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| Trump’s Biggest Obstacle to Policy Goals? His Own Missteps | Trump’s Biggest Obstacle to Policy Goals? His Own Missteps |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| WASHINGTON — President Trump’s failure to make good on his signature promise to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act is the most crushing political defeat of his early days in the White House. | WASHINGTON — President Trump’s failure to make good on his signature promise to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act is the most crushing political defeat of his early days in the White House. |
| But it is hardly the only one. | But it is hardly the only one. |
| Mr. Trump — who sold himself as a winner who could turn around a country that “doesn’t win anymore” — has endured a litany of missteps, controversies, resignations and investigations, all of which have dented his “I alone can fix it” vow to remake government with businesslike efficiency. | Mr. Trump — who sold himself as a winner who could turn around a country that “doesn’t win anymore” — has endured a litany of missteps, controversies, resignations and investigations, all of which have dented his “I alone can fix it” vow to remake government with businesslike efficiency. |
| A month shy of the 100-day mark that presidents use to gauge success, Mr. Trump’s largely self-inflicted setbacks are evidence of a novice politician, often uninterested in the inner workings of government, who is struggling to wield his constitutional authority or fully understand the limits of his office. | A month shy of the 100-day mark that presidents use to gauge success, Mr. Trump’s largely self-inflicted setbacks are evidence of a novice politician, often uninterested in the inner workings of government, who is struggling to wield his constitutional authority or fully understand the limits of his office. |
| “No administration has ever been off to a worse 100-day start,” said Steve Schmidt, a longtime Republican strategist who served as a counselor to Vice President Dick Cheney. | “No administration has ever been off to a worse 100-day start,” said Steve Schmidt, a longtime Republican strategist who served as a counselor to Vice President Dick Cheney. |
| As Mr. Trump seeks to recover, the president’s difficulties in governing effectively — building coalitions, anticipating roadblocks, neutralizing opponents and seeing around the corner — pose a far greater threat to his coming initiatives on a tax code overhaul and infrastructure than any obstruction Democrats could come up with. | As Mr. Trump seeks to recover, the president’s difficulties in governing effectively — building coalitions, anticipating roadblocks, neutralizing opponents and seeing around the corner — pose a far greater threat to his coming initiatives on a tax code overhaul and infrastructure than any obstruction Democrats could come up with. |
| Mr. Schmidt said the White House would have to be “delusional” not to recognize the depths of the challenges for the new president. The question for Mr. Trump, he added, is: “Does he learn lessons about Washington deal-making from this debacle?” | Mr. Schmidt said the White House would have to be “delusional” not to recognize the depths of the challenges for the new president. The question for Mr. Trump, he added, is: “Does he learn lessons about Washington deal-making from this debacle?” |
| The answer to that question is not yet clear. | The answer to that question is not yet clear. |
| Since Inauguration Day, Mr. Trump has fired his national security adviser for lying, watched as courts twice blocked his travel bans on some majority-Muslim countries and fumed as the F.B.I. announced that it was investigating his associates for any ties to Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign. | Since Inauguration Day, Mr. Trump has fired his national security adviser for lying, watched as courts twice blocked his travel bans on some majority-Muslim countries and fumed as the F.B.I. announced that it was investigating his associates for any ties to Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign. |
| On his watch, the military conducted a botched raid in Yemen — which he approved over dinner days into his presidency — and the United States military is investigating reports that perhaps as many as 200 civilians have been killed in recent airstrikes in Mosul, Iraq. Mexico’s president angrily canceled a White House visit amid a feud over Mr. Trump’s plan for a border wall. The president and his staff have uttered a long list of falsehoods, including an unfounded charge that President Barack Obama tapped his phones, that have entangled them in days of controversy. | On his watch, the military conducted a botched raid in Yemen — which he approved over dinner days into his presidency — and the United States military is investigating reports that perhaps as many as 200 civilians have been killed in recent airstrikes in Mosul, Iraq. Mexico’s president angrily canceled a White House visit amid a feud over Mr. Trump’s plan for a border wall. The president and his staff have uttered a long list of falsehoods, including an unfounded charge that President Barack Obama tapped his phones, that have entangled them in days of controversy. |
| Mr. Trump’s approval ratings — never high to begin with — have sagged to the high 30s, the lowest ever recorded at this point in a presidency. | Mr. Trump’s approval ratings — never high to begin with — have sagged to the high 30s, the lowest ever recorded at this point in a presidency. |
