begin quote from:
The exhausting first year of Trump's presidency
analysis
Conventional measures fail to encapsulate the utterly abnormal presidency that is unfolding
The exhausting first year of Donald Trump's presidency
Story highlights
- He trampled the unifying conventions of the inaugural address by decrying "American carnage"
- Conventional measures fail to encapsulate the utterly abnormal presidency that is unfolding
Washington (CNN)It
will be impossible to adequately explain in decades to come just what
it was like to be alive in the exhausting first year of Donald Trump's presidency.
From the moment he trampled the unifying conventions of the inaugural address by decrying "American carnage,"
Trump shattered political normality, tearing at racial and societal
divides, the limits and decorum of his office, even raising doubts about
his fidelity to the nation's founding values.
Trump
is like a raging storm that never blows itself out, as his early
morning Twitter rants injected into the nation's central nervous system
trigger outrages that obliterate traditional political debate and make
days feel like weeks, weeks feel like months and months feel like years.
The
normal tools for judging a presidency -- legislation passed, America's
relative global power, the health of the economy, the President's
approval rating and the security and prosperity of the populace -- can
be used to assess Trump.
But such
conventional measures fail to encapsulate the utterly abnormal
presidency that is unfolding or the way Trump, who craves attention and gets it by fomenting chaos, has barged his way into every corner of national life.
On Sunday, in the wake of his reported comments about "shithole" African nations, he told reporters "I am not a racist." The declaration itself speaks to how unusual his unfolding presidency is.
Everyone,
from the sidelines of a kid's soccer game in the suburbs to subway
passengers in the cities to the hotbeds of Trump country, has an opinion
on the President. He's impossible to ignore and impossible to escape.
And
that is exactly the way he likes it. For Trump, the presidency seems as
much about orchestrating strife in the center of a whirlwind as he
tilts at national taboos as it is the steady accumulation of political
and global victories.
Winning
Yet,
on its own terms, Trump's presidency has also delivered. His Cabinet
members are implementing a hardline conservative agenda that is quietly
reshaping America. His judicial appointments will remake jurisprudence for a generation to come. His tax law and it's 14-percentage-point corporate tax rate cut could,
according to the administration, open a gusher of cash and create jobs
and repair the industrial fabric of Midwestern states that made Trump
president.
But while he's doggedly
carried out some of his most controversial campaign promises, Trump's
wins have been overshadowed by behavior that electrifies his supporters
but causes offense to many others.
It's a paradox that the economy is roaring, the stock market is soaring, unemployment is at 17-year lows and ISIS is all but defeated, yet the President's approval ratings are the lowest of any new commander in chief. Trump has repeatedly expressed his frustration over that disconnect.
"I
don't think any administration has ever done ... what we've done and
what we've accomplished in its first year," Trump told his Cabinet last
week. "The achievements for our country, our people, and for our
standing in the world have been very monumental."
In
one sense, Trump is right: No administration has done what his has
done. But his remarks were typically Trumpian, overstating his
achievements and showing a tendency to create his own reality in a
presidency that has posed unprecedented challenges to truth and fact.
Trump will have been president for just one year on Saturday. But he has racked up a record of blowups, feuds and stunning episodes that would make a full two-term administration look full, and scarred by scandal and acrimony.
There
was the bizarre dispute over the size of his inaugural crowds, the
departure of national security adviser Michael Flynn, the travel ban,
the claim that he was wiretapped by the Obama administration, the
airstrike on Syria and the installation of Supreme Court Justice Neil
Gorsuch.
The crazy cascade of
events continued with his firing of FBI Director James Comey, the
arrival of special counsel Robert Mueller, the mushrooming probe of the
Trump campaign's possible role in Russia election meddling, Trump's claim he saw MSNBC anchor Mika Brzezinski
bleeding from cosmetic surgery, the botched repeal of Obamacare, his
equivocation over neo-Nazi marchers, West Wing chaos ... and that time
the President looked directly into the sun during the eclipse.
There
was the once-in-a-generation tax cut, the attacks on socially conscious
NFL players, the self-combustion of former chief White House strategist
Steve Bannon, the bizarre public inquest into whether the President of
the United States was fit for office following revelations from Michael Wolff's stunning book and his incendiary nuclear taunting of "Little Rocket Man" Kim Jong Un.
