1/24/2019

GOP/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “For the first two years of his presidency, it seemed like Donald Trump could, as he famously put it during his campaign, shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and not lose his voters. Republican majorities in the House and the Senate negotiated his agenda on Capitol Hill. The majority leader, Mitch McConnell, and House Speaker Paul Ryan protected him from serious Congressional investigations, and passed a sweeping tax bill, the president’s major legislative accomplishment. G.O.P. lawmakers largely lived in fear of angering the president’s still-loyal base if they challenged him. Times have certainly changed. Mr. Trump spent the Christmas holidays complaining that he was all alone in the White House. Now, with the government in the middle of its longest-ever shutdown, his State of the Union address has been delayed indefinitely. Even his G.O.P. armor shows some tiny cracks, with a half dozen Republican senators voting on Thursday [1-24-19] afternoon in favor of a Democratic proposal to reopen the government. So far, divided government hasn’t been a good look for Mr. Trump. And a batch of new polls released over the past few days tells a pretty unflattering story for him.”

-Lisa Lerer, “On Politics With Lisa Lerer: Is Trump Losing the Fight?,” The New York Times online, January 24, 2019