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President Donald Trump is a supreme deal-maker. He’s a master negotiator. He’s every American’s favorite President “in like the history of ever.” How do I know our Commander-in-Chief is second only in glory and perfection to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? Because he told me so (Trump – not Christ).
Yes, our President is probably out walking upon of the waters of the National Mall at this very minute. If so, let’s all pray to God that he takes a good splash of ice-cold water to the face that finally awakens him from this Obama-like stupor before he manages to permanently and irrevocably damage his Presidency once and for all.
No clear thinking individual can view Trump’s declaration of a national emergency as the winning play at the conclusion of a successful negotiation – let alone a ‘victory’ that fulfills the President’s primary campaign pledge. You know, the one about building an ENTIRE wall that Mexico would shell out all the pesos to build?
To fully understand what a colossal failure this has become for both the President AND Democrats, consider where ‘negotiations’ stood roughly one year ago:
Trump had announced that on March 5, 2018, he would begin winding down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that protects children who were brought into the U.S. as illegal immigrants from deportation. In response, the Senate sought a broad compromise with the President on immigration policies that would save DACA before the March 5 deadline.
The President then backed a Republican bill that would have appropriated $25 billion for border security, extended DACA and established a path to citizenship for “dreamers,” ended the visa lottery program, and put an end to chain migration.
The left responded to the President’s proposal to end the diversity visa lottery and restrict family-based immigration as though it was an offense on par with the Holocaust of Europe.
Democrats and a handful of Republicans then introduced a measure in February of 2018 that called for $25 billion in border spending over 10 years for wall construction and a host of other security measures. The bill, however, did not address Trump’s demands to end the immigration lottery and limit family-based immigration.
In the end, neither bill was successful.
Then came that glorious moment in December of 2018, when President Trump boldly declared he would be “proud” to shut down the government until Democrats were willing to negotiate and meet his demand for a sharply reduced $5.7 billion in border wall funding.
That’s right; we went from $25 billion to $5.7 billion if Democrats were willing to “act now.” I don’t know, maybe the President scored a massive ‘win’ on discount concrete and steel.
Pelosi and Schumer held firm during the shutdown, public approval swayed towards the Democrats, and Trump, who puts more value on being ‘liked’ than keeping his word, caved and re-opened the government. Simply put: the President willingly surrendered any leverage he had going into the shutdown and was no longer negotiating from a position of strength.
Trump loyalists immediately began to attack any ‘turncoat conservatives’ who felt dissilusioned and betrayed, arguing that those who were no longer on the magical ‘Trump Train’ had obviously never read “The Art of the Deal.” In retrospect, it appears President Trump hasn’t read the book either.
The battle to build the wall ended the very moment President Trump reopened the government, yet the hopelessly optimistic and naive sycophants kept insisting it was all part of some grand strategy that Democrats didn’t see coming. That’s right; it was all a carefully crafted ploy that would allow the President to deliver some mystical, Jedi-like State of the Union address, which in turn would shift public approval to the President’s favor and force Democrats to comply.
Uh-huh.
Don’t get me wrong, Present Trump delivered the most magnificent State of the Union address in a generation. The very next day, however, it was obstruction of business as usual with the Democrats. No miracle. No progress on the wall. On with the partisan investigations!
And yet, STILL the President’s most reality-adverse supporters put all faith and unwavering trust in his Holiness, The Trump. From their perspective, the President still had his ‘Trump’ card: go old-school Obama-style and force his will upon the people and an uncooperative Congress through executive action.
Friday afternoon, the President played that legally questionable card and declared a national emergency. With that declaration, we the loyal suckers of the MAGA movement, were finally vindicated. Check mate. Trump wins.
Except Trump didn’t win. And although he continues to exude an air of supreme confidence and tweet with his usual bluster, I think Trump knows it too. Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer won; Trump lost. Game over; thanks for playing. But we do have some lovely Trump Ties and MAGA hats for you as a parting gift.
Democrats are already in the process of mounting a legal challenge to the President’s declaration, and Trump has a less than encouraging track record when it comes to his previous executive actions and attempts to circumvent Congress on issues such as the travel ban. In the end, even the most militant of the Trump sycophants will eventually be forced to come to terms with the cold reality that the President has political egg on his face.
Spoiler alert: the closest President Trump will come to fulfilling his key campaign pledge is $1.4 billion in new “strategically-placed” barriers along PORTIONS of the southern border. And just so we’re clear, the American taxpayer is footing the bill – not Mexico.
Misleading promises and missteps on the wall aside, Donald Trump has been a surprisingly competent President. He deserves full credit for the numerous legitimate, hard-fought “wins” that have occurred in the first two years of his term. His Presidency has been tremendously positive for the U.S. economy, and his court appointments have helped set the stage for a conservative agenda that will last for at least a generation. As of now, Trump still has my vote in 2020.
With that in mind, is it really fair to levy such harsh criticism on President Trump for his failure on the wall? Maybe not. On the other hand, no one forced Donald Trump to make a wall along the southern border the primary focus and signature promise of his 2016 presidential campaign.
WIBC’s Hammer and Nigel spoke with Abdul-Hakim Shabazz about President Trump’s declaration of a national emergency and why the democrats will likely be successful in their legal challenge. Click the link below to check it out:
