Believe it or not, Donald Trump, is already a failure as a President. The first 100 days of a President's tenure are the most productive--at least, for most Presidents. The reason being that this is when most Presidents are the most popular and the most powerful. After all, theoretically, he was just elected by more than half the country, which implies that more than half the country is supportive, even excited, about the proposals a new President put forward during his campaign. This then puts pressure on his political allies and opponents to appease the majority of the country lest they be perceived as thwarting the will of the people.
This is not the case for Donald Trump. He lost the popular vote by 2.9 million votes, taking office with a majority of the country against the proposals he had voiced during his campaign. Not only this, but Trump's approval ratings--both his initial approval rating when inaugurated, and his rapid decline to his current 35% approval--are the lowest of any President in history at this point in their Presidency. So, he doesn't get a first 100 days; and, in fact, he may not get any days of popularity and power. There is no pressure on his friends or foes in Congress to appease him. Even Republican members of Congress have constituents speaking out against some of his proposals, and they are voicing those concerns very publicly.
We are currently 75 days into Donald Trump's Presidency--three quarters of the way through what should have been his most productive time in office--and he has racked up far more weeks of failure, controversy, and lawsuits than he has political wins. From his National Security Adviser, Michael Flynn, having to step-down, to the Russian investigations, to his Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, having to excuse himself from the investigation due to his possible involvement with the crimes being investigated, to his twice halted Muslim ban by the federal courts, to his and the GOP's colossal failure in repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, to his current Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, being held up and possibly denied Congressional approval without a historic change in Senate procedure, to a new lawsuit being heard by a federal judge in Kentucky for inciting violence at one of his own campaign rallies a year ago, Donald Trump is not only failing, he's flailing. Despite Republicans having control of the House, Senate, and White House, they are getting nothing accomplished during what is their most likely chance to do so.
It's unfortunate that Trump's failures are coming as no consolation to Democrats. Everyday social media is filled with alarmist memes and warnings about what Trump has proposed today, and while these are scary proposals for people with progressive values, they are only proposals. Nearly all of what Trump has done so far has been through Executive Orders and policy changes within federal agencies. These changes are no small deal, but they are temporary in that the next President, who at this rate of failure, backtracking, and full-on policy reversals (not to mention total lack of character and conviction and a very loose relationship with reality) by Trump will likely be a Democrat, can change on day 1 of his or her Presidency.
This may very well be the end for Trump. Even if he doesn't get impeached for colluding with the Russian government to sabotage Hillary Clinton's Presidential run or for conflicts of interest between his businesses and his role as President, legislatively, everything he wants to do has to get through Congress. To get through Congress, it has to have a 60 vote majority in the Senate. So, to pass any bill, to accomplish anything at all that will last past his final day in office, Trump must get 8 Democrats to sign-off on the legislation. This goes for budgets too; meaning, he can talk about building a wall all he wants, but unless he plans to pay for it himself or get Mexico to pay for it, as he promised, he's going to need Congressional approval for the funds. Same for his tax overhaul. Same for any of the outrageous things he's proposed over the last two years.
There are about nine months left before campaigns start for the midterm election. One-third of the 100 Senate seats are up for re-election. Nine of those are Republican seats; Democrats need to win five of them. In the House, elections will be held to elect representatives from all 435 congressional districts nationwide. Additionally, 36 states will be voting to elect Governors. How does this pertain to Trump? Republican members of Congress are going to be far less likely to side with a President embroiled in scandals, lawsuits, and legislative failures during an election year. Meaning, if Trump does not get some big wins in the next nine months, which is unlikely given his record during what should have been his honeymoon period, he may have both Democrats and Republicans publicly denouncing his policies and trashing his administration in their re-election campaigns. He may also find himself in a stalemate, if not impeachment hearings, for the final two years of his Presidency with a Congress being run by Democrats.
There is another silver lining to Trump's failure as a President. Whether he realizes it or not, he has brought the long-held beliefs of the Republican party out of the shadows for all the world to see. They were already expecting to be trounced during the 2016 elections. The only reason they weren't is because people wanted to protest and Trump was their pipe-bomb to the establishment. The policy beliefs of most Americans still do not align with the Republican platform. The demographics of American voters increasingly favor Democrats, and now, Donald Trump has exposed Republicans as all bluster and false promises with regard to immigration, health care, tax reform, and the like. If they can not make steps forward in any of these areas even with complete control of Washington, they may be looking at years of losses. This was their big chance to prove they are still worthwhile as a party and they are blowing it, BIG TIME. Not only this, but many moderate Republicans have come to see their party for what it is: a science-denying, racist, sexist, fake news-loving party who panders to the worst of society. This is not how moderate Republicans see themselves, and many may be looking to the far more moderate Democratic party to speak to their political needs.
During the 2016 election many progressives thought Donald Trump was the best thing to ever happen to Democrats. Then he won and they were appalled, frightened, and devastated. This is understandable, but maybe, just maybe, we needed a Trump Presidency for the world to fully appreciate how sinister, heartless, hateful, and incompetent the Republican party has become.
