2017: A tale of two Trump presidencies?
Wall Street Journal's Dan Henninger says after a rocky start to his presidency characterized by 'battle and mayhem,' President Trump has produced a period of 'Trumpian calm' and accomplishment.
There is really only one question anyone asks today: What do you think of it? “It,” of course, being America’s presidency. Needless to say, one presidency wasn’t going to be enough for Donald Trump. In true Trumpian style, the New York developer has produced two presidencies in one year.
The two Trump presidencies exist as parallel universes. One is inhabited by Trump of Twitter, a character out of Rabelais’s novel “The Very Horrific Life of Great Gargantua.” Much of the American population is appalled by Trump of Twitter, who lives in a dark and deeply personal pool of feuds and fulminations. His first-year approval rating floated below 40%, while voters in Virginia and Alabama rejected his candidates, and him.
Existing alongside is a universe of solid, tangible economic success. Reporting on the season’s strong holiday retail sales, this newspaper noted that consumer confidence is at a 17-year high, with unemployment at a 17-year low—a time-frame that turns the Obama presidency into a forgotten memory.
Donald Trump entered office revved up from his victorious campaigns against Hillary Clinton, all Republican comers—and pretty much the whole wide world. It was us versus them, and “us” won.
Donald Trump entered office revved up from his victorious campaigns against Hillary Clinton, all Republican comers—and pretty much the whole wide world. It was us versus them, and “us” won.
Keep reading Daniel Henninger's column in the Wall Street Journal.
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