In declaring a national emergency, Trump reminds Republicans: It's all about him

[DonViejo]

By Dan Balz
February 16 at 11:36 AM

Though he expects loyalty from Republicans, President Trump has never demonstrated much fidelity to the party that he leads, and on Friday he proved it again. In declaring a national emergency to fund his border wall, the president reminded Republican lawmakers that he feels free to trample on them whenever it suits him.

Trump was a solitary, and unscripted, figure when he spoke on Friday in the Rose Garden. His presentation was rambling and unfocused. He talked about trade with China and Great Britain, negotiations with North Korea, and the economy and the stock market before getting to the prime topic. Though he cast many of those things in upbeat terms, it was not a performance by a president who believes he is winning.

This was, however, a more authentic Trump than the politician the nation saw two weeks ago, when he gave his State of the Union address. In that setting, Trump’s speech was laced with appeals for bipartisanship, tributes to genuine American heroes and initiatives that seemed unusual to this president and designed to attract voters outside his core coalition who aren’t with him but might be needed for his reelection campaign.

In the House chamber that night, the nation saw the heavily scripted Trump, a teleprompter politician who delivered his lines as written and who had his party enthusiastically behind him. He even got some applause from the Democrats, which is no small thing. His approval ratings went up afterward, though history suggests such spikes are usually transitory.

Trump was in a weakened position when he gave his State of the Union, coming as it did after a searing defeat in his first confrontation with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and the new Democratic majority in the House. That deadlock over funding for a border wall resulted in a 35-day government shutdown from which the president emerged empty-handed.

Trump was in the Rose Garden on Friday because he had suffered a second and seemingly definitive setback at the hands of Congress, this time with the help of Republicans. When Trump had agreed to reopen the government absent a deal on the border late last month, he had put the fate of his border wall in the hands of House and Senate negotiators.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/in-declaring-a-national-emergency-trump-reminds-republicans-its-all-about-him/2019/02/16/6f070eb2-3175-11e9-813a-0ab2f17e305b_story.html

[Achilleaze]

1. URGENT message for repubes from their beloved Draft-Dodger-in-Chief