The President and the Establishment

The greatest trick Donald Trump ever pulled was to convince people he’s tough against the establishment, when in fact he’s weak against himself and the establishment. 

The president’s energy isn’t directed against the establishment, it’s directed toward disorder. He isn’t leading a movement against the swamp, he’s leading a movement to spread chaos and confusion. The more carnage the president can produce, the more ‘he alone’ can stop it. 

Peter Wehner wrote, “It is an irony of American history that the Republican Party, which has historically valued order and institution, has become the conduit of chaos.” The party now depends on people actively participating in their own manipulation. 

The president’s theory of the 2016 election is that the lack of evidence of conspiracy against him is itself the evidence of conspiracy against him. 

His 2020 framing: 1. There was an illegal conspiracy to defeat me during the 2016 presidential election; 2. The Mueller investigation was an illegal conspiracy to take me out; 3. Now, the impeachment inquiry is an illegal conspiracy to take me out. 

His 2020 core message: “It isn’t pretty. The swamp hates me. It takes a tough guy to change Washington.” 

See paragraphs one and two.