The Problem with Trump

Yuval Levin gets us to the heart of the problem with Trump. In doing so, he actually pinpoints the problem with the conservative movement the last decade or so.

"Chaos is the essence of [the Trump] problem ... even more than his failure to quite grasp the role of the president in our system of government, or his petty malevolence, or his nasty inclination to punch downward, or whatever in the world the Russia madness is about. It is the simple inability to keep his attention focused, to be disciplined and ordered in a persistent way, to resist even the smallest provocations and insults, and to see decisions through, that has been undermining his administration."

Keeping his attention focused, maintaining discipline and order in a persistent way, and especially resisting the smallest provocations and insults, is what George W. Bush was good at. So much so that he and his administration (and via association the modern conservative movement) were engulfed to the point of oblivion by the Democrat/media attack on his integrity. "Bush lied, people died" is all but a fixed truth in history for much of the American public, in large measure because Bush resisted the impulse to respond to this outrageous lie, this terrible slander, on his reputation and legacy.

And now, Trump is facing a media complex that is so much worse than the one George Bush faced, precisely because the media learned and honed their character assassination tactics on that largely quiescent administration. The media complex is at the top of their destructive game now, and the only one who seems to realize it is President Trump. The lies, the smears, the outrageous slanders and libels roll daily across the news, and the wonder is that Trump is still standing and fighting long after a George Bush or John McCain or Mitt Romney  or Bob Dole would have lain prostrate, waiting for retirement to  a post-Presidency.

Meanwhile, the stalwart conservatives who should know better, like Yuval, mischaracterize Trump's push back against the media as "petty malevolence," a "nasty inclination to punch downward," or a "Russia madness." As if punching the immensely powerful American media is in any  way a downward stroke. In truth, if there is any madness out there, it is the media that is all but frothing at the mouth. Is there one single reason why Trump should not push back, with all the strength he has, against the outrageous idea that his campaign 'colluded' with the Russians to deny Hillary the Presidency? It's been more than a year since the investigations into this allegation have been  pursued by the FBI, the CIA, the NSA, Homeland Security, and various Congressional committees. We either have supreme incompetence in all these investigations or willful maliciousness, but in either case, we have zero  evidence of any collusion by the Trump campaign, and even some evidence that the Russians did not hack the DNC or anyone else for that matter. And yet the media still runs this story, breathlessly reporting that real evidence of collusion is within days of surfacing.

I do not know  why smart guys like Yuval continue to  obsess over the Trump eccentricities, when they ought to  be outraged over the absolute malefactions of the Democrat/media complex. I am by no means a Trump guy; he was not my preferred candidate. Could another candidate have run this administration better? More tightly focused its messaging? Better managed the roll-out and execution of its legislative agenda? Undoubtedly; Trump is after all a novice at this sort of  thing, and has much to learn. But for the life of me I cannot see any other candidate confronting and enduring such a media assault, and most definitely cannot see any of the  others being able to push back as effectively as Trump has.

Unlike Yuval, I can separate out his personal ticks from the substance of what he is facing - and what Trump is facing is nothing less than a brutal all-out assault on the will of the American voter last November. Thank God we finally have someone who  will fight back against that sort of thing.