While Republican infighting continues, President Trump plans on getting out of nation’s capital for a bit. After boarding Air Force One this morning, he will fly to Detroit and away from the distracting and divisive policy fight over Obamacare.
By heading back to the Motor City, Trump is getting back to basics, if just for a day. The pilgrimage to Detroit, and later visit to President Andrew Jackson’s Tennessee hermitage, provide a glimpse of his preferred priorities, a vision of what his presidency might’ve looked like minus the messy fight over healthcare policy.
If Congress is leading Trump down the wrong path, as Byron York observes, then he’s been hesitant to follow. Speaker Paul Ryan has an appetite for shirtsleeves, whiteboards and intricate policy. The president prefers oversized suits, grand gestures and sweeping changes. And during the healthcare battle, they’ve proved a reluctant odd couple.
Around this time eight years ago, Obama was at a town hall in Costa Mesa, California, laying the groundwork for the Affordable Care Act. It was his singular focus. Not so with Trump. Averse to getting into details, the current president’s default position on Obamacare sometimes seems to be to let it “let it be a disaster, because we can blame it on the Dems.” Instead, Ryan has rightly convinced Trump to honor years of Republican promises to repeal and replace Obamacare, the bread and butter of the current conservative movement.
But for a few hours in the Midwest, Trump can escape that intricate battle. A builder, he’ll be back among industry leaders where he’s more comfortable. Once in Michigan, the president is expected to unveil plans to reverse Obama’s costly fuel economy standards, which require new cars and trucks to get 54.5 miles per gallon.
It’s a readymade opportunity for Trump’s brand of leadership. Back in February, 17 auto executives wrote the president a letter, warning that the Obama fuel standards could put “as many as a million jobs at risk.” That’s a problem Trump can solve unilaterally and with more or less immediacy. No headaches from Congress. Just an easy speech and some executive action.
Most importantly, by sweeping away the regulation Trump can refocus on the economy. That’s where he’s most comfortable and how his supporters imagined him governing. But it won’t last long. Trump will return to the White House tonight around 11 p.m. and return to the healthcare battle he doesn’t really enjoy.
Philip Wegmann is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
