Trump and His Policies are the Problem

In a comment yesterday, the following point was made: "If you can point to one policy, one nominee or one executive order President Trump has put forward that is NOT in keeping with MAINSTREAM conservative thought then I'd be interested in hearing about it. Even most never-Trumpers in their more honest moments will tell you their problem is with the man, NOT his policies."

I found this statement interesting for a number of reasons. First, I am not a "never-Trump", because that position was rational and sensible during the campaign. I am today, decidedly "anti-Trump".  Second, even if it were true--even if Trump had done NOTHING but things I love since coming into office--the suggestion that I should then just shut up and get onboard is ridiculous. The damage this man's behavior is doing to America's position in the world, to our internal civil discourse, to the office it self--is alone worthy of scorn. That so many are willing to give him a pass for behavior they'd (presumably) not take from a friend or loved one--strikes me as a tangible sign of the continuing damage he is doing to civil society. Third--and this one should not escape notice--he has done virtually nothing substantial since getting into office. On two fronts, he has done wonderful and marvelous things--judicial appointments and de-regulation--and he should be (and is) lauded for it. But the suggestion that there is something coherent and whole in Trumpism--that there is a policy book sitting somewhere that lays out his proposals and that he is standing by--is lunacy. The problem isn't that I disagree with his policies--it is that he doesn't have any policies to disagree with. If you don't like his view on Iran, Afghanistan, DACA, taxes, healthcare or what have you, just wait a few days, he'll change it.

For more on the this, check out Noah Rothman in Commentary yesterday, or this morning's Washington Post.