Kdub, would you rate trump's first year as great, good, okay, or other?
I’d say okay, maybe a C or C+. As I mentioned above, he’s been marvelous for the economy, and refreshingly pro-America regarding immigration, energy production, and foreign policy. He is significantly reforming the judiciary for the better, and he’s made some stellar cabinet picks like Betsy DeVos and Scott Pruitt.
He’s also done a fairly remarkable job of keeping his base - thanks largely to twitter - despite a rabidly partisan media applying an absurd double standard vis a vis his predecessor, and swampy federal bureaucrats.
But the Jeff Sessions pick for AG was a spectacular if unforeseeable disaster, resulting in both a recusal that ultimately led to appointment of a special prosecutor and loss of a safe senate seat. Failure to fire Comey on Day 1 was also a big mistake. The independent counsel, despite finding not a whiff so far of what it was charged to investigate - Russian COLUSION to interfere with the election - has now broadened its scope as special prosecutors always do. While unlikely to finger Trump directly, it will continue to dog much if not all of his presidency.
Trump’s biggest failing is that, because he is a populist, and he despises establishment pubs (and the feeling is mutual) he has neglected to adequately engage and lead the pub majorities in congress. The Obamacare repeal collapse was a disaster and Trump bears some of the blame for that.
So good and bad, overall ok. Hoping he steps up his game with congress in 2018.
