A Tweet Too Far?

By now you’ve heard about the infamous Bleeding Mika tweets —

The so-called president has tweeted a lot of outrageous stuff, but this seems to have set a lot of the Beltway types over the edge. Maybe it’s because Joe and Mika are people they know.

If you watch Ana Navarro’s epic rant, be sure to not miss Wolf Blitzer’s face as he tries to maintain composure.

I’ve read one commentary after another today quoting people on Capitol Hill — including some Republicans — saying these tweets were out of bounds. I honestly think we’re seeing a turning point here. Trump is proving even to Republicans that he is utterly worthless as a president. If he were just incompetent but could put on a good act of being presidential that’s one thing, but he can’t even manage that.

Paul Waldman wrote today,

Republicans knew exactly who he was when they all lined up behind him in 2016, even if many harbored the naive hope that he would be changed by the office. But they also assumed that with total control of the government, they would pass a boatload of bills, he’d sign them, and his personal weaknesses wouldn’t much matter. It turns out, however, that it isn’t so simple. As we’re seeing in the health-care debacle currently underway, when you’re trying to accomplish something complex and politically perilous, you need the president. You need him to be a persuasive public advocate for your policy, and you need him to help resolve internal differences and forge consensus.

But Trump fails on both both counts. He can’t be a persuasive advocate because he doesn’t understand the policies he advocates for, and he has focused so relentlessly on telling his base what they want to hear that people outside that base just don’t believe him. When he gives an interview or makes a speech about what Republicans are trying to do, he’s likely to say something that contradicts or undermines their case. And internally, he’s rapidly losing whatever respect he had from Republicans.

I’m going to be really surprised if he finishes his term …