Can Democrats Save Trump From Himself?
But on Sunday, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus told Fox News, "I think the president is disappointed in the number of people he thought were loyal to him that weren't."
No, most of the Freedom Caucus members, confident of their own support in their conservative districts, were willing to take their chances and defy Trump, even though it means the Obamacare against which they had campaigned for eight years still stands.
Humbled by GOP disarray, the president said he was "moving on" to other issues after Ryan's bill collapsed. But Trump was damaged. The hot air had fizzled out of his hyper-inflated reputation as a master "always winning" deal maker who can bluff his way through issues and political factions with which he is barely familiar.
But when all else fails, try a little cooperation. Amid Sunday's circular firing squad of finger-pointing and recriminations, Trump offered to work with (Gasp!) Democrats to push through his future policies. In fact, this is an opportunity for Trump to revive the hope he raised during his campaign that, since he worked across party lines before he became a candidate, maybe he'll do it as president.
But will Democrats work with him? Obviously not on a defining issue like the demolition of Obamacare. But other issues like Trump's proposed infrastructure construction projects appeal to lawmakers in both parties with the possibility of jobs, dollars and badly needed repairs to their districts.
Yet Team Trump and other Republican leaders appear to be more interested in taking on tax reform, an issue that is even more divisive inside Republican ranks than health care. Everybody has vastly different priorities as to what should be taxed or tax-freed -- and divisive passions run even higher about taxes than about health care.
With that in mind, Trump's best bet for a badly needed win to help rebuild his "winning" image may well come by working with the other party. Ironically, moderate Democratic leaders like Schumer must contend with their own radical "Resistance" on the left that would rather leave the Trump White House to sink on its own.
Watching Trump sink sounds attractive to Dems after months of putting up with his bluster. But if either party passes up obvious opportunities to work for the nation's common good, they'll sink along with him.
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(E-mail Clarence Page at cpage@chicagotribune.com.)
(c) 2017 CLARENCE PAGE DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.
