It won’t take a miracle for Trump to win four more years
British people find it strange to see evangelical pastors “laying hands” on Donald Trump, imploring God to intercede on the president’s behalf. What’s even stranger is that God – or some great and mysterious force – seems to have answered their prayers. What else explains the cosmic extent of Trump’s success? He is still reviled by much of the world, yet he keeps winning. At the moment, he is breezing towards re-election in November. It’s miraculous, in a way.
Look at his week so far. On Monday, the Democratic party held its “first-in-theunion” caucuses in Iowa. It should have been a warning shot to Trump: be afraid – the Democratic candidates of 2020 are coming for you! But a catastrophic IT glitch meant the results could not be tabulated, and the caucuses descended into farce. Neutral observers were left wondering, if the party can’t organise a vote in a small state, how can they expect to run the country?
With the Democrats embarrassing themselves so spectacularly, almost nobody noticed that Donald Trump had won his own party’s caucus in the same state by an enormous margin. He has killed the #Nevertrump Republican faction, and can claim to be the most popular leader on the Right since Reagan.
On Tuesday, a poll came out showing Trump had hit 49 per cent job approval, the highest since he took office. Barack Obama ended his first term on 46 per cent. Trump capped off the day by delivering a triumphant State of the Union address, in which he hailed “the great American comeback” under his leadership. His words drove Nancy Pelosi, the Democrat Speaker of the House, into a petulant fit – she tore up her copy of the address. The video will be used in Republican attack ads for the rest of the year.
Then, yesterday, his impeachment fizzled out.
The whole sorry saga has been an extraordinary boon to Trump. Impeachment has made the Democrats look vindictive and foolish and the president seem invincible. Ever since the proceedings began, his poll numbers have risen. No wonder Pelosi is angry.
In that State of the Union speech, Trump went through his achievements as commander-in-chief. Any fair-minded observer would have to admit that he has plenty to brag about. Stock markets continue to defy gravity. He’s winning his trade wars. Unemployment has hit record lows and wages are rising, especially at the lower end. He has cut taxes and created a more business-friendly regulatory environment. He has conducted a judicial revolution, installing many conservative judges to protect the constitution on one hand, while reforming the criminal justice system to be fairer to prisoners on the other. He has also launched Space Force, which is wonderfully weird. He may not have built his wall – at least not much of it – but his “remain in Mexico” anti-asylum policy has dramatically reduced illegal immigration. “I keep my promises,” the president said. “We did our job.”
Humility doesn’t come easily to Trump, but he tried to sound magnanimous and optimistic. “This nation is our canvas,” he said in his peroration, “and this country is our masterpiece.”
Ever the reality TV showman, he then surprised a military wife in the gallery by reuniting her with her husband, just back from Afghanistan. Brits find such stunts insufferably cheesy. But we’ve never understood that sentimental patriotism is America’s religion. Amen to that.