All right, Democrats, calm down. Have a seat. Smoke ‘em if you’ve got ‘em. I’ll grant that these might be giddy times on your side of the aisle, but Donald Trump is not on the run yet.
As much as you may be elated by news of your candidate in Georgia almost walking off with a win in that special election this week – theoretically repudiating the Trump surge; as much as you may be watching the president’s plunging approval rating like election porn; as much as you may have cheered the calamitous collapse of his attempt to repeal Obamacare…you should hold off on the champagne.
Because if you think this president will be cowed by such minor matters, you are sadly mistaken.
Indeed, there he was just days ago boasting to a cheering crowd, “No administration has accomplished more in the first ninety days!”
That’s not true, of course, but he has seated a new, conservative justice on the Supreme Court. He has conclusively tanked the Trans-Pacific Trade Partnership. He’s issued executive orders affecting a wide range of government agencies – a little now and maybe a lot later. And most importantly: He is letting the adults take a little stronger hand in his administration, shoving the ideologues (cough, cough – Steve Bannon) into the corner. That could foreshadow a considerably more stable, sane, and conventional presidency.
Certainly, President Trump still has a boatload of big issues. His tendency toward screamingly false statements remains a serious problem. His saber rattling with Syria and North Korea could be dangerous. And the grumbling of many of the very voters who elected him should not be taken lightly.
Still, history suggests Donald Trump will remain president for the next four years despite Democratic hopes to the contrary. I know, I know, Dems – you still can’t believe this has happened. But word to wise: you need to get over that. Because in my experience, when politicos wallow too long in bitterness, outrage, and self-pity over the last election, all they do is waste time they should be using to brace for the next one.
And in case you don’t know it, President Trump has already launched a robust effort — raising money, recruiting campaign experts, rallying allies — to win again in 2020.
CNN’s Tom Foreman is the author of My Year of Running Dangerously.
