Washington state GOP House Leader Cathy McMorris Rodgers finally said the words I’ve been waiting to hear about Donald Trump’s march on the nation’s capital. In an NBC News interview with my buddy Luke Russert, she said Trump is a “disruptor” and we need to learn that that’s a good thing.
Perhaps because he comes from Washington state, home to many of the great tech companies that have revolutionized the economy (Microsoft in its heyday, the almighty Amazon, and a long list too long to recount in this column), he understands this phenomenon better than anyone else in the GOP leadership.
The explosion of recent technologies creates winners and losers, but overall it is incredibly positive for the country, the middle class, the economy, jobs and wages. The problem is that we haven’t seen many breakthrough technological breakthroughs lately. And maybe that’s one reason the economy is so sluggish.
But kudos to McMorris Rodgers for being the first member of the GOP leadership to understand that Trump, the ultimate outsider, will be a very disruptive force when he gets to Washington. And that’s a good thing. He will finally get America moving again in a positive direction.
I don’t know if the Republican establishment is ready, but Trump just had a very good week.
Many polls show him running virtually even with Hillary Clinton nationwide and in key swing states like Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio. The polls aren’t perfect, and the November election is still early, but the anti-Trump argument that Trump and the Republican Party will fall victim to a Hillary Clinton landslide is being dismissed.
And I think that’s it one reason Trump’s recent trip to Washington was so successful. The GOP can breathe easier.
For Trump, it was almost a listening tour. For GOP leaders, it was a moment to get to know each other. And for Speaker Paul Ryan, it was a chance to finally talk politics with the presumptive GOP nominee.
I think I saw older Republicans deciding it’s better to lend a hand Trump than hurt him. Save the hurt for Hillary Clinton and lend a hand Trump become an even stronger candidate.
Perhaps the most crucial figure in all this was Ryan—one of the smartest of the smartest and the biggest political nutcase of the nutcases. He’s also a class act, and he took a polite approach to Trump, even though he wasn’t ready to support him.
I wasn’t in the room when Ryan first met with Trump. But the reports suggest there was a good policy discussion. I assume Ryan, who is on the supply side, is joyful with Trump’s tax cut plan to pull the country out of a 15-year quagmire. And I think Ryan doesn’t have much objection to Trump’s deregulatory instincts, although that point was not elaborated on. (I don’t know if the King Dollar stability issue was raised.)
I also suspect Ryan will disagree with Trump on trade, where Trump has taken a demanding line on China, Japan and other rule-breakers. And I gather Ryan has a problem with Trump’s immigration plans to build a wall and deport illegal immigrants. Ryan has always been a free-trade advocate and immigration reformer, even if those positions are no longer as popular with the GOP.
Finally, I conclude that Ryan has a problem with Trump’s opposition to entitlement reform, including cuts to Social Security and Medicare. Ryan has recently become a deficit and debt hawk, and he apparently came to his meeting with Trump armed with budget charts and slide shows. And while Trump shares Ryan’s concerns about future deficits and debt, he has so far opposed pursuing immense entitlements.
The affable speaker, Ryan, told the media that he can’t decide everything in one 45-minute meeting. But he suggested that the GOP “unity” process is progressing well. Ryan’s deputies in the House — Kevin McCarthy, Steve Scalise and Greg Walden — have endorsed Trump, as has Mitch McConnell in the Senate. And Trump himself insists that his policy plans can be changed.
So I predict an entente cordiale, which Webster defines as a amiable understanding, especially between nations. (Of course, everyone remembers the entente cordiale between Great Britain and France in 1904, largely due to the diplomacy of King Edward VII!) In other words, Ryan and Trump can maintain amiable relations even if they disagree on some policy issues.
But here’s the key point: Trump has no intention of abandoning his economic populism or his self-first foreign policy. He has presented himself as the voice of America’s ailing middle class. Is disruptor. He will be Always to be an outsider. And when he was elected, will be finish in Washington. You can count on it.