That's not even close to a comprehensive list.
"Every
day, there is another thing. This like reality TV, right? It's not
healthy for our country or the world," Ohio's Republican Gov. John
Kasich told CNN's Jake Tapper on Friday.
Institutions under assault
If
there is one underlying theme of Trump's first year, it is his
willingness -- whether in his disregard for ethics norms relating to his
business empire or his belief that he has the "absolute right" to do
what he wants with the Justice Department -- to flout every expectation
and constraint of his office.
It's a
trend evident in his assault on institutions that act as checks on his
power, like the intelligence agencies, the judiciary and the press, that will bear the scars after he has left the Oval Office.
"Donald
Trump has no regard for rules, he has thumbed his nose at rules his
entire life," said David Cay Johnston, a Pulitzer Prize-winning
journalist who has known Trump for 30 years and has a new book out on
Trump's presidency coming on Tuesday.
"He
is a dictator in waiting, he talks as a dictator and he will do
whatever he wants," said Johnston, whose book "It's Even Worse Than You
Think: What the Trump Administration is Doing to America" concludes that
Trump is unique in being the only US president not to pursue policies
in the national interest.
"The Trump presidency is about Trump. Period. Full stop," Johnston writes.
If that is true, the political system itself is facing an unprecedented challenge.
Indeed,
the President's recent assault on the credibility of the FBI and the
Justice Department, interference being run by Capitol Hill Republicans
on the Russia probe, combined with attacks on Mueller by pro-Trump media
outlets raise profound questions about the system of checks and
balances.
At
this point, it appears far from certain that should the special counsel
find that Trump obstructed justice or colluded with Russia in the
election, the GOP-led House and Senate would move against him and
consider whether he is guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors. That fact
alone means the 2018 midterm election -- in which Democrats are
targeting big wins -- could end up being effectively an impeachment
referendum. Trump has vehemently and repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
An underrated aspect of the President's year is the way he has cowed the Republican Party itself.
He
appears to have destroyed the insurgent platform of Bannon after his
former political adviser cooperated extensively with Wolff. Republican
senators, such as Bob Corker and Jeff Flake who criticized him, have
only done so as they choose to end their political careers. The ire of
Trump primary voters keeps many other critics quiet. And Paul Ryan's
praise for Trump's "exquisite" leadership after the tax law passed last
year signals that the House speaker will stay aboard the Trump train as
long as his long-wished for conservative program is signed into law.
And
while his agency chiefs are implementing that program, critics argue
that many -- Education Secretary Betsy DeVos or EPA Administrator Scott
Pruitt for instance -- are either unqualified or are embarked on an
ideological project to dismantle government itself.
Trump's
authoritarian reflexes meanwhile have been revealed in his demands for
his political enemies, including Hillary Clinton to face prosecution and
his call just last week for libel laws to be tightened to punish his
media critics.
Changing the world
It
is not only domestic political structures that are being put under
duress by this most abnormal presidency. Trump has initiated a
fundamental shift in the nation's global role in the past year.
The
President's national security adviser HR McMaster declared last month
that under Trump, America had reclaimed its "strategic confidence."
The
administration has unveiled a national security strategy aimed at
"revisionist powers," such as China and Russia, that targets "rogue"
regimes, such as Iran and North Korea and jihadist groups. Yet Trump's
actions, often appear to run counter to that strategy as he idolizes
Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and his
foreign policy choices seem dictated not by global strategy but the
desires of his political base.
Again, there have been clear successes.
His
administration intensified and delivered on the Obama administration's
plans to defeat ISIS in Syria and imposed the most stringent ever
sanctions against North Korea.
But
as at home, Trump's own actions, wild tweets and "America First"
instincts have overshadowed his achievements. He's made the US, for so
long a bulwark of global stability, into an agent of disruption and
unpredictability. His rhetoric on race and religion threatens to dim the
power of America's example.
