{"id":36454,"date":"2019-04-05T00:00:51","date_gmt":"2019-04-05T00:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/highplainsblogger.com\/?p=36454"},"modified":"2019-04-05T00:00:51","modified_gmt":"2019-04-05T00:00:51","slug":"how-does-trump-plan-to-make-his-re-election-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/highplainsblogger.com\/?p=36454","title":{"rendered":"How does Trump plan to make his re-election case?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Donald J. Trump is going to ask Americans to re-elect him to another term as president of the United States.\u00a0I am baffled to the max over this question: How is he going to make the case that he has earned a second term?<\/em><\/p>\n

Trump got elected in 2016 by demonizing his opponent, Hillary Rodham Clinton and by stoking fear of enemies outside of our borders and of those within <\/em>them. He promised to vanquish them all. He told us that “I, alone” can repair all that ailed the nation.<\/p>\n

Well, he hasn’t.<\/p>\n

He has been bedeviled by questions concerning his relationships — business, personal and political — with foreign governments. He claims today that he has been “exonerated.” He hasn’t been cleared <\/em>of anything. That’s another story.<\/p>\n

As he ramps up his re-election campaign, Donald Trump is facing a critical question. How is he going to sell himself for another four years in the White House?<\/p>\n

I am reminded a bit of the late Texas Gov. Ann Richards, who ran for re-election as governor in 1994 against a political novice, a fellow named George W. Bush. Richards was thought of at the time to be highly popular. She had good — if not great — public approval ratings.<\/p>\n

She made a critical error during her first term. She vetoed legislation that would have referred a concealed handgun carry bill to the voters for their endorsement. The veto enraged gun enthusiasts.<\/p>\n

More than that, though, Richards hardly spoke of how she would govern during a second term. She spent a lot of public time blasting George W. Bush, calling him a lightweight and a “jerk.” Bush remained focused on his campaign themes.<\/p>\n

Bush ended up winning. Richards was gone.<\/p>\n

There ought to be a lesson for Trump here. Except that he won’t accept it. He won’t campaign on a second-term vision because, in my view, he doesn’t have one. Heck, he didn’t have a first-term<\/em> vision, other than banning Muslims from traveling to this country, building The Wall along our southern border and eliminating the Affordable Care Act.<\/p>\n

He stoked fear and loathing. He appealed to our darker instincts.<\/p>\n

Is he going to brighten his vision for the future? Hah<\/em>! Hardly! A 70-something-year-old man isn’t likely to change the strategy that won him election to the first public office he ever sought.<\/p>\n

In my humble view, these basic tenets remain the same today as they were when Trump rode down the Trump Tower escalator to announce his presidential candidacy:<\/p>\n