The obvious takeaway is that Trump is now almost solely dedicated to preserving his base support, that he cares more about not offending the Coulters of the world than humoring the Mattises. How else do we explain how we now are hurtling toward a government shutdown over a wall that a minority of Americans really want… at Christmastime? This makes zero political sense, until you ask yourself: Can a president whose approval rating is at 42 percent afford to piss off some of his most prominent and passionate supporters?
Not if he wants to weather the storms of scandals, investigations, and (potentially) impeachment. And so we enter a very dangerous phase of the Trump presidency. The problem with the entertainment wing of the GOP is not that they are politically conservative (that would generally be fine by me) but that they are irresponsible actors.
People like Jim Mattis served as guardrails. They were in the administration, in large part, to simply keep Trump from careening off a cliff. They served even as the president’s temperament tested their will and his policy pursuits tested their patience. Now, they are engaged in a mass exodus, just as Trump becomes even more susceptible to the provocateurs. It’s getting scary.
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