This week’s White House Report Card finds President Trump sizing up his choices for a fourth national security adviser, cheering his Supreme Court endorsement of changing U.S. asylum policy and continuing to pack federal courts with his young judges.
But conservative military analyst Jed Babbin gave Trump a “D,” questioning the canceled plan to entertain the Taliban at Camp David and drawing attention to the soaring national debt.
Democratic pollster John Zogby saw no positives for the president in giving him an “F.” He highlighted the firing of Bolton, the continuation of “Sharpie-gate,” the renewal of concerns Trump is spending too many tax dollars at his hotels, and the canceled Taliban visit to Camp David.
Jed Babbin
Grade D
This week wasn’t one of President Trump’s best, not by a long shot.
After the Taliban killed the fourth U.S. soldier in two weeks, the proposed Camp David summit between Trump and the Taliban’s leaders (with Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani present) was fortunately canceled. With only the outline of a peace deal negotiated, the thought (Trump’s) that there should be any summit with the president negotiating face-to-face with the terrorists was a really dumb idea.
“A Very Stable Genius!” Thank you.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 14, 2019
The defenestration of national security adviser John Bolton, who reportedly opposed the Taliban summit, was celebrated by Iran, Russia, North Korea and other enemies as their victory. Trump promised to choose another security adviser — his fourth — next week. Bolton’s influence, a restraint on Trump’s frequently puzzling approach to diplomacy, will be missed.
The national debt soared to more than $1 trillion this week, the highest it’s been at this time in the year since 2012. Trump seems not to care about it at all. The one bright light in the week was the Trump administration’s decision to reverse the Obama rules that killed the production and use of incandescent light bulbs, condemning us to use fluorescent bulbs which don’t turn on immediately and require a HAZMAT team to dispose of.
John Zogby
Grade F
Chaos reigned supreme this week. What last week was just ‘Sharpie-Gate’ because of a president who just could not admit he made a mistake. Now it has blown up to a real scandal with reports the commerce secretary threatened the jobs of meteorologists who dared to contradict President Trump on Hurricane Dorian.
Today and every day, we pledge to honor our history, to treasure our liberty, to uplift our communities, to live up to our values, to prove worthy of our heroes, and above all, to NEVER FORGET. #Honor911 pic.twitter.com/3xbEvl92py
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 11, 2019
At the same time, Mr. Trump’s secret effort to negotiate with Taliban leaders at Camp David was abruptly canceled because the Taliban brazenly killed more Americans and civilians. The president’s own national security team, particularly Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Bolton, were at odds with each other over the Taliban talks, which led, of course, to the sacking of Bolton. Enough to make you dizzy and more than a tad scared. Arguably, Bolton should never have been there in the first place, but now he and the president are arguing over whether he was fired or resigned.
To end the week, a federal appeals court has ruled that Trump’s business interests are conflicts of interest with his presidency and violate the Constitution. As Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II might have it, this was ‘Weekus horribilis’ for POTUS.
Jed Babbin is a Washington Examiner contributor and former deputy undersecretary of defense in the administration of former President George H.W. Bush. Follow him on Twitter @jedbabbin
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
