Trump’s 20/20 Vision for 2020

Trumps+20%2F20+Vision+for+2020

Srinidhi Sankar, Opinions Editor

“The midterm elections used to be boring right? Now it’s the hottest thing,” declared President Donald Trump at a rally in Ohio on the eve of election day.

Indeed Mr. President, this may be the first statement of yours that the nation can unanimously agree on. As of the end of election week, the seats have been declared as such: 51 Republican seats and 44 Democratic seats in the Senate, and 197 Republican seats and 225 Democratic seats in the House of Representatives. It is safe to say the Republican party has continued to dominate the Senate and the Democratic party has gained majority in the House of Representatives. The “Blue Wave” in the House means the Democrats will be able to thwart Republican agenda, but as unlikely as it seems, the midterms that took place on Nov. 6 may have increased Trump’s chances of reelection.

Ridiculous. Won’t the Democrats now launch an investigation into Trump’s multiple ethics scandals? Didn’t Trump’s party obviously suffer a setback? How will Trump bring bills to the floor, much less pass legislation? True, true, and true. Republicans will certainly feel the repercussions in the next election as well. But what most don’t realize is that Trump is a very special president, one who could care less about his party’s victory. After all, Trump has always been more concerned about his own political survival than the GOP’s fate. When it comes to defending himself, he uses all his power to retaliate, even if it means attacking someone of his own party. For instance, he has not shied away from attacking Republicans, as he tweeted Republican Senator Jeff Flake as “Flake-y” for Flake’s intent to continue the Mueller investigation. The GOP seems to simultaneously distance itself from him as well–according to the Brookings Institution, 53% of Republican non-incumbent House candidates did not mention the current President at all, with only 37% speaking favorably of him.

Don’t get me wrong—I am neither insinuating that Trump is worthy of reelection, nor I am claiming that he is assured victory in 2020. However, with the Democrats seizing the House, Trump has now found an excuse for his unfulfilled promises, which he listed out just weeks before the 2016 presidential election. On Oct. 22, Trump pledged to abide by his “Contract with the American Voter,” a list of sixty goals that he swore to accomplish, and set deadlines for each. True to his flamboyant nature, he assured his supporters quick results, and declared that he will complete many of the tasks within 100 days of his presidency. Unsurprisingly, he has failed to stay true to his words; according to the Washington Post, he has broken 16 promises, and has only fulfilled 14.

To his defense, he isn’t the only president to fall back on his voter issues. After all, Obama failed to meet 17 of his own promises. On the contrary, he is the first to make such flabbergasting claims and unabashedly assert that he will follow through within such a short period of time. In with the American Health Care Act, out with Obamacare? Nope. And for the most mind boggling of them all: the infamous wall. By the end of April 2017, Trump not only promised to fund the wall at the southern border, but also lied that Mexico would pay for it. How convenient that he now has a narrative to replay during the 2020 elections: useless snowflakes obstructed the policies that could have made America great again; reelect me so I can combat this injustice.

“Then at the end of two years, nothing’s done. Now what’s bad for [Democrats] is being in the majority, I’m going to blame them,” announced Trump in his anti-press press conference on Nov. 7.

With the Democrats in control of the House, he now has a scapegoat to blame for his inevitable failure. No, don’t lose hope in democracy yet. This may be every liberal’s nightmare, but at least this time around, America won’t be led on by optimistic, yet unrealistic pollings and may be able to brace for a possibly recurring storm.