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For President Donald Trump, a crossroads is being closely approached. By constantly getting in his own way, Trump has given what Richard Nixon called a sword to twist into his administration. Comments on the nonexistent crisis in Sweden coupled with making easily disproven claims has placed him into a political conundrum.
In merely a month, he has compromised his staff, confused the public and emboldened his critics. By leading off with the immigration restrictions he wasted a month that could have easily been used to galvanize opinion. Instead, he created a unity of opponents rarely seen. Even Fox News is divided as to how to approach the president.
Partially the problems arise because the Republican party is conservative rather than right wing. During the election, Trump benefited from the lock-step habits of the GOP. But the party would clearly rather have Vice President Mike Pence than President Trump and they are sparing no effort to solve their problem in the first year. Given Trump's carelessness, the regulars have an opportunity to either depose him or control him -- not a bad set of options.
Although around the faithful, Trump has not lost his touch. But this is not an election where he can bank his shots off Hillary Clinton, Trump is playing against the house. Tours by presidents or incumbents rarely work without a clear and visible opposition. Andrew Johnson, Woodrow Wilson and Harry Truman attempted tours outside elections and at least the first two failed. It is clear he does not have an act two.
Trump derives his strength from contact with the voters, which is all to the good but he had to reorient their focus. His first month has been a mish-mash of Republican boiler plate with whatever he can purloin from the internet. It looks like a mulligan stew of boring Conservative policy without the explanation. Put plainly, it is George W. Bush with a compulsion to twitter about every event under the sun.
George Wallace and Huey Long, two able orators, were not able to rally Alabamians and Louisianians is non-election years because many were not interested. Trump is even more confusing in that he is simply skewing his critics with aged stories. When repetition goes into overdrive, the themes become boring, hackneyed and predictable. And in Trump's case, the policy is disjointed.
What he would be wise to do is begin to abandon the GOP orthodoxy for a more ecumenical path. Ignore the GOP House and advance ideas that benefit the ordinary citizens rather than trying to please the denezins of National Review. For Trump, it is time to become his independent self rather than play the back and forth of GOP factionalism.