He threatened that any Republican who opposed him on the bill to prevent a government shutdown could be elected in the primary.
The president-elect is earning his reputation as a disruptor, with enough influence over what is now his party to blow up painstakingly negotiated bipartisan compromises. Let’s take a look at some of them.
HOW PRESIDENT-ELECT TRUMP COULD ACHIEVE THE ‘DEAL OF THE CENTURY’ WHEN HE TAKES OFFICE
Trump tried in his first term to buy Greenland, which is controlled through Denmark but under autonomous control. This has come to nothing, even if it has created a diplomatic crisis with Danish officials.
While the U.S. built the Panama Canal in the early 20th century, it was turned over to Panama under a treaty approved by both countries. Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino says “every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent zone is Panama’s and will continue to be so. The sovereignty and independence of our country are not negotiable.”
That didn’t stop Trump from posting an AI symbol of an American flag flying over a waterway presumed to be the canal.
In fact, the new president has demonstrated his ability to throw demanding situations in the primaries to those who cross his path. But three dozen conservative Republicans voted against him on the government shutdown bill, adding that it passed regardless, dropping his call to remove the debt ceiling while he was in office. Was he going to organize primaries against all of them?
Therefore, it is very likely that the prestige of Greenland, the Panama Canal and insurgent republicans will not replace the second term.
The explanation for why Trump is doing this is because he reinforces his role as a disruptor, attacking the decrepit status quo in Washington, even though a president, by definition, is the new status quo.
President-elect Trump makes this point in a speech at AmericaFest, Sunday, December 22, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Beyond that, whether he makes outrageous demands or not, Trump shapes and dominates the news agenda. As the 47th president admitted to me, he rarely goes overboard because he knows it will provoke a strong media reaction. In Trump’s view, even negative policy is smart policy because the press is playing on his turf.
And they are only negotiating positions aimed at obtaining concessions, as in the case of the threats of 25% price lists against Canada and Mexico.
Isn’t it that most people outside the political-media complex don’t cling to those breathless advances? Since the government hasn’t really shut down, they don’t see it as a setback for Trump that he didn’t get the maximum of what he wanted. They probably won’t forget that he once tried to buy Greenland.
What Trump obviously has the strength to do is blow up conscientiously crafted bipartisan agreements. He did so after President Mike Johnson, R-La. — the long term of which is dubious because, like Kevin McCarthy before him, he lacked votes — he allowed the bill to morph into a Christmas tree monstrosity.
And he did so during the campaign, when the two parties agreed to a tough border deal, which was later undermined by Trump’s objections.
But there are obviously limits to Trump’s ability to shape events, specifically with the country. The fact that three dozen Republicans are challenging him on a factor as basic as the debt ceiling shows that he can’t push his party only so far.
TRUMP’S FAMOUS CHRISTMAS CAMEO IS FAR FROM HIS ONLY CURRENT CREDIT: SEE THE FULL LIST
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S. C. , a Trump supporter who voted against him in final passage, told me Sunday on “Media Buzz” that she did so because she sought to keep the debt ceiling low.
But while the GOP clings to a one-vote margin in the House, for now the cauldron of crusade rhetoric collides with cold, hard math to get to number 218.
Democrats want to question whether it’s worth negotiating with the other side if all they’re doing is creating a target for Trump’s demolition derby.
It was Elon Musk who was the first to tweet about the seriousness of the original bill, at Trump’s suggestion, and after more than 70 tweets (including a few lies), the new president entered the fray.
Elon Musk speaks with former President Trump at a campaign on Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Over the weekend, Trump denied ceding his presidential powers to his billionaire friend and said, half-mockingly, that Musk may never be president:
“Do you know why? He wasn’t born in this country. Hahaha. “
A favorite media parlor game is whether the two strong-willed men will eventually have a falling out.
For now, however, Trump’s difficult communication about Greenland and the Panama Canal shows that he is more of a gambling criminal, although little comes of it.
