Shooting Yourself in the Foot

Saw this cartoon and my first reaction was...Yep.  And the second was...why does he do that?  I mean, he's done a lot of very good things.  Many of his policies I can really get behind.  The chopping of regulations, securing the border, the tax cut, judicial appointments, tearing up the Iran deal, exiting the Paris Accords, approving ANWAR, and on and on.  There is a lot of good news.  But he just keeps shooting himself in the foot.  Not with his base.  His base is his base and they will stick with him.  But his base only gives him about 35-40% of the people at most.  He's losing the middle.  He's losing the independents.  He's losing women.  He's losing Dems who are middle-left and had an inclination to vote for him over Hilary.  And he's losing guys like me.  In short, he's losing those that he needs to win in 2020.  He has long been an obnoxious Tweeter.  How many times have you heard that someone will comment that they wish he would stop the Tweets.  But that's not going to happen.  He is combative and has an ego rarely seen.  He's a New York street fighter and will never, ever turn the other cheek. If someone hits him, he hits back.  Hard.  If someone comments about something that he perceives as a threat or an affront (even if it's not) he hits back.  And clearly that's what his base loves.  But that's not going to be enough.  His ego is off the charts.  He really believes (I think) that he is very popular across the board.  And his war against the press is unwinnable.  What's the old saying?  Don't get in an argument (let along go to war) with someone who buys ink by the barrel.  But he thinks he's winning.  And he is...with his base.  Most Americans cherish the First Amendment and want an independent press.  Now don't get me wrong.  The press generally hates Trump.  But he largely made that bed.  Now he has to sleep in it.  They aren't going to be fair.  They are going to slant, smear, and sling mud every single day.  They are going to do everything in their power to destroy him.  So he goes to war.  An unwinnable war.  Stupid.  But he can't help it.

Recently he has gotten in fights he didn't have to fight and made comments he didn't have to make.  You've seen them.  Going after ADM McRaven for not getting Osama Bin Laden fast enough was stupid.  I mean, the guy is enormously respected and a war hero.  It reminded me of when he went after John McCain.  Stupid.  Remember who won that little battle?  Remember McCain's vote on Health care Reform?  Yep.  The Saudi Arabia thing is an unwinnable situation that requires a deft and nuanced touch.  But he doesn't have a nuanced bone in his body.  You've heard the story.  This journalist, Kashoogi was murdered in the Saudi Embassy in Istanbul and there are finger prints of the Crown Prince all over it.  First, if it wasn't about a journalist and if the media/press didn't hate and loath Trump, then it wouldn't have made headlines.  But they sensed blood in the water.  So there are all kinds of leaks and he ultimately decides that this one incident isn't worth upsetting the relationship between the U.S. and a key ally.  But he casually dismisses it without any apparent recognition of how the story has exploded in the press and that it will continue to dog him.  No matter..."maybe he did, and maybe he didn't".  Tone deaf.  And he goes after a sitting judge who didn't rule in favor of the new asylum rules.  And by extension went after the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.  So Justice Roberts pipes up and defends his judges and Trump has to hit back.  Has to.  And it's stupid.  There are people out there decrying this move as dangerous because it's not just going after a person but an institution that is one of the three branches of government.  Undermining our checks and balances is said to be very dangerous and I tend to agree.  Today, he's in Mar-A-Lago with his family enjoying Thanksgiving.  And every day he doesn't visit the troops in a forward location he is losing guys like me.  And I don't know what genius arranged the staged phone call to some selected service members overseas, but it was stupid.  And again he couldn't help himself and started spouting his successes to sooth his ego.  

It seems like there is something every week.  Multiple things.  Sometimes every day.  It's distressing. It's tiresome.  And at some point (at least for me) its unacceptable.  Because it's exhausting.  I really don't think that the country wants to be exhausted by the shenanigans of their President.  And even keel is called for.  

There is a slight glimmer of good news for him.  There really is no one on the Dem side who is in the stable of people who might run for President who I could support.  And (as of today) no one who I think a center-right country like ours would elect.  Will there be someone who emerges as a challenger on the Republican side?  That's  not something usually done but we don't live in usual times.  There are a few folks who, if they ran, I could support over him assuming he doesn't change and continues his combative and ego-driven ways.  And I think that's a safe assumption.  Are you listening Nikki Haley and Ben Sasse?