Trump Will Overreach—and Fail

Where Should Our Focus Be: The Democrats or the GOP?

Sometimes.

Or maybe a lot of times.

We need to learn from the other side.

We can pick and choose what we learn. We don’t have to learn the art of lying. We don’t have to evolve into bullies. We don’t have to amplify conspiracy theories. But we can learn from their ability to work together. Their ability to stay in campaign mode regardless of whether they win or lose an election.

Now that the GOP has power, they should naturally be in a defensive position. But they will do everything they can to avoid being locked into it. Years of hammering the Democrats into defense when they are in power have given the GOP a clear understanding of the fallacy of relying solely on defense.

But governance does come with its own set of scrutiny. If they truly put the nation first, they would get all the support they need. But they can’t. They need to deliver on the promises made to billionaire backers. They need to fulfill the promises made to Christian nationalists. They need to stoke nativism to keep their base engaged. They need to undermine democracy to appease the wealthy who long for an oligarchy.

At every turn, the Trump administration faces extraordinary overreach—the kind the United States has never witnessed before. Every overreach they’ve set the stage for runs headlong into the economy.