Trump Violated His Own Playbook

“As members of the House Freedom Caucus plotted to seize control of Donald Trump’s health care bill earlier this month, they discovered a key weakness in the President’s strategy. In a memo circulated to members of the conservative group, a top adviser to Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky pointed out that Trump had made an uncharacteristic error: The President had violated his own rules in The Art of the Deal,” CNN reports.

“Quoting from a passage of the book in which Trump urged readers never to seem too eager to cut a deal, the memo concluded Republican leaders appeared to have done just that: ‘The Speaker needs a deal right now, more than the Freedom Caucus. So does the White House.'”

“Recognizing the immense leverage they enjoyed, members of the Freedom Caucus and other conservatives like Paul would stubbornly maintain their opposition to the House GOP bill to repeal and replace Obamacare. The lawmakers continued to press for concessions from Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan, creating an impasse in negotiations that helped lead to the legislation’s dramatic defeat on Friday.”