Is Trump Mending Fences, or Burning Bridges?

By Douglas V. Gibbs
Author, Speaker, Instructor, Radio Host

Skeptics of the Donald Trump presidency have been watching for anything to hammer the President Elect on.  Every move is scrutinized, every conversation carefully monitored, and every possible reversal examined and called out.  In the eye of the opposition, especially Never Trump folks who are of the conservative political persuasion, anything that can be considered a hypocrisy, or fraternizing with those who were labeled as the opposition during the presidential campaign, deserves to be exposed, drawn, and quartered.  Trump is expected to walk the fine line of perfection, and do nothing that seems unconservative, or else he will be viewed as consorting with the enemy.

The professional politicians of the Republican Party, namely folks like Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney, stood against Trump throughout the 2016 campaign, claiming Mr. Trump is nothing more than a New York liberal who would destroy the GOP, ensure a win for Hillary Clinton, and send the political party in a direction away from its conservative base, and towards an inevitable civil war, and permanent split in the name of populism and nationalism.

During the campaign season my own political world met with the division that was created by the Never Trump movement.  JASmius, who was both a writer on Political Pistachio, and a co-host on Constitution Radio, decided to follow the Never Trump path.  As I evolved towards being willing to support the billionaire’s candidacy, largely because he’s not Hillary, and largely because I recognized his “Art of the Deal” strategies in action  (while everyone else was screaming how he should just shut his mouth), my tolerance of the hit pieces being written by my good friend was waning.  Then, when it turned out a bunch of folks thought it was I writing the articles, and that misunderstanding began to leak into my classes, dwindling the numbers of attendees, to protect the bottom line, I had to ask JASmius to either write in a manner that I felt more closely followed journalistic integrity, or he needed to take his anti-Trump rhetoric elsewhere.

He chose to say “goodbye.”

If my work with the Congress of Racial Equality, where we are working to spread constitutional literacy through the inner-cities, were to lead to, let’s say, my radio program expanding to a daily show, or a television program either locally, or on a major outlet, in my search for a research analyst I wouldn’t hesitate to reach out to my friend, JASmius.  Would that be an example of me reneging on my promises, or proof that I am someone with one foot in the kiddie pool on the other side?  Not at all.  It would be an example of me reaching out to those who have a skill set I believe would be advantageous to what I do.  If I were, to say, also discuss my new found opportunities with a democrat, does that mean that I have sold out to the other side, or is it a case of me trying to reach out to learn as much as I can so that I can not only work well with conservatives, but understand the other side’s arguments, as well?  It would also confuse the opposition, and set them up for me to have my way with them as they try to figure out what it means when I talk to certain people.

I think the same is true with Donald Trump.

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan was one of those Republicans who hammered on Donald Trump during the campaign, but now says he’s patched things up with the President-Elect.

Did Ryan come to the conclusion that despite their differences, what is best for the country is a unified Republican Party?

Ryan claims he’s now fine with Donald Trump, and they are not looking back. . . only forward.

Has Donald Trump won him over with his new-found conservatism?  Or has Trump convinced Ryan he’s an establishment guy just like the longtime politician whose days as Speaker of the House may be numbered?

Ryan, like the Democrats, and Never-Trump’rs, and the rest of the globalists and establishment politicians, were shocked that Trump won the election.  They had bought into the media’s kool-aid.  Trump is too unconventional, too radical, too outside the box for them – which is exactly what the voters were searching for.

One thing is for sure, Trump has proven as a businessman that he is the kind of guy who gets things done.

According to Ryan, he has discussed with Trump that being President of the United States is a different animal than being the CEO of a large corporation.  ”Oh,” said Ryan, “we’ve talked about that extensively. We’ve talked about– the Constitution, Article I on the Constitution, the separation of powers. He feels very strongly, actually, that– that, under President Obama’s watch, he stripped a lot of power away from the Constitution, away from the Legislative Branch of government. And we want to reset the balance of power, so that people and the Constitution are rightfully restored.”

I agree, to a point – but it is the bold unorthodox style of the outsider businessman that won him the election, and Trump needs to keep much of that in place as he serves the country as President.

Mitt Romney is another Republican who began sounding more like a member of the Never Trump crowd during the campaign, but seems to now have made amends with the new Republican President.  He’s even on the short list for Secretary of State.

While I am not necessarily a fan of Romney – he’s just not conservative enough for my political taste – and I definitely don’t want him as Secretary of State, I totally get it why Trump has been talking to him.  It goes back to that thing about seeking out a certain skill set.  If Romney can potentially be beneficial to the Trump administration, why not talk to him?

Romney, since meeting with President Elect Trump, has made impassioned statements in support of The Donald, no doubt in an attempt to erase doubts about him among Trump’s supporters and remain in contention for a position in the Trump administration.

He didn’t apologize for his fierce criticisms of Trump during the campaign, but he’s definitely trying to get into Trump’s good graces.

For those who don’t trust Trump, I would think they would celebrate such a thing.  You would, after all, prefer party influences on Trump to keep him honest, right?

Romney has said that a part of the reason he has gravitated towards supporting the Trump administration is because of how he has been filling key cabinet positions, as well as his desire for greater unity among Americans.  Romney said that “all of those things combined give me increasing hope that President-elect Trump is the very man who can lead us” to a better future.

That remark came after a lengthy meal with Trump and Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus.

Senior Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway has been critical of Romney being in consideration for Secretary of State, telling the media that Trump supporters would feel “betrayed” if Romney was picked.

“I had a wonderful evening with President-elect Trump,” Romney said in remarks to reporters after the dinner. “We had another discussion about affairs throughout the world and these discussions I’ve had with him have been enlightening, and interesting, and engaging. I’ve enjoyed them very, very much.”

A senior Trump aide described Romney’s remarks as “solid.”

Trump’s Secretary of State list has been ever changing, but still includes folks like Marine Corps General John Kelly, U.S. Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, General David Petraeus, and former UN Ambassador John Bolton.

Personally, my front-runner I’d like to see as Secretary of State is John Bolton.

Trump’s willingness to visit with Al Gore and Leonardo DiCaprio, both man-made climate change hysteria-mongers, has also had conservatives up in arms and nervous.  Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, has seemingly bought into the man-made climate change hoax, so one wonders if Trump is meeting with global warming environmentalists to make her happy.

Nonetheless, we have little to worry about.  It seems like Trump has not bought into the climate change lie, and realizes that though climate change does indeed exist, it is a natural phenomenon that politicians and environmentalists can’t resolve nor change.  If anything, their attempt to limit carbon dioxide could be potentially dangerous, when one considers that the oxygen in the atmosphere, which is necessary for life on Earth, is dependent upon carbon dioxide being in the atmosphere so that plant life may “inhale” that carbon dioxide so that they may produce oxygen.

The evidence that Trump has not bought into the man-made climate change lie sits with the fact that he has tapped as EPA chief, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt.

Supporters of Trump’s EPA choice are celebrating that pick as a sign that Trump is standing up the green establishment, breaking the cycle, it is believed, that has had the EPA chiefs among the most pro regulatory members of past Republican presidents from Nixon through Ford, Reagan and both Bushes.  Past EPA chiefs have been timid at best., but with Trump’s pick the conservatives of the GOP feel reassured that while Trump was willing to meet with Al Gore, he rejected what the man had to say about his climate change hysteria.