May be a one-termer

By Jennifer Rubin
Opinion writer
January 20 at 12:00 PM

... His approval has cratered; Democrats won the House with a 40-seat trouncing; House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) continues to run rings around him; and Republicans now part with him on Russia policy matters — and a smaller number on reopening the government ...

... The Pew Research Center reports, “A majority (55%) remains confident that special counsel Robert Mueller is conducting a fair investigation into Russian involvement in the 2016 election. Confidence in Mueller has held steady over the course of the past year, and there remains more confidence in Mueller to conduct a fair investigation than in Trump to handle matters related to the inquiry appropriately.” By contrast, the same poll shows the public trust in Trump continues to drop. “A majority of the public (58%) says they trust what Trump says less than they trusted what previous presidents said while in office,” Pew Research Center finds. “Just 26% say they trust Trump more than previous presidents, while 14% say their level of trust in Trump’s rhetoric is about the same as for past presidents.”

... Trump’s play-to-the-base strategy was a blunder with enormous ramifications. Sure, about 30 percent of the electorate will believe whatever Trump says, no matter how absurd. The Trump cult however now stands isolated from everyone else. A base-only strategy with a blundering, offensive president — who did virtually nothing for the “forgotten man and woman” and who alienated college-educated voters (in part with his racism and rejection of reality), women and suburban voters — put the House in Democratic hands.

... in the midst of a scandal, most presidents can fall back on their role as commander in chief and architect of U.S. foreign policy to sustain their aura of power. Trump’s foreign policy, aside from the taint from his subservience to Russia, is characterized as chaotic, frightening and entirely ineffective. From his trade war that harms U.S. farmers, consumers and business, to his irresponsible plan to pull out from Syria, to his constant threats to NATO, to his foolish indulgence of North Korean tyrant Kim Jong Un, Trump’s foreign policy further saps his reputation an authority. If President Richard M. Nixon could rely on foreign policy achievements (e.g. China) to sustain him during the dark days of Watergate, Trump’s foreign policy increases the urgency of getting him out of office. (“Get rid of him before he does any more damage!” is a reasonable reaction to his destructive tendencies) ...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/01/20/five-reasons-trump-may-be-one-termer/?utm_term=.b95111bc60b8