How to wreck a presidency
Trump redefines the second-term curse
“The days are long, the weeks are long, the months are long,” wrote Ben Rhodes, in his memoir of life as a staffer in the Barack Obama White House. “But the years are short—one day you look up and realize you’re on the precipice of the final year of a presidential term.”
Many of the normal rules applying to the American presidency don’t seem to hold true in Donald Trump’s second term, but the one limiting factor that clearly remains is the clock. Barring extraordinary events, Trump is hurtling toward a time limit, the two-term maximum set by the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution.
As he does, he is discovering how hard it is maintain control over an administration and to shape the political agenda when everyone can see the end date approaching. Trump wasn’t fooling most people this week when he drowsily presided over another cabinet meeting where fawning officials praised him and the president continued to balk at the idea that voters were seeking “affordability.”
