Washington State AG (and chess champion) talks about how to checkmate DT
Washington AG: President Trump’s Aggression Will Be His Undoing
(Bob Ferguson is an internationally ranked chess player and the Attorney General for Washington state.)
The most aggressive opening in chess is called the King's Gambit. On the second move, White sacrifices a pawn that typically protects his king for a blitzkrieg assault on Black. It's audacious. With no preparation, no careful groundwork, White signals his intent to wipe his opponent off the board. In the early 20th century, the King's Gambit led to many brilliant victories. But through careful preparation, grand masters discovered that they could place White on the defensive by capitalizing on weaknesses created by the aggressive opening.
President Trump is playing the political version of the King's Gambit--and his electoral victory was certainly an example of early success. But his approach leaves vulnerabilities that undermine his attacks.
Trump's first defeat--his travel ban targeting people from Muslim-majority countries--is a good example. My office brought a lawsuit challenging that Executive Order and, within a week, stopped it nationwide. How did we do it?
First, we studied Trump's moves and prepared. During his campaign, Trump said he wanted to create "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States." His adviser Rudy Giuliani explained to Fox News, "When he first announced it, he said, 'Muslim ban.' He called me up. He said, 'Put a commission together. Show me the right way to do it legally.'" Like White sacrificing a pawn on the second move, the President telegraphed his intent to act aggressively. Once Trump told the nation he wanted the travel ban, we marshalled our resources and prepared arguments for the move we knew was coming.
Second, we did not accept Trump's playing field as he presented it. We blunted his action by moving the field of battle to the courtroom. In that setting, Trump was on the defensive. After all, it isn't the loudest voice that prevails before a federal judge--it's the Constitution.
Third, we capitalized on the weaknesses created by Trump's early moves. For example, Trump's team did little, if any, vetting of the travel ban. They failed to ask their own executive agencies to review the Executive Order. In short, it was sloppy.
Additionally, we used Trump's words against him. Those statements about creating a "Muslim ban"? They became evidence in our complaint that the Executive Order was partly motivated by animus against Muslims.
http://time.com/4783920/president-trumps-aggression-will-be-his-undoing/
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