The incredibly shrinking president
It seem eons ago now — though only a few years — that Donald Trump capitalized on the soaring stature of the Oval Office to shatter equilibriums with his brand of edicts and outrage.
He would roil public discourse for weeks with his claims — that he won the popular vote in 2016 because millions voted illegally, enjoyed the largest inaugural crowd in history, was wiretapped by President Barack Obama, saw moral equivalency between Nazis and those who oppose them, and threatened “fire and fury” against North Korea.
It was all false, phony or came to nothing. But the point was his towering ability back then to shock people. And today? Not so much. When a massive explosion vaporized the center of Beirut last week, Trump that same day declared it an “attack ... a bomb of some kind” with a level of certainty that should have sent ripples of concern through foreign governments. As it was, few paid any attention. His comment barely registered as news, and evidence quickly surfaced that the blast was almost certainly a terrible accident.
And there have been other pronouncements recently that, all things being equal, should have generated quite a stir. Except they didn’t.
The president promised July 19 that within two weeks, he’d produce a longawaited plan for overhauling the nation's health care system. Days later, he committed to unveiling a strategy for defeating coronavirus “that’s going to be very, very powerful.” And recently, Trump said that if reelected, he’d strike a deal with Iran in four weeks.
All have been met with a collective shrug, probably because Americans sensed they would come to nothing. There has been no health care plan and no grand COVID-19 strategy, even as U.S. deaths surpass 165,000. And does anyone really believe Trump will reach an agreement with an Iranian regime that refuses even to speak with him?
So what has happened? Trump’s ability to shock and awe has gotten smaller. He’s the incredibly shrinking president.
Even his dramatic declaration last weekend that he would “save American jobs and provide relief to the American workers” with a series of executive actions hasn’t moved the dial on his low approval ratings. And that’s because it’s all smoke and mirrors.
The promise to provide enhanced unemployment benefits with money pulled out of an emergency relief fund (during a major hurricane season) may not be legal. Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., called it “unconstitutional slop.” The $400 in additional weekly payments would work only if cash-strapped states kick in 25% and would only last about six weeks. In addition, a payroll tax holiday Trump is promising is really a deferral of taxes that will have to be paid back. And his commitment to block evictions amounts to little more than a recommendation to landlords.
The reality is that the public has grown weary of a president whose words mean very little. It probably began with all of the unkept campaign promises — 4% annual economic growth, repeal and replace Obamacare, invest in infrastructure and build a wall paid for by Mexico.
Certainly a growing mountain of lies and falsehoods haven't helped. The Washington Post estimates now more than 20,000.
But what might have finally tipped Trump toward triviality is the grotesque way he dismissed (and continues to dismiss) a deadly pandemic as something that will simply disappear, even as it ravages America.