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No one can accuse President-elect Donald Trump of failing to be transparent about his intentions and plans. Speaking at a lengthy news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Trump promised to rename the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.” He also refused to rule out employing military force to reclaim the Panama Canal and to seize Greenland. He did, however, exempt Canada, declaring that he would rely solely on “economic force” to create a great union between the two countries. All that was missing was a vow to reunite with Great Britain and Trump would have reverse-engineered much of the British Empire.
Trump had good reason to feel bullish. For one thing, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, following in the footsteps of his fellow billionaires, such as Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, has now kowtowed to Trump — he apparently intends to terminate fact checks on Facebook and Instagram. Zuckerberg stated that his web platforms will emphasize “free expression” — by which he really means allow disinformation and falsehoods to run riot, much as Elon Musk has done at X. At the same time, federal judge Aileen Cannon came through once again for Trump, halting, for the nonce, the publication of Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith’s two-volume report into his attempt to overturn the 2020 election and secrete classified materials at Mar-a-Lago. Cannon claimed that her decision would “prevent irreparable harm.”
But perhaps the more revealing portion of Trump’s press conference arrived when he was queried about his plans for a huge reconciliation bill that would cover everything from taxes to budget cuts, from immigration to the debt limit. He indicated that he backs what he has been calling “one powerful bill” before going on to suggest that he would also be happy with two separate ones. Translation: he has no idea about the congressional maelstrom that he’s about to head into this spring. Trump wants to rely on Republican votes to pass a bill. But the GOP itself is riven by disputes over taxes and spending. He keeps pretending that tariffs will pay for his tax cuts, but the deficits hawks in the GOP know full well that this is a pipe dream. Trump may end up with no bill and an America hurtling over the debt limit. The federal debt is currently over $36 trillion. “I just don’t want to see a default,” Trump said. “That’s all I want.” A failure to lift the limit would be a disaster for Trump, not to mention America.
Another potential debacle for Trump is Ukraine. Early in Joe Biden’s presidency, the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan derailed him. Something similar could occur to Trump. Writing in the Atlantic, Robert Kagan speculates that Trump may be facing a catastrophic defeat should he fail to aid Ukraine adequately. According to Kagan, “Trump must now choose between accepting a humiliating strategic defeat on the global stage and immediately redoubling American support for Ukraine while there’s still time. The choice he makes in the next few weeks will determine not only the fate of Ukraine but also the success of his presidency.” During his press conference, Trump himself averred that the war could “escalate” and that it has become “much more complicated.” He concluded, “That’s a war that should have never happened. I guarantee you, if I were president, that war would have never happened.”
Unfortunately, Trump failed to point to what was truly momentous news — the introduction on Tuesday of McDonald’s most significant menu change in years. A new “McValue” menu for $5 is supposed to lure back customers who have been dissuaded from visiting McDonalds because of high inflation. If Trump has anything to celebrate, this should be it.
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