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| Trump Looks to Build on Tax Victory Despite Weak Polls |
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Looking ahead to his second year in office,
President Trump is hoping
to build on his congressional victory last month
on tax cut.
"It’s gonna be tough
to beat the year we just left
because what we had last year was something very special,
especially to cap it off
with the tremendous tax cuts and tax reform."
The White House got off to a rocky start
with publication of a controversial book,
highly critical of Trump’s presidential style
that raised questions about his fitness for office,
especially among Democrats,
like Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.
"I didn’t think
President Trump was the right person
to be president.
I didn’t think
he had the judgment or disposition
to do a good job
and this just confirms my concerns."
Trump and his aides slammed the book
as mostly fiction.
Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
"Again, there are numerous mistakes,
but I’m not gonna waste my time
or the country’s time
going page by page
talking about a book
that’s complete fantasy."
The furor over the book
and resulting rupture
between Trump and former strategist Steve Bannon
have once again sharpened the political divide
over the president,
says John Hudak.
"Well, I think
what the book will do is
fit into pre-existing notions
for some people
that the president is mentally unstable
or is having challenges with decline.
But for the president’s supporters
this book is going to be seen as a fabrication
and as something not to be taken seriously."
Despite the victory on taxes,
Trump remains historically unpopular
for a first-year president,
and must now prepare
for what could be a wave of Democratic victories
in the November congressional election,
says Molly Reynolds.
"I think Republicans will have to confront the fact
that there is more enthusiasm on the Democratic side
than perhaps there is on the Republican side,
in part because President Trump is and remains quite unpopular."
2018 is shaping up as a consequential year
for the White House
with a major fight
growing over party control of Congress
that could have a profound impact
on the Trump presidency.
Jim Malone, VOA News, Washington |
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