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| Photograph by Alex Wong / Getty |
Unexpectedly, Trump has chosen to side with the Democrats in regards to the budget plan. As the US national debt approaches 20 trillion dollars, the two parties in congress have become divided about what to do. The GOP presented Trump with a proposal to postpone the debt ceiling to December, as well as an increase of disaster relief funding to $15.25 billion dollars. Trump has decided instead to side with Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, the Senate and House Minority leaders on a plan to suspend the debt ceiling. While there is little practical difference between these two proposals, the main difference is that Trump has chosen to look to the democrats for a solution.
Beyond just the debt ceiling, Trump has also implied that he would sign a congressional bill replicating DACA. He also traveled with Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, a democrat facing "a tough reelection effort in a solidly Republican state that Trump carried in 2016 by 36 percentage points." Trump complimented her, referring to her as a "good woman." Despite this change of alliances, Trump is still set on his tax plan, which Democrats are likely to oppose.
His support for child amnesty is also something to take note of. While he canceled DACA with an executive order, he doesn't seem to see the issue as closed. He on twitter stated that if Congress can't find a solution he will revisit the issue, likely desiring that congress takes the blame from conservatives who don't think America's immigration policy is strict enough, and from liberals who think the opposite.
Questions:
What impact will Trump siding with Democrats have on how conservatives see him?
What should America do to reduce the decifict that it has every year?
What is the cause for this apparent shift of alliance?
5 comments:
I think that Trump seems to like to do things his way. If it's Republican, it's Republican, and if it's Democrat, it's Democrat. He likes to be the only one making decisions, often alienating his own party. I don't this bodes particularly well for reelection, as some of his supporters may dwindle away. As for the deficit, the government should cut back spending in many departments. Privatizing healthcare and social security, for example, will remove a substantial chunk of the deficit (whether or not that is completely viable is another matter).
From what I have read, it seems that Trump siding with Democrats on this issue is one of the first times he has angered the conservative activists that support him. From a NYTimes article titled “For Conservatives, Trump Deal with Democrats is Nightmare Come True:
“These are the moments that can derail President Trump’s presidency,” said David Bozell, the president of For America and a Trump supporter, who added that the president’s base would be watching the next few months very carefully. “He is not Teflon,” Mr. Bozell added. “Trump spent some of his own political capital today.”
Not only does this appear to be a political win for Democrats because it angers Trump’s base, but it also is a win because it gives them more leverage in the upcoming debt ceiling debate. As one of the Washington Post articles explains, Democrats couldn’t really vote no on this debt ceiling increase because it includes provisions for Harvey. I’m quite happy with how things panned out, because I think the increased leverage may be one of the few ways that Democrats can protect those who were affected by Trump rescinding DACA.
I think it is definitely good that Trump is willing to compromise on certain things, but I think he is a bit trapped and it certainly is a negative move for him, as democrats will never appreciate his compromises and republicans only ridicule him for it. It is for this reason that compromise nowadays is increasingly hard, since it doesn't seem to give the people who are willing to compromise any more political popularity.
I do agree with Michael that Trump's compromise represents a good for the whole nation. However, as mentioned many times in class, both sides are become much more radical. With conservatives moving more right, it can be reasonably inferred that this compromise will decrease conservatives' respect for Trump. As for the shift in alliance, I think it relates to how Trump really has no choice. It is pretty reasonable that he would revert to siding with the Democrats because that is where he finds the best way to improve the current situation. Lastly, for improving the deficit, it is hard to come up with ideas other than possibly decreased spending. Although Trump has been doing this with Obamacare, I believe he should cut the budget in other areas.
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