If I Were Trump

(which, of course, I'm not)

It now appears that Republicans will be hit with a blue tidal wave of historic proportions in the coming mid-term elections (of course, this wave has been predicted in the past to the great embarrassment of pollsters). Nevertheless, the Democrats are almost certain to retake the House of Representatives while the Senate remains a toss-up. But it is also certain that President Trump will remain as a lame-duck president for the remaining two years of his term (barring some illness or other event that would render him unable to complete his term).

So the question remains, what should he do in his remaining time faced with an adversarial Congress and a restive populace. There are a number of alternatives we must consider. Under normal circumstances, an attempt to overthrow the election or declare martial law (as has been rumored in some news reports), would seem ludicrous. But after the events of January 6^th following the 2020 elections, who knows? But for this mental exercise let’s assume that any such attempt would be unsuccessful.

Another factor to consider would be that although Democrats will control the House and quite likely the Senate, it would be very unlikely that they would have a super-majority sufficient to override a presidential veto (especially because only a third of the Senate is up for a vote). As a result, in a divided government Congress will be relegated to innumerable investigations of Trump along with his family and his associates, repeated impeachments with no convictions, and little else.

President Trump could, of course, try to rule through a series of executive orders in an attempt to by-pass Congress. But these executive orders are likely to be blocked, at least temporarily, through the court system, leaving it to the Supreme Court to determine the validity of such orders. One can only hope that the Supreme Court, as the only functioning branch of government (as noted by Sarah Isgur in her book, Last Branch Standing), will rein in the more outlandish actions of either the president or Congress. The mere fact that both President Trump (and his MAGA supporters) and the progressives/socialists in the Democratic Party virulently oppose the Court and its justices, gives credence to the legitimacy of the Court and its decisions.

If the Democrats gain the presidency and retain Congress in the 2028 presidential elections, almost everything accomplished during the second Trump administration will be tossed out, both the good and the bad. Extreme changes of political directions from alternating administrations does not serve the interests of the American people. We face real problems that are not being addressed as a result of all this political infighting – persistent and growing fiscal deficits, mounting public debt and debilitating interest payments, combined with rising rival powers that threaten our national security.

If I were in Trump’s shoes, there are things that I would try to do to get us out of this mess we are currently in. First, I would stop all the self-aggrandizing projects that alienate most Americans. Forget the grand arch. Restore the Kennedy Center and don’t put my name on it. Take all the cheesy gold bric-a-brac out of the Oval Office. Stop cutting down the beautiful old trees (that remain) on the East Potomac Links golf course. Scale back the ballroom that will replace the East wing of the White House (the old wing has been torn down so we need something to replace it). President Trump likes to put his name on things but he must be made to realize that his name will disappear and his structures torn down by succeeding administrations. If he really wants to be remembered it will be for his actions.

He needs to lock Stephen Miller and Russell Vought in some sub-basement of the West Wing. With those two locked away it would be possible to rein in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The alternative to deportation should not be a death sentence. Scared people in automobiles are trying to escape, not kill ICE agents. Deportations (and in large numbers) occurred in other administrations without shooting people. Immigration reform is long overdue and without fanatics in the administration fomenting overzealous law enforcement it might be possible to come up with a workable plan. The RAISE Act proposed in the first Trump administration could be used as a framework (even though it was originally formulated by Mr. Miller) although some upward adjustment of the number of immigrants and refugees must be made to counter Mr. Miller’s anti-immigrant bias A merit-based immigration system (employed by other countries such as Canada) makes a lot of sense.

If President Trump could restrain some of his loyalists in the House and Senate and promote the efforts of some elected officials whose loyalty is to the country and not his person, it might be possible to increase the size and effectiveness and the Problem Solvers caucus. They may not be MAGA but he will need some bipartisan efforts if he wants to get anything done that will last past January 2029.

The War with Iran needs to be ended but it must be ended on our terms. President Trump wants a deal but a deal with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) would be a foolish exercise. Iran cannot be defeated from the air and the regime (as opposed to the Iranian people) can endure enormous financial hardships. US troops and arms for the Iranian resistance are essential to replacing the current regime. A new Iranian regime will not be a democratic paradise (as President Bush had hoped to create in Iraq) but one without fanatic zealotry could be acceptable.

And while President Trump may be enamored by how Vladimir Putin exercises power in Russia, most people in the US have no such illusion. Trump needs to drop Putin like a hot potato. Trump’s affinity for dictators exacerbates the public’s concerns about his intentions for America. He needs to help the Ukrainians and NATO end this war and not prolong it by waiving sanctions on Russia. He doesn’t have to like Zelenskyy in order to do the right thing.

I would end the weaponization of the federal government against my political enemies. The American people have, to a large extent, come to realize that the Obama and Biden administrations were out to get Mr. Trump and that the actions of left-leaning personnel in the Department of Justice and other arms of the federal government were wrong. But the American people also think that two wrongs don’t make a right. Besides, all the time and energy Trump spends on his political enemies could be better spent making life better for regular Americans.

In addition, I would ditch the meme-coins and crypto-currency scams that he and his family are using to enrich themselves. These schemes may be legal (in the sense that they don’t break actual laws) but that doesn’t make them the right thing to do. The Founders of America believed that leaders should rid themselves of personal interests so that their first interest as public servants was the good of the country. For example, Benjamin Franklin sold off his businesses in his fifties so that he could focus on science and public policy in a disinterested manner. Mr. Trump is riddled with interest and his sons make Hunter Biden look small time. Time to cut the nepo babies loose and put his wealth in a blind trust. He may not increase his wealth very much, but at least, people might not think he is such a crook either.

Finally, if I were him, I would curb my tongue. His loose mouth just gets him in more trouble than it’s worth. He promises a quick end to the Iranian war. He claims fuel prices (especially diesel) will plummet. When??? Soon he says. Hah! He has lost all credibility. Only his most fanatic MAGA base believes anything he says. And (I know this will be difficult for a narcissist like him) he needs to practice a little humility. Even the most powerful leader in the world has limits.  

But I am not Trump, so none of these ideas will be attempted. But, If he did all this it might salvage a bit of his legacy which otherwise is in the basement. But it might do a lot of good for the American people.