| White House officials say the president has had a number of successes, too. Sean Spicer, the press secretary, pointed to the nomination of Judge Neil M. Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, the president’s well-received address to a joint session of Congress and the many executive orders the president has issued. | White House officials say the president has had a number of successes, too. Sean Spicer, the press secretary, pointed to the nomination of Judge Neil M. Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, the president’s well-received address to a joint session of Congress and the many executive orders the president has issued. |
| “How many people have done this much in 60 days?” Mr. Spicer said. “There’s a lot of points on the board.” | “How many people have done this much in 60 days?” Mr. Spicer said. “There’s a lot of points on the board.” |
| Still, the president’s allies acknowledge that he has been hampered by a lack of disciplined planning and effective execution, often because the administration is furiously reacting to outside events or to one of Mr. Trump’s own unexpected Twitter posts. | Still, the president’s allies acknowledge that he has been hampered by a lack of disciplined planning and effective execution, often because the administration is furiously reacting to outside events or to one of Mr. Trump’s own unexpected Twitter posts. |
| Newt Gingrich, the former Republican House speaker and a staunch supporter of Mr. Trump during the presidential campaign, said the Republicans’ decision to abandon the health care bill on Friday should persuade the president not to rely on Speaker Paul D. Ryan or other party allies to carry out his agenda. | Newt Gingrich, the former Republican House speaker and a staunch supporter of Mr. Trump during the presidential campaign, said the Republicans’ decision to abandon the health care bill on Friday should persuade the president not to rely on Speaker Paul D. Ryan or other party allies to carry out his agenda. |
| “He cannot delegate. The world he wants is so dramatically different from anything that they’ve experienced.” Mr. Gingrich said. | “He cannot delegate. The world he wants is so dramatically different from anything that they’ve experienced.” Mr. Gingrich said. |
| He described Mr. Trump as “so angry” at Republican lawmakers for their failure on the health care bill. “He’s angry at the fact that they spent several weeks going down a dead end where he was assured they had the votes,” Mr. Gingrich said. | He described Mr. Trump as “so angry” at Republican lawmakers for their failure on the health care bill. “He’s angry at the fact that they spent several weeks going down a dead end where he was assured they had the votes,” Mr. Gingrich said. |
| During a meeting with Mr. Trump at the White House on Friday, Mr. Ryan told the president that he was sorry the votes were not there. Mr. Trump bluntly told Mr. Ryan that many people had said he should have gone against the speaker’s advice and pursued a tax code overhaul first, a refrain the president has returned to frequently. | During a meeting with Mr. Trump at the White House on Friday, Mr. Ryan told the president that he was sorry the votes were not there. Mr. Trump bluntly told Mr. Ryan that many people had said he should have gone against the speaker’s advice and pursued a tax code overhaul first, a refrain the president has returned to frequently. |
| But Mr. Gingrich rejected the idea that Mr. Trump’s presidency would be hobbled by the health care debacle or any of the other setbacks. He predicted that the president would win confirmation of Judge Gorsuch, and noted that even as the health care bill failed, Mr. Trump on Friday reversed Mr. Obama’s rejection of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, a project that is popular among Mr. Trump’s supporters. | But Mr. Gingrich rejected the idea that Mr. Trump’s presidency would be hobbled by the health care debacle or any of the other setbacks. He predicted that the president would win confirmation of Judge Gorsuch, and noted that even as the health care bill failed, Mr. Trump on Friday reversed Mr. Obama’s rejection of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, a project that is popular among Mr. Trump’s supporters. |
| “He was the president this morning. He will be the president tomorrow. He has all the advantages that that implies,” Mr. Gingrich said. “He’s having a better presidency than anybody in the Washington media thinks.” | “He was the president this morning. He will be the president tomorrow. He has all the advantages that that implies,” Mr. Gingrich said. “He’s having a better presidency than anybody in the Washington media thinks.” |
| And Mr. Trump is not alone in making early missteps. | And Mr. Trump is not alone in making early missteps. |
| President Bill Clinton got embroiled in an early controversy over service by gays in the military. And the effort by his wife, Hillary Clinton, to overhaul health care failed just as spectacularly as Mr. Trump’s did. Mr. Obama lost his bid for “cap and trade” legislation limiting carbon emissions, though that defeat came during his second year in office. | President Bill Clinton got embroiled in an early controversy over service by gays in the military. And the effort by his wife, Hillary Clinton, to overhaul health care failed just as spectacularly as Mr. Trump’s did. Mr. Obama lost his bid for “cap and trade” legislation limiting carbon emissions, though that defeat came during his second year in office. |
