Chuck Todd: Trump is burning his political capital quickly
There are all sorts of lessons we like to pass on to our kids when it comes to competition, chief among them how to be a good loser and how to be a good winner.
There are all sorts of lessons we like to pass on to our kids when it comes to competition, chief among them how to be a good loser and how to be a good winner. Sometimes, winners learn they have to be extra gracious, even if they don’t feel very gracious, because of the long-term benefits of taking the high road.
This is particularly true in governing, especially governing in a polarizing climate. As for the losers, not appearing bitter is usually a hallmark of the losers who hope to have futures.
Of course, these basic rules of political decorum are ones Donald Trump has rarely followed. Sure, the president-elect has shown a tad more grace since winning this election, some of it because he won a more decisive victory than he did in 2016. Throw in his very narrow popular vote lead and he’s feeling pretty good about himself. And he should — his theory of the case about the campaign and about working-class voters of all stripes has proven true. He’s been accumulating political capital, and his victory only gives him an opening to accumulate more ... if he chooses to.
And that’s really the question I have about how he plans to conduct this presidency. How much of his presidency is going to be focused on revenge, how much on reform, how much on self-enrichment and how much on accumulating power for himself or his movement?
So far, given his picks for the Cabinet and other positions, he seems to be leaning more on revenge than reform.
Rating: 5