‘The real rough water for President Trump still lies ahead,’ GOP insider says
ANALYSIS — “Stay tuned” is a common refrain from White House aides when asked about the many cliffhangers created by President Donald Trump. But remarkably, even after three topsy-turvy months that culminated Friday in a wild Rose Garden appearance, that West Wing mantra will apply doubly over the next few weeks.
Trump’s decision to declare a national emergency at the southern border to unlock Pentagon funds for his proposed border wall came wrapped in an announcement press conference during which he veered from topic to topic, undercut his own legal position, often appeared dispassionate when discussing the emergency declaration, and made more baseless claims. That matter is already embroiled in court fights, putting perhaps his biggest campaign promise in legal limbo, and has appeared to created new distance between him and some Senate Republicans.
The president himself chose to plunge his border wall promise to his conservative base into question just as he is kicking off his re-election campaign, telling reporters, “I didn’t have to do this” right now. The domestic stakes are huge for Trump, should the courts reject the argument that he has the authority to spend dollars Congress allocated for other matters on the border barrier — not least of which is the risk of his base becoming frustrated.
View the complete February 20 article by John T. Bennett on The Roll Call website here.