This week’s report card finds President-elect Trump steadily pulling together his government, even working Saturday to announce his appointment of spending critic Rep. Mick Mulvaney of South Carolina as his budget chief. Grader Jed Babbin notes that even if the Electoral College on Monday messes with the election, the House will cement Trump’s win as the 45th President of the United States. But pollster John Zogby questions whether Trump can get beyond hyper partisanship to unite the country.
Jed Babbin
President-elect Trump had a relatively quiet week, which equates to a very busy week for most people. First he bashed the Lockheed F-35, a chronically-troubled fighter program for its costs being out of control. They are: the Pentagon has said that the life-cycle cost of the bird will be about $1 trillion. He’s slashing at some of the Pentagon’s sacred cows, which can be a good way of learning to apply his business skills to national defense.
Trump hit the cost of the F-35. Pentagon photo.
Trump said the claims that Putin’s Russia hacked into enough computers to change the results of the November election were “ridiculous.” Which they are, from the evidence we’ve seen so far. The Clintons’ forlorn hope that the electoral college won’t elect Trump seem equally absurd. If Trump isn’t chosen by the electors, it’s a cinch that they also won’t proclaim Hillary president. Which means that the election would be tossed to the House of Representatives to decide, which will obviously result in Trump’s election.
Trump’s choice of Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson to be secretary of State has not been received well even among senate Republicans. The fact that Tillerson was awarded the Russian “Medal of Friendship” by Vladimir Putin is being made much of by the press. But it’s a medal given out to people such as basketball coaches and the CEO of an Italian oil company. It’s not a sign that Tillerson will be aligned with Putin’s policies.
Trump’s other choices – former Texas governor Rick Perry for Energy secretary and lawyer David Friedman for U.S. ambassador to Israel – both scored marks against Obama’s prior policies. Perry — who famously brain-stalled in a debate when he meant to name Energy as a department he’d like to abolish — will get his chance to do so from the inside. Friedman is very pro-Israel including on the issue of Israeli settlements on the West Bank.
Grade B+
John Zogby
Well this is not a burgeoning ‘Era of Good Feelings’. Democrats are at a long Irish wake, except there is more booze than fond stories about the corpse. Plans are underway to undermine President-elect Trump’s initiatives.
In a non-stop hyper-partisan world, North Carolina leads the way with a GOP super majority voting to severely limit the authority of the new Democratic governor.
Trump, for his part, is sharpening the needle he uses to stick it in the eye of the Democrats at every turn. He nominates a businessman to be secretary of State, ardent opponents of Obamacare and environmental regulations to lead HHS and EPA, an ambassador to Israel who wants to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem and annex Palestinian land in the West Bank, and drains the swamp with Goldman Sachs.
This is one helluva honeymoon. Trump’s polling numbers are up from high thirties approval to 47 percent — but with a 51 percent disapproval, he is upside down. Did Putin impact his election? Is this what we are going to be talking about? How about things like jobs, security, allies, spending? Campaign 2016 is not over. Can Trump flip the switch and move forward?
Grade D+
Jed Babbin is an Examiner contributor and former deputy undersecretary of defense in administration of former President George H.W. Bush. Follow him @jedbabbin
John Zogby is the founder of the Zogby Poll and senior partner at John Zogby Strategies. His latest book is and author of “We Are Many, We Are One.” Follow him at @TheJohnZogby
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
