This week’s White House Report Card has our graders split over President Trump’s tumultuous week capped by the not so surprising firing of FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe. Jed Babbin found it a winner, giving the president a B+. But pollster John Zogby said it was one his worse, and gave him an F.
Jed Babbin
The president had a very Trumpian week, firing a cabinet member, appointing successors and big wins in the courts and in Congress.
President Trump gave Secretary of State Rex Tillerson the heave-ho, unceremoniously ousting him in favor of CIA Director Mike Pompeo. Tillerson had never managed to penetrate Trump’s inner circle and had had several public disagreements with the president, at one point calling Trump “a moron.” The president said, pretty directly, that the proximate cause of Tillerson’s ouster was their disagreement over whether or not to preserve the Obama-Iran nuclear weapons deal which Trump has repeatedly said was the “worst possible” deal we could have made. The fact that the president tossed Tillerson over that issue probably presages Trump’s action, due in May, to either keep the Obama-Iran deal or revoke it entirely.
Yesterday, five @Cabinet Secretaries testified on the Hill on the need to rebuild our Nation’s crumbling infrastructure. President Trump’s plan will renew our country’s once-great infrastructure and help build a more prosperous future for all Americans. pic.twitter.com/KqpeEpFycM
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 15, 2018
The president immediately named Pompeo to succeed Tillerson and CIA Deputy Director Gina Haspel to succeed Pompeo at the agency. They both face difficult confirmation processes because the Republican margin in the Senate is a mirage.
Trump made a very good pick this week, choosing conservative economist Larry Kudlow to succeed globalist Gary Cohn as chief economic adviser. Kudlow will be precisely the right guy to talk Trump out of his mercantilist approach to trade.
Perhaps the biggest news of the week was announcement by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence ending its investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election. The HPSCI Republicans said that they had concluded that there was no collusion or conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Russians. HPSCI Dems are, of course, objecting loudly. Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation plods on.
It was my great honor to welcome the 2017 World Series Champion Houston @Astros to the @WhiteHouse! #HoustonStrong pic.twitter.com/IO6B42jixA
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 12, 2018
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the constitutionality of a Texas statute declaring “sanctuary cities” illegal. The Texas law punishes local officials who interfere with local police assisting federal immigration enforcement. This is a big leg up for the Justice Department in many states and possibly in DOJ’s lawsuit against California which has made itself a “sanctuary state.” Like everything else these days, it’ll go to the Supreme Court for a final resolution.
Grade B+
John Zogby
Wow, what a bad week. First President Trump dismisses the secretary of State via a tweet meant to be humiliating. Then his body man is escorted off the White House grounds. Rumors, although denied, are that his the national security advisor and chief of staff may be out of office right away. The president is even unhappy with his own daughter and son-in-law — and his son and daughter-in-law are headed for a divorce.
The special prosecutor is even starting to examine the Trump business organization. Not only won’t the porn star go away, but she is trying to get out of her non-disclosure agreement, about to spill the beans on her relationship with the president on 60 Minutes, now claiming that there are six other women with similar non-disclosure agreements, and providing solid evidence that a key attorney and advisor with the Trump organization was involved in this tawdry mess.
Top that all off with a stunning defeat of a Republican in a congressional district where Mr. Trump won by 22 points about not quite a year and half ago. This is the seventh special election won by Democrats in a row, plus the Senate race in Alabama.
More folks working w/ higher pay is just what America needs. Prosperity is not inflationary. @StephenMoore @Comm4Prosperity @WSJopinion https://t.co/uGbcu9sT1D
— Larry Kudlow (@larry_kudlow) March 13, 2018
Larry Kudlow is going to head the president’s economics council — a man whose name is synonymous with free trade just days after the previous advisor left in the wake of whopping tariffs on steel and aluminum. Is this marriage going to last? The unemployment rate may be heading toward less than 4 percent and wages are growing at a brisk pace. But sometimes it is not just the economy, stupid. Like, perhaps, right now.
Grade F
John Zogby is the founder of the Zogby Poll and senior partner at John Zogby Strategies. His latest book is We are Many, We are One: Neo-Tribes and Tribal Analytics in 21st Century America. Follow him on Twitter @TheJohnZogby
Jed Babbin is an Examiner contributor and former deputy undersecretary of defense in administration of former President George H.W. Bush. Follow him on Twitter @jedbabbin
