On Sunday's Fareed Zakaria GPS on CNN, during the show's opening "Fareed's Take" commentary, host Zakaria portrayed President Donald Trump as getting very little accomplished apart from "hot air," and mocked those who voted for him by cracking, "How's that working out for you?"
Referring to voters who supported Trump in the presidential election in spite of his flaws, Zakaria opened his commentary with an obvious slap at them: "Let's say you are a Trump voter -- the kind you often hear about: an honest, hard-working American who put up with Donald Trump's unusual behavior because you wanted a President who would stop playing Washington's political games, bring a businessman's obsession with action and results, and focus on the economy. How's that working out for you?"
The CNN host then dubbed the Trump administration as a "rocking horse presidency" as he argued that little is being accomplished in spite of much activity:
The first few weeks of the Trump administration have been an illustration of that line from the writer, Alfred Montapert: "Do not confuse motion with progress. A rocking horse keeps moving but does not make any progress." We are witnessing a "rocking horse" presidency in which everyone is jerking back and forth furiously, and yet there is no forward movement.
After recalling several controversial statements and actions by the President, Zakaria added: "But in the midst of it all, what has he actually done? Hardly anything."
He soon lauded President Obama's actions from his first month in office:
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Matthew Iglesias of Vox observes that, at this point in his presidency, President Obama had signed into law an almost trillion dollar stimulus bill to revive the economy, extended health insurance to four million children, and made it easier to challenge discriminatory labor practices.
Zakaria then labeled most of President Trump's official actions as "hot air" as the CNN host added:
Iglesias notes that the Trump White House has not even begun serious discussions with Congress on major legislation. Trump has issued a series of executive orders with great fanfare, though fewer than Obama at this point. But they're mostly hot air: lofty proclamations that direct some agency to "review' a law, "report" back to him, "consider" some action, or reaffirm some long-standing practice.
His one order that did something -- the temporary travel ban -- was so poorly conceived and phrased that it got stuck in the court system and will have to be redone
After enumerating several campaign promises that have not yet been fulfilled, and then labeling some of Trump's behavior as a "freak show," he returned to Trump voters who decided to overlook flaws and vote for him anyway:
For many people, the bargain of the Trump presidency was that they would put up with the freak show in order to get tax reform, infrastructure projects, and wise deregulation. That may still happen, but for now at least reality TV is in overdrive, and not much is happening in the realm of serious public policy.
The CNN host portrayed the Trump presidency so far as a "circus" as he concluded: "The Romans said that the way to keep people happy was to give them bread and circus -- sustenance and entertainment. So far, all we have gotten is the circus."
Below is a complete transcript of the "Fareed's Take" opening commentary from the Sunday, February 19, Fareed Zakaria GPS on CNN:
But first, here's my take. Let's say you are a Trump voter -- the kind you often hear about: an honest, hard-working American who put up with Donald Trump's unusual behavior because you wanted a President who would stop playing Washington's political games, bring a businessman's obsession with action and results, and focus on the economy. How's that working out for you?
The first few weeks of the Trump administration have been an illustration of that line from the writer, Alfred Montapert: "Do not confuse motion with progress. A rocking horse keeps moving but does not make any progress." We are witnessing a "rocking horse" presidency in which everyone is jerking back and forth furiously, and yet there is no forward movement.
Since winning the election, Donald Trump has dominated the news nearly every day. He has picked fights with the media, making a series of bizarre, mostly false claims about the magnitude of his victory, the size of his inauguration crowd, the weather that day, the numbers of illegally cast ballots among many other issues. Now, he's embroiled in another controversy about ties to Russia.
But in the midst of it all, what has he actually done? Hardly anything. This week, Trump said at a news conference there's never been a presidency that's done so much in such a short period of time. Matthew Iglesias of Vox observes that, at this point in his presidency, President Obama had signed into law an almost trillion dollar stimulus bill to revive the economy, extended health insurance to four million children, and made it easier to challenge discriminatory labor practices.
Iglesias notes that the Trump White House has not even begun serious discussions with Congress on major legislation. Trump has issued a series of executive orders with great fanfare, though fewer than Obama at this point. But they're mostly hot air: lofty proclamations that direct some agency to "review' a law, "report" back to him, "consider" some action, or reaffirm some long-standing practice. His one order that did something -- the temporary travel ban -- was so poorly conceived and phrased that it got stuck in the court system and will have to be redone
But what about plans to re-industrialize the Midwest, bring back jobs, revive the coal and steel industries? What, for that matter, of the explicit commitments that, quote, "on day one," quote, he would begin removing criminal illegal immigrants and would label China a "currency manipulator," push for a constitutional amendment to impose term limits on all members of Congress, get rid of gun-free zones in schools and military bases? All were promised -- almost none has been done.
There are two aspects to the Trump presidency. There is the freak show -- the tweets, the wild claims, the fake facts, the fights with anyone who refuses to bow down to him -- media and judges included -- and the ceaseless self-promotion. But then there is Trump the savvy business person. who named intelligent heavyweights like Gary Kohn, Rex Tillerson, and James Mattis to key positions, and who has at times articulated a serious reform agenda.
For many people, the bargain of the Trump presidency was that they would put up with the freak show in order to get tax reform, infrastructure projects, and wise deregulation. That may still happen, but for now at least reality TV is in overdrive, and not much is happening in the realm of serious public policy.
The Romans said that the way to keep people happy was to give them bread and circus -- sustenance and entertainment. So far, all we have gotten is the circus.
