Monday on Good Morning America, ABC analyst Matthew Dowd used yet another wacky analogy to advise the president on how he should behave. After gleefully hyping Trump’s “stunning” and “devastating” defeat on repealing Obamacare, the panel wondered how Trump was going to be able to deliver on any of his other campaign promises. Dowd lectured that the onus was on Trump to “fundamentally change” who he was, to appease Democrats.
Fill-in anchor World News Tonight's David Muir began the segment by asking Chief Washington and White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl how “big of a defeat” was this healthcare kerfuffle. Karl called it a “devastating blow,” before questioning if Trump could “get anything done” if he couldn’t repeal Obamacare. But, Karl added, if Trump “reached out” to Democrats (code words for “give them what they want”) on other issues, maybe he could become a “transformational president.”
Muir turned to analyst Matthew Dowd, asking again how Trump could reach any of his other campaign promises if he couldn’t repeal Obamacare.
MUIR: [T]he president, Republicans will aim to push for major tax reform, tax cuts. But without repealing Obamacare doesn’t this make what is already going to be so difficult, even harder now?
He then followed up by skeptically asking if it was likely that Democrats would be the ones to compromise on issues like taxes.
Dowd answered that it was Trump’s responsibility to compromise to give Democrats what they want. He went on to reference Michael Jackson’s song “Man in the Mirror” and complain that Trump needed to “fundamentally change” who he was “as a person” to be “able” to reach the Democrat “base.”
DOWD: Well I think that’s going to be very hard and their base is very much against Donald Trump and I think Donald trump would fundamentally have to change as a person to be able to do that. I would think -- he needs to channel Michael Jackson which is I'm starting with the man in the mirror, needs to take a look at himself and make a change. That's what he needs to do. He needs to start the process by fundamentally changing who he is.
“That’s the first time anyone has put it that way!” Muir chuckled.
Dowd is known for using pop culture and historical references in his political analysis on Good Morning America, particularly to scold Republicans or President Trump. He threw a hissy fit on-air at Trump’s Inauguration saying that the country was divided like in Civil War times. In another instance he claimed that the Founding Fathers would be dismayed at Trump’s understanding of the Constitution.
During the campaign season, Dowd was a frequent cheerleader for Hillary Clinton on ABC.
