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Thanks to more of those invaluable Obama cameras and microphones, we have a record of Trump’s meeting with the Saudis yesterday:

Trump arrives at the royal palace (he had to leave Melania back at the hotel, of course).  King Salman and Prince Mohammed are there to meet him.

KS:  Mr. President!  So good to see you!  I hope you enjoyed the night at our seven star hotel!

DT:  Well, it was OK, but it wasn’t a Trump hotel, so it didn’t have enough gold.

PM:  But surely you enjoyed the service!  We made sure that all the housekeeping staff were tens!

DT:  In those black grocery bags, who can tell?

KS:  Well, at least you have to admit our people gave you a warm reception.

DT:  That’s true.  I need to look into making your country a state in the US.  It would help me win the popular vote next time.

PM:  So, we need to talk about dealing with our deadly mutual enemy.

DT:  You can help me with Comey?

PM:  No, of course, I mean Iran.

DT:  Oh, right, Iran.

KS:  A rogue nation that has no respect for human rights and promotes extremism and terrorism all over the globe.

DT:  Actually, that sounds a bit like your country.

PM:  Not at all!  God is a Sunni, not a Shiite.  Anyway, they pretend to be a democracy, while we don’t even pretend, and they hang their criminals, while we behead ours.  It’s way different.

DT:  If you say so.

KS:  We want to talk about ways in which we can work against our enemies.

DT:  Sure, but don’t expect me to agree to just anything.  I’m the Great Negotiator.  I don’t give something for nothing.  America First!

PM:  Yeah, we’ve heard that.

DT:  So where do you want to start?

KS:  We could use more help fighting the Iranian proxies in Yemen.

DT:  My advisers tell me the war is going poorly, and the civilian population is being brutalized for no obviously good reason.

PM:  Fake news, Mr. President, fake news.  The people in Yemen love us, and the war is going well.

DT:  OK, I’m on board with that.  As long as I don’t have to do any nation-building. What’s next?

KS:  We need more help getting rid of Assad.

DT:  Not so sure about that one.  I can’t figure out who the bad guys are in Syria. My buddy Vlad says Assad is OK, and everyone else is a terrorist.  You tell me something different.  What am I supposed to believe?

PM:  Has Vlad done anything to help you out recently?

DT:  I’ll think about it.

KS:  At some point, Iran needs to be confronted directly and forcefully.  A few bombers should do the trick.

DT:  Yeah, I’m planning to go to war with them eventually.  Bibi says it can’t be avoided, and it will make me look like a strong and decisive leader.  I have to deal with North Korea first, however.

KS:  We understand.  Just don’t forget.

DT:  What are you willing to do for me?

PM:  You mean, other than the huge new Trump hotel in Mecca?

DT:  Of course.

KS:  We’ll buy lots of expensive military hardware from you.  We’ll tell the world that climate change is a hoax, just as you’ve said.  And we’ll fight Iran to the last American.

DT:  That’s the spirit.  What about radical Islam?

PM:  He moved to Iran.  He never had any friends here.

DT:  Oh, good.  It sounds like we’re on the same page.

Trump leaves to pick up Melania, who is dying to get out of town.

 

Ronald Reagan, of course, was “The Great Communicator.”  Trump would have us believe that he is “The Great Negotiator.”  In reality, he should be known as “The Great Recycler,” because he stole all of his campaign themes from previous GOP figures, as follows:

1.  His white nationalism and protectionism come straight from Pat Buchanan;
2.  The “silent majority,” the fixation on crime in the inner cities, and his war with the media were obviously taken from Nixon;
3.  His tax plan comes from Reagan and George W. Bush; and
4.  “America First” was Charles Lindbergh’s slogan.

To most sane, normal people, being President of the United States is a job–the most important job on the planet.  It comes with immense responsibilities, and can never taken lightly.  To Trump, however, it is just a prize–similar to, say, the US Open trophy– that he won fairly by running the best campaign and being very popular.  Governing was never really part of the equation for him; he just wants to enjoy a four year victory lap.

Predictably, he’s clearly not enjoying the experience thus far.  If someone could think of a way to let him keep all of the perks and prestige of the office, while giving the actual power to Mike Pence, I suspect he would jump at the opportunity.

               Trump It Up

Conway’s on CNN.

Spicer’s at the podium.

More action in the street.

Another presidential tweet.

Tax cuts are on the way.

Ryan’s got a lot to say.

Muslim ban is out of hand.

I think that’s the plan.

 

Trump it up

Until you can feel it.

Trump it up

When you don’t really need it.

 

Missiles in Syria.

There’s lots to be leery of.

Tracking down a Russian hack.

Michael Flynn gets the sack.

AHCA has come and gone.

No one knows what’s going on.

We just fight for what is right.

Don’t turn out the lights.

 

Trump it up

Until you can feel it.

Trump it up

When you don’t really need it.

 

Parody of “Pump It Up” by Elvis Costello.

 

Crooked media people say I have the mind of a child.  Bad!

Netanyahu and Trump are old friends, so you have to think that Bibi told everyone in Israel that a golden age had arrived after Trump won in November. Imagine how embarrassing it must be for him to justify his old buddy’s decision to leak Israeli intelligence to the Russians.  His best case is that Trump simply didn’t know what he was doing, which can’t sound very reassuring to the Israeli public.

It couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.

On the new special counsel named Bob.

It would seem he’s the man for the job.

I see smoke, but no fire.

Sure, the Don’s a big liar

But impeachment’s a door with no knob.