In other news:
The House Ethics report says Matt Gaetz paid “regularly” for sex, including with an underage girl, and used illegal drugs.
In 2017, the former attorney general-designate “had sexual relations with a 17-year-old girl,” which he also paid for.
Gaetz used or possessed illegal drugs such as cocaine and ecstasy “on occasion,” and also accepted lucrative gifts, such as transportation and lodging in the Bahamas.
“Many of the women interviewed through the committee made it clear that there is a general expectation to have sex,” and one woman told the committee that Gaetz paid her more than $5,000 and that sex involved. % of the time.
The panel said Gaetz “failed to cooperate” and “knowingly and intentionally sought to obstruct and impede the committee’s investigation into his conduct. ” The Justice Department investigated and has yet to file any charges.
Trump may face new ISIS risk in Syria as Türkiye pursues our ally
Gaetz also misused House resources when he had his staff leader “help a woman he had sex with download a passport, falsely representing to the U. S. State Department that he was a passport with. “I said she was a voter. . .
“There was substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz violated House Rules, state and federal laws, and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, acceptance of impermissible gifts, the provision of special favors and privileges, and obstruction of Congress.”
If Gaetz was still running for AG, that would have put him out of the water.
Gaetz says: “I haven’t been accused of anything: TOTALLY EXONERATED. Not even a crusade funding violation. And the other people who investigated me hated me. Then the Justice Department “witnesses” deemed not credible piled on. through House Ethics to repeat his absent statements. There was no cross-examination or challenge from me or my attorneys, I never had a chance to confront the accusers, I never charged. I even sent cash to women I’m not dating.
–A dogged reporter for the Dallas Express discovered what happened to Texas Rep. Kay Granger, who went “missing” months ago. He found her, and got on-the-record confirmation, at a nursing facility that specializes in dementia and other memory problems. She put out a statement about health challenges that utterly missed the point: How could she not tell her constituents about this? Why did she insist on hiding it? There would have been enormous sympathy for her. Instead, the congresswoman kept it all shrouded in secrecy.
–Actress Blake Lively has been the subject of an online smear campaign, as seen in text messages and emails that blatantly tell of plantation stories meant to ruin her reputation, although they warn that it will have to remain a secret because they can’t admit it. They are trying. to “bury” it. “You know we can bury anyone. “
Justin Baldoni and Blake Livel (David Buchan/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images | Lia Toby/Getty Images)
Lively obtained these documents through legal action against her co-star and director, Justin Baldoni, and reviewed by the New York Times. She is alleging sexual harassment, saying Baldoni and others routinely came into her trailer unannounced when she was topless, such as having body makeup removed, or breast-feeding.
The Wayfarer studio said the company and its public relations executives “did nothing proactive or retaliatory” against the actress, accusing her of being “yet desperate to ‘fix’ her negative reputation. “
Lively says Baldoni attempted to upload sex scenes, improvised unwanted kisses and talked about his sex life, adding instances in which he may not have received her consent. Another team member showed him a video of his wife naked.
The sad thing is that this kind of thing happens all the time. This time, we got the good news, as Lively is described as difficult, deaf, and tyrannical.
–The Daily Mail reported that Jeff Bezos was going to marry his fiancé Lauren Sanchez this weekend in a $600 million extravaganza in Aspen.
The Amazon founder, who owns the Washington Post, says that’s a crock:
“This is all false: none of this is happening. . .
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“The old adage ‘don’t believe everything you read’ is even more true today than it ever has been. Now lies can get ALL the way around the world before the truth can get its pants on. So be careful out there folks and don’t be gullible.”
Good for Jeff for fending off a shitty story.
Howard Kurtz is the host of FOX News Channel’s MediaBuzz (Sundays, 11:00 a. m. – 12:00 p. m. ET). Based in Washington, D. C. , he joined the network in 2013 and appears on Special Report with Bret Baier and The Story with Martha MacCallum, among other shows.
Get the latest updates, interviews and more political content from the 2024 election campaign from Fox News.