The title of this week's post became a no-brainer when three-quarters of the way through the program Chuck Todd reminded viewers that the president also picked a fight with Senate Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
That, the icing before the cake, along with the president's profoundly unwise bellicose statements on North Korea and his fecklessness shown from his no-statement on the violence in Charlottesville, VA have sealed off any doubt that Mr. Trump has drowned under the turbulent water that is the presidency and is woefully ill-suited to lead this country.
However, it's not surprising in the least, as much as it was inevitable to see. The president not specifically condemning white supremacists for the tragic violence in Charlottesville may finally be the straws that permanently pry open the eyes of Republicans in Congress.
What Mr. Trump never came around to comprehending was that as President of The United States of America, you have to be able to speak to all Americans, even the ones who didn't vote for you. His campaign whistled to and cultivated the support of the alt-right through its extreme immigration initiatives - words and deeds from Mr. Trump himself which are now obviously a big part of his presidency.
Neo-Nazis and White Supremacists fully armed in paramilitary gear (thanks National Rifle Association for pointless open carry laws) march on a town in Virginia to rally around a statue of Robert E. Lee, a general in the Confederacy. And the president doesn't specifically condemn that? President Abraham Lincoln referred to the Confederacy as rebels... traitors to the principles of the Constitution that all men are created equal and deserve equal justice under the law, hence traitors against their country because their cause was to uphold slavery. Couldn't agree more with that view. Americans have fought and died against the forces of Nazism and Racism, but Mr. Trump has nothing to say about it with the exception of a platitude that gives white supremacists a pass.
A failure to lead the country.
The fmr. Joint Chief of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen said that Mr. Trump's rhetoric takes away his maneuvering options, and North Korea knowing that the U.S. will not take military action without suffering the "unintentional consequences," as Adm. Mullen described them, called Mr. Trump's bluff making additional threats.
Only a political wing-nut would use words like "fire and fury" or "locked and loaded" referring to our military, not the president of the United States. Period, end of discussion. (The word "shrewd" never comes up when describing Mr. Trump.)
Mr. Trump's statements put two of our closest allies in more immediate peril, ramping up an international crisis that Adm. Mullen assessed could get out of control fast.
A failure to lead the world.
The National Review's Rich Lowry said that Mr. Trump need the Republican Congress and Mitch McConnell for "scandal control," which would be hysterical if it weren't so true. As Joy-Ann Reid reminded us, the Senate majority leader's wife is in Mr. Trump's cabinet - Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao. But so what, Senator McConnell couldn't get the votes on health care. He couldn't get a win for Trump which makes him a loser, as how our simplified political math is trending right now. The Republican party, especially House members, is all Mr. Trump has right now. He's been losing pieces one at a time in the Senate but forfeiting the most strategically important one is politically shortsighted to say the least. And the Senate clearly supports McConnell.
Failure to lead his party; a triple fail.
Panel: Joy-Ann Reid, NBC News; Rich Lowry, The National Review; Amy Walter, the Cook Political Report; Helene Cooper, The New York Times
Other things... just to be sure...
Adm. Mullen said that Kim Jung Un is not a rational actor.
As Chuck Todd and the panel agreed, National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster and Presidential Senior Advisor Steven Bannon can NOT work together. One is going to have to go, which will be the most telling choice the Administration makes. Steve Bannon, Stephen Miller and Sebastian Gorka have no place in The White House.
Helene Cooper is sick of hearing that taking down the statues of Robert E. Lee and such people might make anger some people, to which she replied, "Make them angry." Amen to that.
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