 

Predictably, the speculation about President Pence has begun in earnest.  As I noted yesterday, the fact that the GOP establishment prefers him to Trump makes impeachment a plausible alternative, but only if the party concludes that Trump is leading them off a cliff.  We’re not even close to that point right now; Trump still has the unwavering support of his base, which views everything going on in Washington as fake news.

The image of the Trump White House created by articles in the NYT, the WaPo, and Politico is reminiscent of a medieval monarchy in which the king is incapacitated, the government consequently lacks any sense of direction, and the courtiers are all desperately looking out for themselves and trying to knife their rivals.

That’s bad enough, but it could get much worse.  Trump is bound to figure out at some point that a successful war is the solution to his public relations problems. It’s just a matter of time.

In the final analysis, the biggest threat to Trump is the undoubted fact that the vast majority of Republicans on Capitol Hill would prefer to see Mike Pence in the White House.  Sure, there would be some backlash from Trump’s die hard white nationalist supporters, but where else are they going to go?  Are they going to wish they had voted for Hillary?  Not a chance.

And so, if it appears that Trump is leading them off a cliff, the GOP may be prepared to take preemptive action.  The question then is, what would happen next?

Pence would take the drama out of governing.  He would be sane and competent. He wouldn’t send provocative tweets or leak classified information to the Russians.  He wouldn’t start wars in a fit of pique.  He wouldn’t lie every time he opens his mouth.  For all of that, the country would have reason to be grateful.

On the other hand, the GOP House and Senate leadership would have an easier time getting its tax cutting, benefit cutting, and deregulatory agenda through the system.  Something like the Trump tax program would be more likely to pass with steady leadership from the White House, and entitlement cuts would probably be on the table to a greater extent than they are today.

In other words, Trump is the sizzle, but Pence is the steak.  There would be clear benefits to getting rid of Donny Rotten, but changing the agenda (except to some extent on free trade and entitlements) isn’t one of them.

 

It appears that even some right-wing commentators have finally discovered that Trump is, essentially, a spoiled child.  To me, the best analogy is to a punk rocker; he’s filled with anger, he wants to blow up the establishment, he has no positive agenda, and he wants to be the center of attention at all times.  He has no sense of restraint or decorum, lies constantly, and refuses to take responsibility for any of his failures.

It’s an incredibly volatile mix, to be sure.  The pathetic thing is that he made no attempt to hide it from anyone during the campaign, and millions of people voted for it, anyway, because at least he wasn’t Hillary Clinton.

I read an article on Politico.com last week in which a former Obama Administration official argued that the North Korean economy is more exposed to the outside world than you would think, and that severe sanctions, followed by an Iran-style deal, could work there.  I’m a bit skeptical of his conclusions about the vulnerability of the North Korean economy, but in any event, the two countries are fundamentally different in the following ways:

1.  The Iranian government had to take public opinion into account; the North Korean government does not.  Iran is certainly no Jeffersonian democracy, but it does at least have some democratic elements in its system.  The North Korean government doesn’t care in the slightest about the well-being of its subject people; its only interest is in self-preservation.  If additional austerity is the price of maintaining power, so be it; the country has seen worse days.

2.  Iran was more diplomatically isolated than North Korea is.  You wouldn’t think that the hermit kingdom would have any friends, but the fact is that the Chinese will not, in the final analysis, take any actions that could jeopardize the existence of the regime.  Iran couldn’t rely on anyone like that.

It occurred to me a few days ago that Trump combines the worst features of Reagan and Nixon.  He resembles Reagan with his swagger and his lack of interest in policy details, but he has Nixon’s thin skin, perpetual sense of grievance, cynicism, and lack of respect for the truth, the law, and democratic norms.

Reagan was a fundamentally decent man, and Nixon was competent.  Trump can’t claim to be either.

It’s So Easy

It’s so easy to run the world.

It’s so easy to run the world.

 

It’s so easy, it’s so easy

Whoa

It’s so easy, it’s so easy

Whoa

It’s so easy, it’s so easy

Whoa

I’ll fix it all and go play golf.

 

Oh, it’s so easy to run the world.

It’s so easy to run the world.

 

Parody of “It’s So Easy” by Buddy Holly.

The one thing that Trump has done that has received bipartisan support and a positive media response (both were misguided) was the pinprick missile attack on Syria.  It was an effort to prove that he was tough and unpredictable without any meaningful practical consequences.

Given his love of popularity and lack of imagination, can you imagine him launching a similar pinprick attack on North Korea in the hope of putting an end to Kim’s missile and nuclear programs without a full scale war?  I certainly can. The difference, of course, is that Kim could either see through the bluff or respond by starting the ghastly war that Trump would presumably prefer to avoid, if possible.

The bottom line facts regarding the relationship between the US and the Koreas are as follows:

1.  North Korea already has enough firepower (both nuclear and conventional) to destroy South Korea, but cannot currently project it to the US;
2.  The progress made on their nuclear program, and their missiles, consequently threatens the US, but is irrelevant to South Korea;  so
3.  The interests of the historically allied US and South Korean governments in this critical matter are largely inconsistent.

Now, add the new South Korean government, which clearly wants to engage in a “sunshine policy,” to the mix.  “Sunshine” means that additional US sanctions have absolutely no chance of success in bringing the North Korean government to heel.  What are Trump’s options if the Moon government puts this approach into practice?

Acquiescence to the North Korean first strike capability against the US, or war. That’s it.