Sunday Issues-December 22, 2024
Has Trump lost his mojo?
What really happened on Capitol Hill last week before, at the last minute, a government shutdown was averted? That question will be the subject of PhD theses and even a book or two in the coming years.
The story seems simple. A president-elect, still combing through his Rolodex to find old friends and associates to appoint to federal jobs and selling Trump-branded merchandise, suddenly realized that Elon Musk had blown up a bipartisan compromise that would have let Congress go home and let everyone else focus on the holidays. Once the crisis erupted, Republicans formed a circular firing squad and started shooting. Trump jumped in to demand the debt limit be extended to 2027 or eliminated. Then, a group of about three dozen far-right Republicans dug in to block the passage of a bill. Only fear of the consequences of a government shutdown led to the passage of a bill to fund the government through March.
If my capsule summary is accurate, Trump squandered much of his honeymoon goodwill with his ham-fisted and late entry into the debate. That will hurt him eventually. Trump also was overshadowed by Elon Musk, who appeared to lead the charge up Capitol Hill without orders from his supposed boss. (Trump cannot be happy with Democrats taunting him with the words “President Musk.”)
Trump seemed surprised when the funding bill collapsed, but this isn’t surprising given the aforementioned distractions and the time he spent in a barber’s chair getting a new hairstyle.
We are also learning something that should have been obvious—a block of House Republican legislators that many assumed were in Trump’s pocket aren’t. That means House Speaker Mike Johnson doesn’t have a reliable majority to work with, and he may have trouble keeping his job when the new Congress organizes.
The next few weeks will thus spawn new speculation about Trump 2.0. I have already been asked if Trump is showing his age. He is. And that can be a huge problem given that he has made loyalty to him the litmus test for appointees. The problem is that the largely unqualified and inexperienced people he has appointed to his government will consider their loyalty obligations voided if they conclude Trump is senile or crazy. And that could happen—look what four years in the White House did to Biden. Remember that on Inauguration Day, Trump will be older than Biden was on January 20, 2021.
Special Envoy Mark Burnett.
The man who gave us Donald Trump as the star of The Apprentice has received his reward, but it is not the reward many of us think Burnett deserves for his “contributions” to American culture. Trump made him Special Envoy to the United Kingdom.
Lara Trump.
Additional evidence of Republicans getting (somewhat) comfortable with defying Trump came Saturday when Lara Trump withdrew her name as a candidate for appointment to the Senate seat vacated by Marco Rubio if he is confirmed as Secretary of State.
The news here is that Florida Governor DeSantis wasn’t going to let Trump put his daughter-in-law in the U.S. Senate. DeSantis’ apparent decision is the first thing DeSantis has done in a while that is not despicable.
Musk endorses the German far-right party, Alternatives for Germany.
At least three people commented to me this week that Musk is getting stranger by the day. In addition to his “service” in Washington, Musk tweeted on X that only the far-right, anti-immigrant German party, described as neo-nazi, could “save” Germany. Wow.
Musk is also considering donating money to Britain’s Reform UK party, headed by Nigel Farage. Why? In Musk’s own words, tweeted on X:
"Civil war is inevitable."
"Britain is going full Stalin."
"The people of Britain have had enough of a tyrannical police state."
After buying the U.S. presidency (which may prove as problematic as his purchase of Twitter), Musk has apparently concluded that he can buy foreign governments. Why doesn’t he focus on Russia?
Tragedy in Germany.
Why did the Saudi immigrant doctor kill five people and injure more than 200 by plowing a car into a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany? We do not know yet, but we are saddened by this tragedy. Things like this should not happen.
The incident will benefit the far-right in Germany as Alternatives for Germany continues its march to power. That is a tragedy.
Thank you and Happy Holidays.
Thank you for reading today’s Sunday Issues. Best wishes for a safe and joyous holiday this week.
Regarding Johnson, he's about as fit to be House speaker as Kevin McCarthy was.
Lara Trump removing her name from consideration is a bonus to some Republicans trending away from kissing Trump's ring.
I'm surprised to see DeSantis pushing back on her. When I saw the photo of him with Trump and Johnson at the Army-navy game, I expected DeSantis to put her name forward for the Senate.