Why Trump Can't Build His Wall

[DonViejo]

Without discipline, organization or bargaining skills, the administration has never stood much of a chance.

By Jonathan Bernstein

December 19, 2018, 6:30 AM EST

President Donald Trump’s border wall died yet another death on Tuesday, as the White House retreated from last week’s boasts about shutting down the government over it. Realistically, the wall has been dead for months, and perhaps since last year; Trump’s renewed bluster served only to demonstrate how weak he is, and to weaken him further for the next round of bargaining. Who’s going to believe him after so many empty threats?

The wall, in fact, offers a good example of why Trump just isn’t very good at presidenting.

To begin with, it demonstrates that choosing a political agenda based on whatever sound bite produces a strong audience response is a risky strategy at best. The wall was never a well-considered policy, and its very real defects had never been smoothed out during the campaign. Claiming that Mexico would pay for it created both entirely unrealistic expectations and a needless foreign-policy problem right off the bat.

It remained a possibility even so. But Trump’s chaotic transition meant that there was never a real legislative agenda for Republicans in Congress to follow, which left them to pursue their own priorities. The wall wasn’t at the top of their list. Trump’s embrace of extreme partisanship, meanwhile, meant that Democrats were in no mood to compromise. This combination of chaos and partisanship contributed to Trump’s very low approval ratings during what would normally be a honeymoon period, which meant that neither party was all that eager to do what he wanted.

The spending negotiations last fall presented Trump with his one good chance to follow through on the wall. Senate Democrats, who had some leverage thanks to the filibuster, were reportedly prepared to trade wall funding for their own immigration priorities. Trump, however, asked for too much – including changes to legal immigration that quite a few Republicans opposed – and got nothing instead.

And so it’s gone, for almost two years. The White House doesn’t have the organization or discipline to push anything to the top of the congressional agenda and keep it there. Trump hasn’t demonstrated competent bargaining skills; he asks for the impossible, lashes out at allies and opponents, fails to grasp where the votes are, doesn’t seem to know what the other players want that he can get them, and folds easily. His frequent idle threats only hurt his reputation and strengthen the resolve of those he deals with.

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https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2018-12-19/why-trump-can-t-build-his-wall

[Initech]

1. We could just give him the impression that we've already built the wall.

Just put up a few swatches and take some fancy pictures that will look good on Fox News and that's all you need to do. After all in his administration all he does is whine about fake news, so I say give him what he deserves.

[Volaris]

4. Like the fake cardboard and plywood tanks and planes in WWII lol?

Just put up like a mile of it, take some pictures and call it a day lol?

[Initech]

5. Or like the fake town in Blazing Saddles!

[Thomas Hurt]

2. The "do you know who I am" school of negotiation.

[Grammy23]

3. tRump tends to say or Tweet what feels good at the moment. The "Mexico will pay

for the wall” chant is a prime example. It came to him in a brilliant, blinding flash. He used it a few times and it wasn’t long before his audience understood that it was their duty to chant it back to him. It became a part of every rally. He asked the question and they responded with the expected reply.

Only one teeny, tiny problem. He never thought beyond the initial flash of genius.

Words have meaning. And people have memory, especially things that have been drummed into their heads. So now, months later (many months, in fact) the subject of The Wall comes up from time to time. Only problem is there is no wall to show beyond what has been there for years. tRump in his infinite wisdom never thought about how he’d really pay for the wall. And his minions were dumb enough to think Mexico would bend to his will and pay for it. Fat chance of that.

So in order to save face we get treated to more Tweets, more threats, more lies. He will try to weasel his way out of this mess he created for himself. But the time is running out and the new Congress is waiting in the wings. His next two years (if he makes it through the whole two years) won’t be fun. I see lots of caving on his part just to make the game stop.

Just a wild guess here, but it seems to me that tRumpolini is probably regretting the day he ever thought that Presidenting was gonna be a lark. He shoulda listened to Howard Stern and stayed the hell away.

[FakeNoose]

6. He never, EVER thinks ahead

He assumes we're as stupid and forgetful as he is. Fun fact: we're not and the internet never forgets.

[Grammy23]

7. He gets dazzled by his own brilliance and can't think ahead beyond that

amazing moment. Momentarily boosted and feeling high, in his mind there is no need to think ahead, plan or wonder aloud where things could go wrong. Nope. Not for that stable genius.

Meanwhile, his empire is in flames and soon to crumble around him. He is so busy telling himself how great he is, he hasn’t noticed the flames licking his ass. Hmmm, I kinda like that image. LOL. This is not going to end well for him, but he will scream to the end how successful and amazing he is. Next up: dancing in the streets for all of us who have watched this whole debacle unfold.

[gratuitous]

9. It's a habit ingrained by a lifetime of unaccountability

His mouth is always writing (kiting?) checks his ass can't cash. On balance, it's worked out pretty well for him. I expect, however, that the political arena is far less forgiving than real estate.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

8. don't overthink this; he can't get it up

Too much analysis on this simple problem.

He can't build his wall because he can't get it up.