| Still, the challenge for Mr. Trump is clear: how to move past the daily turmoil and infighting inside the West Wing and prove that he can use his background as a businessman to advance the policies that he promised as a candidate. | Still, the challenge for Mr. Trump is clear: how to move past the daily turmoil and infighting inside the West Wing and prove that he can use his background as a businessman to advance the policies that he promised as a candidate. |
| To win an overhaul of the nation’s tax code and a $1 trillion investment in public infrastructure, Mr. Trump will need to find a way to build winning coalitions in the House and the Senate by corralling the often-warring factions in the Republican Party. That may be even more difficult on a tax overhaul than it was on health care, given the moneyed interests watching every proposed change. On some bipartisan goals, the president will have to seize the chance to pick up some Democratic votes as well. | To win an overhaul of the nation’s tax code and a $1 trillion investment in public infrastructure, Mr. Trump will need to find a way to build winning coalitions in the House and the Senate by corralling the often-warring factions in the Republican Party. That may be even more difficult on a tax overhaul than it was on health care, given the moneyed interests watching every proposed change. On some bipartisan goals, the president will have to seize the chance to pick up some Democratic votes as well. |
| To succeed in his use of executive power, the president will need to be more deft in drafting orders that will not be challenged in court. Mr. Obama faced similar problems as he increasingly used his executive authority to get around a recalcitrant Republican Congress. | To succeed in his use of executive power, the president will need to be more deft in drafting orders that will not be challenged in court. Mr. Obama faced similar problems as he increasingly used his executive authority to get around a recalcitrant Republican Congress. |
| To avoid being trapped in endless investigations, Mr. Trump will have to tone down his war of words with intelligence and law enforcement agencies. Investigations can drain the political life from a presidency, as Ronald Reagan found during the Iran-contra scandal and Mr. Clinton learned during the Monica Lewinsky investigations. | To avoid being trapped in endless investigations, Mr. Trump will have to tone down his war of words with intelligence and law enforcement agencies. Investigations can drain the political life from a presidency, as Ronald Reagan found during the Iran-contra scandal and Mr. Clinton learned during the Monica Lewinsky investigations. |
| And if Mr. Trump wants to repair his personal credibility, which as been damaged in part by the many falsehoods he has articulated, he might have to curtail his use of Twitter. | And if Mr. Trump wants to repair his personal credibility, which as been damaged in part by the many falsehoods he has articulated, he might have to curtail his use of Twitter. |
| In an interview with The New York Times as Republicans conceded failure on the health care bill, Mr. Trump insisted that the legislative process was not unlike what he faced in his career in real estate. But Friday evening, the president told his bleary-eyed aides that his old business was easy compared with what he had just encountered in Washington. | In an interview with The New York Times as Republicans conceded failure on the health care bill, Mr. Trump insisted that the legislative process was not unlike what he faced in his career in real estate. But Friday evening, the president told his bleary-eyed aides that his old business was easy compared with what he had just encountered in Washington. |
| As Mr. Trump retired to the White House residence, he sounded tired in every way, including in spirit, his advisers said. There was a weariness about him that had not been present a day earlier. | As Mr. Trump retired to the White House residence, he sounded tired in every way, including in spirit, his advisers said. There was a weariness about him that had not been present a day earlier. |
| In the end, the ragged start to Mr. Trump’s presidency may be the result of the way he views his relationship to Washington — as an outsider with little respect for the niceties expected by career politicians, the news media, diplomats, lobbyists and interest groups. | In the end, the ragged start to Mr. Trump’s presidency may be the result of the way he views his relationship to Washington — as an outsider with little respect for the niceties expected by career politicians, the news media, diplomats, lobbyists and interest groups. |
| In his inaugural speech, the president condemned the establishment, calling it “a small group” that has “reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost.” | In his inaugural speech, the president condemned the establishment, calling it “a small group” that has “reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost.” |
| And in an address at the Tennessee home of Andrew Jackson, the nation’s seventh president, Mr. Trump embraced the idea that there were parallels to his own presidency in Jackson’s. | And in an address at the Tennessee home of Andrew Jackson, the nation’s seventh president, Mr. Trump embraced the idea that there were parallels to his own presidency in Jackson’s. |
| “It was during the Revolution that Jackson first confronted and defied an arrogant elite. Does that sound familiar to you?” Mr. Trump asked the crowd, smiling broadly. | |
| “Oh,” he said, “I know the feeling, Andrew.” | “Oh,” he said, “I know the feeling, Andrew.” |