The Impotent President

Ross Douthat says President Trump has lost control of his White House and that he’s an exceptionally weak president.

“Some of that weakness is invisible because we simply take it for granted; it’s just part of the scenery, for instance, that this White House has no legislative agenda, no chance of advancing any policy priority on the hill, barely two years into the president’s first term.”

“Some of the weakness shows up in his attempts to play the tough guy. The child-separation policy, for instance, was abandoned scant days after it was publicized, because the president lacked the support within his own party and within his own White House to actually see a draconian measure through.”

First Read: “But it’s also hard to disagree with Douthat’s conclusion that Trump’s weakness could turn out to be dangerous. (Remember, Trump hates the perception of weakness.) Is Trump trapped in a cage (by his own staff)? Or can what’s in a cage eventually get out?”