Badger, don't stop. It saves me from angrily responding and I feel cathartic.
That said, Republicans shouldn't necessarily applaud this. I know a lot of Trumpists are going "hey, he took on the media! We like that!" But consider the inverse - 64% of the public doesn't like Trump's behavior about the media. You guys should bear that in mind this is Trump preserving his base, to the point of alienating everyone else.
The question is why? Either scenario, in my view, doesn't bode well for his core people.
The non-conspiracy theory says that he doesn't know how to do anything else and doesn't know how to broadly assemble a coalition and govern. This kind of behavior is just him doubling down on his fan base and doing what he knows best - riling up people, trying to put on a spectacle, and keeping his people with him, and nothing else. It's continuing the ineffective and stagnated presidency. it amounts to a vicarious release for his supporters but little else. once again, I refer to Trump hardening the opposition, turning off swing voters, and doing it bit by bit. He's also damaging the GOP brand in the next 4-8 years.
The conspiracy theory says that there's more to come on Russia and Trump may figure that to ride out the storm, he should harden his base's opposition to anything. #FakeNews is one way to insulate himself from the storm and he can loudly use that to keep his supporters from abandoning him. If they had to consider the facts.
Neither option is exclusive by the way. Neither, honestly, ends well for his supporters. Presidents need to keep their coalitions broad enough to pass a law, preserve their legacies, and not wind up failed presidents. (Or one term presidents).
Of course, there is the possibility his supporters don't care about the laws passed as much as they care about deportation and trade and the Supreme Court, and fail to consider the broader ramifications of letting the issues fester. I've heard more than one Trump supporter out loud voice support for single payer (to the point where I think the Trumpists wouldn't mind a Bernie Democrat).
All of these scenarios, honestly, end well for the Democrats. A failed presidency is a big stepping stone to putting the Democrats in power. Horrifying for the Reaganites like me but less horrifying to the Perotian Trumpists who may not care that an ideological Democrat is in power. (The worst of both worlds is for the committed base Republican who is also a committed trumpist).
side note: I am lapsing into liking the informal lower case Apathetic Austrian way of typing. We're very different people (insofar I know
) however.