Many
nations, China included, see moves like pulling out of the Trans-Pacific
Partnership trade deal, quitting the Paris climate accord and cutting
foreign aid as a sign of a US retreat, even if US military might remains
unchallenged.
What's next?
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
A 12-inch talking Trump doll is on display at a toy store in New York in September 2004.
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Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump
attends a news conference in 2005 that announced the establishment of
Trump University. From 2005 until it closed in 2010, Trump University
had about 10,000 people sign up for a program that promised success in
real estate. Three separate lawsuits
-- two class-action suits filed in California and one filed by New
York's attorney general -- argued that the program was mired in fraud
and deception. Trump's camp rejected the suits' claims as "baseless."
And Trump has charged that the New York case against him is politically
motivated.
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Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump
attends the U.S. Open tennis tournament with his third wife, Melania
Knauss-Trump, and their son, Barron, in 2006. Trump and Knauss married
in 2005.
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Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump
wrestles with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin at WrestleMania in 2007. Trump
has close ties with the WWE and its CEO, Vince McMahon.
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Photos: Donald Trump's rise
For "The Apprentice," Trump was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in January 2007.
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Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump appears on the set of "The Celebrity Apprentice" with two of his children -- Donald Jr. and Ivanka -- in 2009.
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Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump
poses with Miss Universe contestants in 2011. Trump had been executive
producer of the Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants since
1996.
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Photos: Donald Trump's rise
In 2012, Trump announces his endorsement of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
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Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump
speaks in Sarasota, Florida, after accepting the Statesman of the Year
Award at the Sarasota GOP dinner in August 2012. It was shortly before
the Republican National Convention in nearby Tampa.
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Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump appears on stage with singer Nick Jonas and television personality Giuliana Rancic during the 2013 Miss USA pageant.
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Photos: Donald Trump's rise
In June 2015, during a speech from Trump Tower, Trump announced that he was running for President. He said he would give up "The Apprentice" to run.
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Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump
-- flanked by U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio, left, and Ted Cruz -- speaks
during a CNN debate in Miami on March 10. Trump dominated the GOP
primaries and emerged as the presumptive nominee in May.
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Photos: Donald Trump's rise
The Trump family poses for a photo in New York in April.
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Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump
speaks during a campaign event in Evansville, Indiana, on April 28.
After Trump won the Indiana primary, his last two competitors dropped
out of the GOP race.
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32 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump
delivers a speech at the Republican National Convention in July,
accepting the party's nomination for President. "I have had a truly
great life in business," he said. "But now, my sole and exclusive
mission is to go to work for our country -- to go to work for you. It's
time to deliver a victory for the American people."
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33 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump faces Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in the first presidential debate, which took place in Hempstead, New York, in September.
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Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump
apologizes in a video, posted to his Twitter account in October, for
vulgar and sexually aggressive remarks he made a decade ago regarding
women. "I said it, I was wrong and I apologize," Trump said,
referring to lewd comments he made during a previously unaired taping
of "Access Hollywood." Multiple Republican leaders rescinded their
endorsements of Trump after the footage was released.
Hide Caption
35 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump
walks on stage with his family after he was declared the election
winner on November 9. "Ours was not a campaign, but rather, an
incredible and great movement," he told his supporters in New York.
Hide Caption
36 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump is joined by his family as he is sworn in as President on January 20.
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Photos: Donald Trump's rise
President-elect
Donald Trump has been in the spotlight for years. From developing real
estate and producing and starring in TV shows, he became a celebrity
long before winning the White House.
Hide Caption
1 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump at age 4. He was born in 1946 to Fred and Mary Trump in New York City. His father was a real estate developer.
Hide Caption
2 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump, left, in a family photo. He was the second-youngest of five children.
Hide Caption
3 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump, center, stands at attention during his senior year at the New York Military Academy in 1964.
Hide Caption
4 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump,
center, wears a baseball uniform at the New York Military Academy in
1964. After he graduated from the boarding school, he went to college.
He started at Fordham University before transferring and later
graduating from the Wharton School, the University of Pennsylvania's
business school.
