The evolution of a president
Here are three more areas for Trump to reconsider: immigration, entitlement reform and trade
President Donald Trump’s about-face in his approach to Russia, NATO, Syria, the Export-Import Bank and China — to name just a few — may be the result of influential moderate advisers, discussion with business leaders (who prefer predictable, sane policy), early defeats (on the travel ban and health care reform) and/or plunging poll numbers.
Perhaps Mr. Trump, who craves approval, has figured out that the people whose respect he has chased after his whole adult life (elites in media, business and politics) applaud him when he reverts to mainstream policy choices. His most successful decision, picking a respected Supreme Court justice vetted by others, suggests that the more policy he “outsources” to subject-matter experts, the better.
Mr. Trump’s predilection for inconsistency and emotional reaction to provocations provide a cautionary tale: Some or all of his newly arrived-at positions may vanish just as quickly as they appeared. Nevertheless, his obvious lack of attachment to any ideology, campaign promise or set of supporters suggests that there is no limit to the policy reversals he might undertake. And in the case of the GOP, badly in need of intellectual reform and reinvigoration, that presents an opportunity on at least three fronts.
First up is immigration. No, seriously. No one can doubt Mr. Trump’s commitment to border security and law and order. Soon he should be able to declare “victory” (before he arrived, net migration to Mexico exceeded net migration to the United States). He then can proceed to exactly what Jeb Bush and others recommended: Reform of our legal immigration system to address demand for high-skill workers and a path to legal status for those who pay back-taxes and a fine, learn English, remain employed and commit no crimes.
That approach garners wide, bipartisan support. (A recent CNN/ORC poll showed that a policy that offers “citizenship to those immigrants who are living in the U.S. illegally but hold a job, speak English and are willing to pay back taxes is immensely popular, with 90 percent behind such a plan. That’s consistent across party lines, with 96 percent of Democrats, 89 percent of independents and 87 percent of Republicans behind it.” That’s citizenship, not merely legal status.) Nothing would confound Mr. Trump’s political opponents more or help transform the GOP’s image.
Second, Mr. Trump should revisit his opposition to entitlement reform. Slashing domestic discretionary spending and enacting big tax cuts for the rich are politically unattainable, besides being policy errors. Instead, Mr. Trump should undertake a bipartisan reform of Social Security and Medicare, with everything on the table (including, but not limited to, a gradual raising of the retirement age).
Like President Ronald Reagan and House Speaker Tip O’Neill, Mr. Trump will need bipartisan cooperation. If he can promise not to enact changes for those retiring within the next 15 years and to preserve benefits for the less well-off, he can gain some credibility with Democrats. Former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels would be an ideal figure to head an outside commission that could make recommendations to the White House and Congress.
Third, now that he has discovered that China is not a currency manipulator (nor has it been “stealing our jobs,” he may find out) and allies such as Japan and South Korea strongly desire to ward off China’s regional aggression and to develop closer economic ties with the United States, Mr. Trump should return to the Trans-Pacific Partnership. He never articulated specific objections, but there are tweaks that could be made (e.g., trimming back the investor-state dispute settlement system, which right-wingers worry will encroach on our legal sovereignty, and easing the process for revisions). Mr. Trump said he is not against free trade, only “stupid” deals. With some limited but politically adroit fixes, the president could reclaim a deal that his predecessor could not pass.
How could Mr. Trump possibly become an advocate of “amnesty,” entitlement reform and trade deals? Well, it sounds a lot less farfetched now that he has reversed himself on a whole slew of other issues. Moreover, all of these are sound economic moves within the mainstream of what we used to consider center-right policy. The moves are pro-growth and, in the case of trade and immigration, would serve diplomatic interests as well.
An elected leader concerned about consistency and political loyalty would find it impossible to swallow these reversals. But this president, we’ve seen, prides himself on “flexibility.” If anyone can execute these policy turnarounds, it’s Donald Trump.
Perhaps Mr. Trump, who craves approval, has figured out that the people whose respect he has chased after his whole adult life (elites in media, business and politics) applaud him when he reverts to mainstream policy choices.