The tendency among observers and commentators on events in the White House, among them reputable investigators and experienced journalists, is to focus on the style of U.S. President Donald Trump and emphasize his tumultuous demeanor and offensive and unbalanced remarks.
While this pattern of behavior is certainly significant, in that it has led to unnecessary confrontations between the president and his rivals both at home and abroad as well as contributed to increasing polarization in American society, one must keep in mind that it is but one dimension of the 45th president's modus operandi.
Alongside this background noise, there is a basic strategy that guides Trump in his fundamental decision-making and steers him down a systematic and clear path. An analysis of the president's principal initiatives points to an exceptional coordination between his campaign promises and the policies he has implemented while in the White House. Contrary to the accepted belief that reality requires painful compromises, the current U.S. administration has been characterized by an almost total adherence to Trump's campaign platform.
Trump's commitment to comprehensive tax reform, his decision to pull out of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relation over Iran's attempts to sue the U.S. for withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal, as well as the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change; the renegotiation of the trade agreement between the U.S., Canada and Mexico; the uncompromising trade war with China and his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's official capital and relocate the U.S. Embassy there are just some of the domains in which Trump has succeeded in realizing his campaign platform. The same is also true of the central guiding principle from which U.S. domestic and defense policy, formulated during the Republican presidential primaries, is now derived, and which requires the United States to decrease its strategic involvement in centers of friction and crisis.
If all that was not enough, over the weekend we learned we could add another important item to this list: the Senate's vote to confirm Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh, which ensures a long-term conservative majority for the judicial institution. In the spirit of the traditional positions of Trump's voter base, Kavanaugh's nomination paves the way for the possibility the Supreme Court will reinterpret a wide range of ideological issues, including on the subject of abortion.
Given his campaign promise to change the character of the Supreme Court, the addition of ultra-conservative Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court as the figure who could tip the scales in the struggle for America's societal and cultural identity should serve to motivate Republican voters ahead of congressional elections, due in one month.
In the eyes of conservatives, Kavanaugh's confirmation is further proof that on issues near and dear to their hearts, the man in the Oval Office has shown credible and determined leadership, impressive execution, and most of all, has delivered results. The only thing left to be seen is whether Kavanaugh's appointment will also tip the scales in the upcoming midterms and allow the Republic Party to maintain its majority in both houses of Congress.
