Definite Signs that Trump's Power is Waning

When I say that Donald Trump's power is waning, I don't just mean that he has lost control of the House of Representatives, and that Democrats may begin investigating him.

I mean that Republicans in Congress are becoming increasingly bold in disagreeing with him.  I mean that I am beginning to think that maybe, just maybe, if he shot someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue the Republican Establishment would not let him off the hook after all.

The signs are everywhere.  Losing the House is one, of course.  The possibility that our economy may be hitting a soft spot, and that Trump's popularity would suffer as a result is another.  But most significant is that Trump seems to be doing things that the Republican Establishment simply can't tolerate.  They seem to be breaking with him over at least three issues.

Saudi Arabia:  Trump hasn't shot anyone in the middle of Fifth Avenue yet, but his friends, the Saudis, have murdered a US legal resident in their consulate in Turkey and Trump seems determined to cover up for them.  Murder in a consulate is, in some ways, even less deniable than murder in the middle of Fifth Avenue.  If the murder had taken place in the middle of Fifth Avenue, the Saudis might have made at least some half-hearted attempt to disassociate themselves from it.  But when a murder takes place in a diplomatic facility under the sole control of a government, attempts to blame rogue operatives just don't pass the laugh test.  Senators who have seen the evidence have unanimously, across party lines, blamed the Saudis in general and the Crown Prince in particular.  Nor does it end with the murder of Khashoggi.  The murder of Khashoggi has made a lot of people sit up and notice that the Saudis are waging a very nasty war on Yemen, blockading the nation in an attempt to starve it into submission, bombing civilian targets, and so forth.  Yes, it may be hypocrisy not to notice this until after the Saudis killed someone more relatable, but better late than never.  There is a growing, bipartisan revolt in Congress against our support for Saudi Arabia in its Yemeni war.

Payoffs to mistresses:  Look, I agree it's ridiculous that of all the scandals surrounding Trump, the one that Republicans are finally taking seriously is payoffs to an ex-mistress, but there you have it.  I'm honestly not sure why.  Is it because with Cohen's testimony the evidence is so overwhelming that no denial is possible?  That Republicans are just touchy about sexual impropriety?  That after making attempts to conceal an affair a big deal for Bill Clinton and John Edwards, they are caught on their own hook?  Or because this is bad enough to dissociate yourself from Trump but not so bad as to be impeachable, which makes it the sort of scandal you can acknowledge.

Withdrawal from Syria:  The Blob is furious about Trump's decision to withdraw troops from Syria.  Washington Republicans, as members in good standing of the Blob, are outraged.  First the withdrawal of our 2000 troops in Syria meant that the entire Mideast would explode into all-out war and be taken over by Russia and/or Iran and/or ISIS.  Calming down a little, the story changed to okay, maybe not the entire Middle East, but our Kurdish friends would be slaughtered by the Turks.  And now it is beginning to look as though maybe the Kurds won't be slaughtered, but will cut a deal with Assad, which will hand the Middle East over to Russia/Iran.  Well, maybe not all the Middle East, maybe just one country in the Middle East, but still. 

Look, I'm sure there are good arguments to be made, pro and con, about withdrawing from Syria.  The Blob is opting for hysteria instead.  The best arguments for withdrawal ought to acknowledge that a better-managed, less precipitous withdrawal would be much better. And the best arguments for staying ought to acknowledge that really, 2,000 troops are not all that is holding back the forces of Armageddon. 

One final thought.  Clearly the issue that Republicans are most willing to break with Trump about is over foreign policy.*  On the bright side, that means that stories about Republicans being blackmailed by Russia seem most unlikely.  Republicans are most likely to confront Trump for being insufficiently confrontational toward Russia and its allies.  On the not-so-bright side, that means Republicans' biggest problem with Trump is that he isn't starting enough wars.  A lot of Democrats agree.  Such is the Blob.  Sigh!

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*That applies especially to Lindsey Graham, who has gone from one of Trump's fiercest critics to one of his leading defenders.