In this 'look back at 2017' and 'look ahead' theme today, let's dispel with something right away and that is that the 2020 presidential race (also discussed) is a political lifetime away and who's really to say what will happen by then. There's prognosticating and then there's the almost ridiculous notion of thinking who will run in the next presidential year.
As for 2017, Mr. Trump set the tone with those two inaugural words, "American carnage." He said it would stop but in many ways he has just begun to undertake the effort of creating it. Domestically, you look at the country and we've never been more divided. As Rich Lowry explained, it isn't so much of Mr. Trump's policies, which have been mostly traditional Republican, but the viscerally, personally negative reaction the sound majority of the country has had for Mr. Trump himself. The precipice came after Charlottesville and the statement about "very fine people on both sides," a completely disgraceful statement. Despite what Mr. Trump has said, he has never made an honest attempt to govern and represent all of the people of this country. The good health of the economy saves his domestic performance from falling into the abyss.
Internationally, Mr. Trump has been amateurish and just plain stupid on so many fronts. Starting with Russia, which can be summed up with the big 'Why.' If there's nothing there and it's all a big 'hoax,' as the president likes to say, then why all the lying and covering up of facts and meetings and contacts? Why all the secrecy, as Katty Kay asked. The fact is that there is something there and time and Robert Mueller's special counsel will tell. But even if you take Russia off the table, which you really can not, Mr. Trump has embraced autocrats in Turkey and the Philippines, abdicating any leadership role the United States plays on the front of human rights.
This weekend, Mr. Trump tweeted about the protests occurring right now in Iran and he mentioned human rights, but the statement carries no respect when you consider how he's represented us abroad (and here at home). Pulling out of the Paris Climate Accords was a short-sighted, isolationist decision: Short-sighted because the U.S. has the opportunity to leader the world in clean energy technology manufacturing, but he's ignoring the business potential, and isolationist because he's alienated the world and more importantly our key allies. From a contentious conversation with the prime minister of Australia to insulting the German chancellor to her face to being publicly rebuked by Teresa May of Britain, the president has sown distrust with once steadfast western allies. Coming full circle, Putin got what he wanted in this respect.
As Kristen Welker explained, the president hasn't done anything to curtail North Korea's nuclear program, except to make the dictatorship more aggressive in its pursuit. Moving into the next year, continued bluster from the president potentially moves us ever closer to a hot war on the Korean peninsula, something that no one wants. And speaking of hot wars, the panel briefly discussed a potential hot war between Saudi Arabia and Iran; "one step away" was the phrase Katty Kay used.
And looking ahead to 2018 politically, Charlie Cook explained that we're standing on the beach and we look out into the ocean and see that a big wave is gathering. But the big 'however' is that the Democrats need a clear, concise agenda - one easily explained to the American people - or the tide won't be with them. Simply running against Mr. Trump because of personal failure to represent the office of presidency, in a presidential way, will not be enough. Some Dems don't want to hear this but Mr. Cook was correct in saying that they need to take impeachment off the table because even if the Democrats won every Senate race that's up, they'd still need 60 votes to impeach and no Republican in the Senate is going to vote for that. It's Mr. Trump's Republican party, like it or not.
At the beginning of the year, Mr. Trump said that the "American Carnage" would stop, but it seems like he's trying to set it in motion.
With that said, the good news is that despite all his attempts at undermining America's institutions, we've seen them be quite resilient in the face of all these attacks - the FBI, our judicial branch. Mr. Trump also has more people in this country paying attention to politics and what's happening in Washington, and that is also good for the health of our Democracy. Three cheers for that!
Everyone have a safe and happy new year in 2018!
Panel: Katty Kay, BBC News; Kristen Welker, NBC News, Rich Lowry, The National Review; Charles Cook, The Cook Political Report
One more thing...
Troll (verb), Dog Whistle (noun) and Alt-Right (noun) are three words we simply don't need as a society, but they are now unavoidable.
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