It turns out that there are centuries now, albeit only a few years, in which Donald Trump took credit for the high stature of the Oval Office to break the balance with his logo of executive orders and outrage. He has shaken public discourse for weeks with his claims: that he won the popular vote in 2016 because millions of other people voted illegally, enjoyed the largest inaugural crowd in history, heard through President Barack Obama, saw the ethical equivalence between white supremacists and those who oppose it. Arrangements and threatened with “fire and fury” oppose North Korea.
Everything fake, false or did not lead to anything. But the point of his impressive ability to surprise people.
How’s it going today? Not so much.
When a big explosion vaporized downtown Beirut last week, Trump said the same day it was a “Array attack… a bomb of any kind” with a point of certainty that has sent waves of fear through foreign governments. In fact, few have paid attention. His comment was slightly recorded as news and evidence arose temporarily that the explosion was almost a terrible accident.
And there have been other statements recently that, on an equal footing, have made a lot of noise. Except it’s not.
The president promised on July 19 that in two weeks’s time to come, it would produce a long-awaited plan to reform the country’s fitness care system. A few days later, he pledged to unveil a strategy to defeat the coronavirus “which is going to be very, very powerful.” And recently, Trump said if he was re-elected, he would succeed in a deal with Iran in four weeks.
All were greeted with a collective shrug, probably because Americans felt they would achieve nothing. There has been no physical care plan or primary COVID-19 strategy, coronavirus deaths in the United States exceed 165,000. And does anyone really think Trump will reach an agreement with an Iranian regime that refuses to even communicate with him?
So what happened? Trump’s ability to surprise and appreciate is less. He’s the incredibly shrunk president.
Even his dramatic last weekend that he would “save American jobs and relieve American workers” with a series of executive moves did not move the dial of his low approval ratings.
And that’s because it’s just smoke and mirrors.
The promise to provide progressive unemployment benefits with cash withdrawn from an emergency aid fund (during a primary hurricane season) would possibly not be legal. Senator Ben Sasse, Republican by Neb., called it an “unconstitutional slope.”
The additional $400 in weekly bills would only work if the cash states reached 25% and would last only about six weeks. In addition, a payroll tax exemption that Trump promises is a tax deferment that will need to be reimbursed. And their commitment to blocking evictions is little more than advice to the owners.
The truth is that the public has grown tired of a president whose words don’t mean much. Probably with all the damaged promises of the crusade: 4% annual economic growth, repealing and updating Obamacare, investing in infrastructure, and building a paid wall across Mexico.
Certainly, a mountain of lies and lies in development has helped. The Washington Post now estimates more than 20,000.
But what may have led Trump to banality, in spite of everything, is the dreadful way in which he rejected (and continues to reject) a fatal pandemic like anything that will simply disappear, even if it devastates America.
– Our point of view written through editor-in-chief Gregg Zoroya on behalf of USA TODAY’s editorial board.