Hide Caption
5 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump
stands with Alfred Eisenpreis, New York's economic development
administrator, in 1976 while they look at a sketch of a new 1,400-room
renovation project of the Commodore Hotel. After graduating college in
1968, Trump worked with his father on developments in Queens and
Brooklyn before purchasing or building multiple properties in New York
and Atlantic City, New Jersey. Those properties included Trump Tower in
New York and Trump Plaza and multiple casinos in Atlantic City.
Hide Caption
6 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump attends an event to mark the start of construction of the New York Convention Center in 1979.
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Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump wears a hard hat at the Trump Tower construction site in New York in 1980.
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Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump
was married to Ivana Zelnicek Trump from 1977 to 1990, when they
divorced. They had three children together: Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric.
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Photos: Donald Trump's rise
The Trump family, circa 1986.
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Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump uses his personal helicopter to get around New York in 1987.
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Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump stands in the atrium of the Trump Tower.
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Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump attends the opening of his new Atlantic City casino, the Taj Mahal, in 1989.
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Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump signs his second book, "Trump: Surviving at the Top," in 1990. Trump has published at least 16 other books, including "The Art of the Deal" and "The America We Deserve."
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Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump and singer Michael Jackson pose for a photo before traveling to visit Ryan White, a young child with AIDS, in 1990.
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Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump
dips his second wife, Marla Maples, after the couple married in a
private ceremony in New York in December 1993. The couple divorced in
1999 and had one daughter together, Tiffany.
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16 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump putts a golf ball in his New York office in 1998.
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17 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
An
advertisement for the television show "The Apprentice" hangs at Trump
Tower in 2004. The show launched in January of that year. In January
2008, the show returned as "Celebrity Apprentice."
Hide Caption
18 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
A 12-inch talking Trump doll is on display at a toy store in New York in September 2004.
Hide Caption
19 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump
attends a news conference in 2005 that announced the establishment of
Trump University. From 2005 until it closed in 2010, Trump University
had about 10,000 people sign up for a program that promised success in
real estate. Three separate lawsuits
-- two class-action suits filed in California and one filed by New
York's attorney general -- argued that the program was mired in fraud
and deception. Trump's camp rejected the suits' claims as "baseless."
And Trump has charged that the New York case against him is politically
motivated.
Hide Caption
20 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump
attends the U.S. Open tennis tournament with his third wife, Melania
Knauss-Trump, and their son, Barron, in 2006. Trump and Knauss married
in 2005.
Hide Caption
21 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump
wrestles with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin at WrestleMania in 2007. Trump
has close ties with the WWE and its CEO, Vince McMahon.
Hide Caption
22 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
For "The Apprentice," Trump was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in January 2007.
Hide Caption
23 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump appears on the set of "The Celebrity Apprentice" with two of his children -- Donald Jr. and Ivanka -- in 2009.
Hide Caption
24 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump
poses with Miss Universe contestants in 2011. Trump had been executive
producer of the Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants since
1996.
Hide Caption
25 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
In 2012, Trump announces his endorsement of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
Hide Caption
26 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump
speaks in Sarasota, Florida, after accepting the Statesman of the Year
Award at the Sarasota GOP dinner in August 2012. It was shortly before
the Republican National Convention in nearby Tampa.
Hide Caption
27 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump appears on stage with singer Nick Jonas and television personality Giuliana Rancic during the 2013 Miss USA pageant.
Hide Caption
28 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
In June 2015, during a speech from Trump Tower, Trump announced that he was running for President. He said he would give up "The Apprentice" to run.
Hide Caption
29 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump
-- flanked by U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio, left, and Ted Cruz -- speaks
during a CNN debate in Miami on March 10. Trump dominated the GOP
primaries and emerged as the presumptive nominee in May.
Hide Caption
30 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
The Trump family poses for a photo in New York in April.
Hide Caption
31 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump
speaks during a campaign event in Evansville, Indiana, on April 28.
After Trump won the Indiana primary, his last two competitors dropped
out of the GOP race.
Hide Caption
32 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump
delivers a speech at the Republican National Convention in July,
accepting the party's nomination for President. "I have had a truly
great life in business," he said. "But now, my sole and exclusive
mission is to go to work for our country -- to go to work for you. It's
time to deliver a victory for the American people."
