Donald Trump Is A Bad Fighter
His methods only work against easily cowed opponents.
Part of what makes Democratic politics frustrating—for us and for Democrats themselves—is that Donald Trump effectively transformed all of politics into the procedural equivalent of a fist fight, whereas most Democrats think of politics (and made professional headway in politics) as a transactional endeavor. Yes, everyone’s goal is to win the next election, and to win, others must lose—but along the way, situating oneself for victory might entail working constructively with the political opposition.
Trump thinks all of that is beneath him, a demonstration of weakness. Whatever he wants, he must get by threat or force. If threat doesn’t work, he’d rather cause broad harm, including self harm, than negotiate in good faith.
Democrats have been bad fighters and slow learners on this front, because it’s quite literally not what they signed up for when their political careers began. Their goal is to advance the public interest, and shield the public from harm, consistent with winning elections. Last spring they funded Trump’s government in full, knowing that he’d ignore the terms of the budget, because they didn’t want to inflict harm on the country, or battle Republicans over which party the public should blame. Trump’s threats worked.
A few months later, chastened by blowback from their own voters, they withheld their votes to renew those appropriations and were winning the public-opinion fight over blame for the government shutdown—then folded anyhow. They withdrew their demand that Republicans extend Affordable Care Act premium subsidies, because they were sad about all the federal employees working without pay. Trump’s use of force worked. Yes, most people were mad at him, and yes, it made him more unpopular, and yes it meant millions would lose their health insurance on his watch. But he “won” because nobody made him do anything he didn’t want to do.
This makes Trump a bad person and a bad leader of a free society. And as we’ll see, it’s also what makes Trump a bad fighter. Indeed, it’s among his greatest political vulnerabilities, though he has many. The sooner Democrats—and really any entity in an adversarial relationship with Trump—grasps this about him, the sooner they’ll gain the upper hand in most confrontations. And the sooner they’ll win the admiration of the people who depend on them.
Trump is a bad fighter in a way that’s familiar to everyone who watches boxing or mixed martial arts. Most good professional fights begin gingerly—not because the combatants are weenies, but because they aren’t stupid. Fights can run long, which makes conserving energy vital; Fighters also need to assess their opponents’ intentions, much like dogs inspect each others’ hindquarters before deciding whether to play or bite.
Every now and again, though, some beast-sized fighter will rush to ring center throwing haymakers. And, of course, sometimes an oaf like this will land a heavy punch early and win without breaking a sweat. But it doesn’t typically work out so well. If they’re lucky, they’ll miss and settle into a more sustainable fighting posture. Quite often, they just exhaust themselves. And then sometimes, because they aren’t minding any of their defenses, they’ll get pummeled or grappled to the mat by a smaller but more strategically adept opponent.
That’s roughly what’s happened to Trump in Iran.