There Will Be No Trump Pivot

James Pindell: “Imagine this scenario: Trump is a transactional politician and human. Ideology has always taken a back seat. He can run for president slamming China and then court the communist dictator looking to make deals. He can encourage White nationalists on the presidential debate stage and also lobby for and sign criminal justice reform. He can even agree with Bernie Sanders on a number of populist issues, including a critique of Kamala Harris’s corporate backers and the government being a part owner in Intel, a private company.”

“It’s not impossible to think that a president like this, particularly one in legacy mode as Trump has been for months, would try to find a way to put his name on bills that the populist MAGA base and the populist left would celebrate.”

“After all, wasn’t the entire point of the Jared Kushner meeting with likely incoming House Speaker Hakeem Jeffries in September? To find some common things Trump and Democrats could do together?”

“But, no. By picking Miller, Trump has double-, triple-, and quadrupled-down by making the most important staffer the one who might be the most ardent MAGA supporter still left.”