Talking About Politics: Do any liberals see ways to work with Trump to make improvements for us all, or are they only about getting him out of office?

Do any liberals see ways to work with Trump to make improvements for us all, or are they only about getting him out of office?

Short version: No.

Detailed version:

In all honesty, this question is based on a flawed premise, which seems to be this:

Donald Trump is working hard to make things better for all Americans, so why don’t the Democrats in Congress and the voting public work with him instead of trying to kick him out of the White House?

This is the narrative that Trump supporters, even ones who claim to be middle-of-the-road voters who are “socially liberal but fiscally conservative,” try to push, especially on social media.

The Devil, as they say, is in the details. And the details show, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that this narrative simply is not true.

Or, as George and Ira Gershwin so wittily put it in a song from Porgy and Bess:

It ain’t necessarily so.

First, it is my firm belief, based on careful observation of Trump’s actions and utterances since January 20, 2017, that this President is not interested in working with either Democrats or even moderate Republicans to make “improvements for us all.”

If anything, Trump is only interested in furthering the financial gains of the Trump Corporation, his family, and his own narcissistic self.

Secondary to that, of course, is furthering the goals of the Newt Gingrich/Roger Ailes/Paul Ryan/Stephen K. Bannon/Mitch McConnell Republican Party, which seeks nothing else than a permanent majority in Congress and the Executive Branch of government.

A third constituency is an Evangelical movement, which basically wants to impose the Christian equivalent of Sharia law. That’s why “Christians” have been pushing the “war on Christmas” narrative, the imposition of Draconian restrictions on abortion, and the tarring of liberals and Democrats as being anti-American, Communists, and evil conspirers who want to turn the United States into “Venezuela.”

And, of course, Trump is aiding Russian President Vladimir Putin’s campaign to destabilize the West by allowing Russia to interfere in other countries’ elections (including ours), weakening the post-World War II order that works to further the interests of not only the U.S. but also those of our allies, hobbling NATO and the European Union, and exploiting the divisions in Western society.

If President Trump were really interested in working with the political opposition, he would try to sit down with the Democratic leadership and seriously discuss the issues at hand. He would pivot to the middle, as previous Presidents have always done, and find common ground on the things that unite Americans, instead of those that divide them.

But, no. Instead, Trump has gone on permanent campaign mode, reaching out only to his base and whipping them up against liberals, Democrats, Obama, the Clintons, the “liberal media,” and even moderate Republicans who understand that democracy functions when opponents compromise.

As Alex Denethorn duly notes in his excellent answer:

Were it possible to actually compromise with Trump, this would have been something that would have been achieved by now. Trump, you have to remember, is a zero-sum player: he must win, therefore others must lose. There’s no way for both sides to win - if there is, it means he’s had to give up something, or get less than he feels he could have.

Politics does not work when you have a President and a base of supporters like that.