Trum’s skills are a match for the executive, but that assumes he would be able to control anything in DC without getting himself killed like the way he obsesses over how JFK got assassinated.

The people that are good at politics aren’t good people, due to the amount of blackmail used to control those in DC. The blackmail is mostly from the Deep State. It is why they, the Alt Right progenitors of the term, call it the Deep State even.

Those that have eyes to see, but see no evil. Those that have ears to hear, but hear no evil.

If Mexico indirectly pays for the wall, that just means the US indirectly paid for the wall, as 50% of the income made by Mexican migrant workers gets sent back to Mexico as a form of tax.

He’s skillful at promoting himself and obviously deserves a lot of respect for getting himself elected. But part of his appeal was that he’s not a politician. We often underestimate how good at politics those who have risen to the very top (people like Schumer, Pelosi, McConnell and Ryan) are. From my perspective it looks like Trump might be getting rolled by people a lot better at this game than he is. But….. (wait for it) “we’ll see”.

Agree. Another point, both looking back and to our present situations; the “Master Manipulator” (MM) FDR didn’t do to well manipulating Stalin. I have my doubts regarding President Trump’s “MM” skills in our present circumstances domestically and in foreign affairs. We’ll see.

Oh, I’m well aware that current thought on the right is that FDR made the Depression worse by his policies, a point of view I find fairly persuasive.

I’m not talking about the lack of an effective approach. No one at the time really knew what to do. Nor am I talking about ex post facto evaluations by historians. I’m talking about public perception of whether he was to the left or to the right; how ordinary people perceived him. You wrote “FDR had folks wondering if he was going Left or Right all the time.” And “folks” usually means the general public, not the presidential advisors.

And the fact that he and his aides made up their economic reactions as they went along, and that their reforms actually didn’t work all that well, has nothing to do with whether he was perceived as veering left or right. Plus, the Fireside Chats had very little in common with Trump’s tweets.

Trump is perceived by most people (except the true believers) as chaotic, whether he is or isn’t. His tweets are perceived as being impulsive and out-of-control, whether they are or aren’t. Very different from the perception of FDR’s Fireside Chats.

Regarding FDR and chaos and your comparisons to President Trump. Consider that FDR’s chaos and experimentation with economic matters (mostly from his leftist brain trust) is thought by many historians to have greatly extended the duration and severity of the Great Depression in the USA. So much for the archetype “Master Manipulator.” &&&

Trump doesn’t get to “de-Presidential” a shooting war that he now owns.

And he also doesn’t rule the world. This isn’t the 1950s anymore where America’s economy is the last one standing. He can, as you state, work his master manipulator chaos with China and Mexico. These actions have serious implications to the US economy.

The NK situation is an interesting one. I don’t know what the North Korean are actually capable of. I hope the screws Trump is trying to set on them work. But thus far they have ignored his fire and fury bluster (which was off the cuff and empty) and continue to fire missiles.

I mean, keep hope alive. He may accomplish your hopes. But from my point of view Trump followers are a mirror image of Obama partisans, writing on the blank canvas whatever they want to see.

There are multiple histories that establish that FDR had — as standard policy — factions tasked with diametrically opposed policy agendas — from 1933 onwards.

He routinely betrayed friends — countless times, in fact — ALWAYS to the stupefaction of those betrayed.

Stalin was fully aware of FDR’s personal style of politics — making his paranoia WRT FDR well founded.

As for chaos: his economic policy suite was nothing BUT chaos… as countless historians aver.

The ‘smooth running’ administration is pure PR spin.

Politics is inherently chaotic.

I slam FDR for his policy suites — but not for his personal style of manipulation — for that’s what he was.

Trump is ANOTHER master manipulator. It’s what the position calls for.

Certainly Barry Soetoro was — and remains — a master manipulator.

W, while well meaning, was NOT a master manipulator. Hell, he wouldn’t even defend his policies — even when they were correct and well thought out.

&&&

Many on the Right are upset about Trump and Afghanistan. But note, he’s actually kicked the matter over to Mattis and the Pentagon. He’s de-Presidentialed it. That’s the FIRST and essential step towards the exit.

Now, in the ebb and flow of events, Trump can just kick Afghanistan queries over to Mattis. The MSM would rather crawl on broken glass than toss words with Mattis.

&&&

Trump is going to make Mexico City pay for the wall — INDIRECTLY. This kind of charge-back happens all-the-time in the construction industry. It’s what he knows.

Trump will keep shutting down Mexican economic development until Mexico City is screaming Uncle.

The offset will be disguised as something else, of course.

&&&

Trump is pulling the same stunt with Kim Jong-un. He’s got Xi so furious with Kim that his kim chee is cooked.

Trump has spelled it out: either bring Kim around or watch Japan and South Korea go nuclear — AND — watch America put the vise on Red Chinese economic exploitations — globally.

Their rocket ride to the top did not occur ‘naturally.’

Since Beijing does not recognize intellectual property rights — especially to include its own — she is TOTALLY dependent upon intellectual property theft to grow her economy.

This is seen most strikingly in military goods. Virtually EVERY military good is a clone of Russian// Soviet// American// European designs.

At least India has the gumption to buy, outright, the real thing.

I disagree about the FDR comparison. I grew up among people who were adults during the FDR years, and who loved him and talked about him a lot. Never have I heard his administration described as chaotic, from people who lived through those times. His Fireside Chats were brilliant, well-orchestrated, fully-planned PR moves. And no one was wondering if he was careening left or right. He was quite consistently left in the economic sense—or what was left back then. Many many people hated him because of what was perceived as his leftism. The exact details of exactly where he was going to go may not have been so predictable, but he wasn’t going to the right.

FDR operated exactly as Trump does today. He was chaos personified.

It didn’t stop him from being effective.

With Trump it’s tweats.

With FDR it was fireside chats.

FDR had folks wondering if he was going Left or Right all the time.

As for Bill Clinton, that man flip-flopped FOUR times in a single afternoon… and rather famously, too.

If your professional career dealt with objectives and objects ( construction or science, say ) then the political circus is both alien and alienating.

Pelosi is at her wits end — as in her brain is in decline — with evidence pouring forth every passing day.

Trump wants McConnell to dump the Filibuster — and GET THINGS PASSED.

Trump’s zig-zagging is his way of bringing McConnell down to Earth.

Mitch’s only way of getting back in the saddle: dump the Filibuster.

Failure to do so will Totally Destroy the GOP.

2016 will be THE high water mark for the GOP UNLESS Trump’s agenda is marched through Congress.

1) End chain migration
2) Stop Red China’s economic harvest of America.
3) Tune down overseas military operations.

( Like McMaster’s notion of sending 150,000 into Syria. The only fella to shot him down was Donald J. Trump. The rest of the NSC crew was all for it. ) (!!!)

It’s a good point, and falls into the “seriously, not literally” reality that seems in many ways to separate Trump followers from the rest of us. I see your point.

A more applicable example is “read my lips, no new taxes” which basically cost Bush 1 a second term.