to its public impact and practical application to those already in the immigration pipeline, not to mention the damage it might cause to our nation’s image as one of the most open and fair societies in world history. Also, a more thoughtful and lengthy debate among advisers might have produced action without overtones of religious prejudice.
Trump has established the national mainline media as the boogeyman out to thwart his every initiative. It’s a lousy position to be in, resulting in him being compared with the major demagogues of history, who have always needed an imagined evil target to justify radical policies and behavior. I’m sure you can come up with an example or two from the not-too-distant past.
Meantime, Gorsuch’s march toward Senate confirmation may have been helped by his benefactor’s imprudence.
By Dan K. Thomasson
Dan Thomasson is an op-ed columnist for Tribune News Service and a former vice president of Scripps Howard Newspapers. --Ed.