Hide Caption
33 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump faces Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in the first presidential debate, which took place in Hempstead, New York, in September.
Hide Caption
34 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump
apologizes in a video, posted to his Twitter account in October, for
vulgar and sexually aggressive remarks he made a decade ago regarding
women. "I said it, I was wrong and I apologize," Trump said,
referring to lewd comments he made during a previously unaired taping
of "Access Hollywood." Multiple Republican leaders rescinded their
endorsements of Trump after the footage was released.
Hide Caption
35 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump
walks on stage with his family after he was declared the election
winner on November 9. "Ours was not a campaign, but rather, an
incredible and great movement," he told his supporters in New York.
Hide Caption
36 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump is joined by his family as he is sworn in as President on January 20.
Hide Caption
37 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
President-elect
Donald Trump has been in the spotlight for years. From developing real
estate and producing and starring in TV shows, he became a celebrity
long before winning the White House.
Hide Caption
1 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump at age 4. He was born in 1946 to Fred and Mary Trump in New York City. His father was a real estate developer.
Hide Caption
2 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump, left, in a family photo. He was the second-youngest of five children.
Hide Caption
3 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump, center, stands at attention during his senior year at the New York Military Academy in 1964.
Hide Caption
4 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump,
center, wears a baseball uniform at the New York Military Academy in
1964. After he graduated from the boarding school, he went to college.
He started at Fordham University before transferring and later
graduating from the Wharton School, the University of Pennsylvania's
business school.
Hide Caption
5 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump
stands with Alfred Eisenpreis, New York's economic development
administrator, in 1976 while they look at a sketch of a new 1,400-room
renovation project of the Commodore Hotel. After graduating college in
1968, Trump worked with his father on developments in Queens and
Brooklyn before purchasing or building multiple properties in New York
and Atlantic City, New Jersey. Those properties included Trump Tower in
New York and Trump Plaza and multiple casinos in Atlantic City.
Hide Caption
6 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump attends an event to mark the start of construction of the New York Convention Center in 1979.
Hide Caption
7 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump wears a hard hat at the Trump Tower construction site in New York in 1980.
Hide Caption
8 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump
was married to Ivana Zelnicek Trump from 1977 to 1990, when they
divorced. They had three children together: Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric.
Hide Caption
9 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
The Trump family, circa 1986.
Hide Caption
10 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump uses his personal helicopter to get around New York in 1987.
Hide Caption
11 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump stands in the atrium of the Trump Tower.
Hide Caption
12 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump attends the opening of his new Atlantic City casino, the Taj Mahal, in 1989.
Hide Caption
13 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump signs his second book, "Trump: Surviving at the Top," in 1990. Trump has published at least 16 other books, including "The Art of the Deal" and "The America We Deserve."
Hide Caption
14 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump and singer Michael Jackson pose for a photo before traveling to visit Ryan White, a young child with AIDS, in 1990.
Hide Caption
15 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump
dips his second wife, Marla Maples, after the couple married in a
private ceremony in New York in December 1993. The couple divorced in
1999 and had one daughter together, Tiffany.
Hide Caption
16 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Trump putts a golf ball in his New York office in 1998.
Hide Caption
17 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
An
advertisement for the television show "The Apprentice" hangs at Trump
Tower in 2004. The show launched in January of that year. In January
2008, the show returned as "Celebrity Apprentice."
Hide Caption
18 of 37
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
A 12-inch talking Trump doll is on display at a toy store in New York in September 2004.
Hide Caption
19 of 37
A
fateful question when Trump took office after a riotous outsider
campaign was whether the presidency would change him or he would change
the presidency.
It's now clear that
the responsibilities and power that sobered most of the 43 individual
men who held the job before him have not transformed Trump.
His
unrestrained approach is the reason people who love him support him
even more intensely one year in, but it's also why a majority of the
nation fears he's disastrously unsuited to the job and why his immediate predecessors in the President's club, in a highly unusual move, have repudiated him.
Trump
remains uncouth, unrestrained and unrepentant. That's why his second
year is likely to be even more draining and disruptive than his first.
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