If Washington is the swamp

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 If Washington is the swamp, the White House is the snake pit.

First - I 100% loved the ideas Donald Trump campaigned on in 2016.  Buy American.  Hire American.  Get out of these rotten trade deals with other parts of the world that have harmed America and its people and enriched third world developing shit hole countries like China.  They don't play by the rules and I think they are out to win the global economic war.

Second - Out of all the members of Trump's staff, Peter Navarro's economic and trade policies and discussions resonated with me throughout Trump's administration.  Navarro understands the war and what's at stake and he wants to win.  

Third - It is so interesting to read this first hand account of the White House during trump's administration.  It was a dysfunctional mess with back stabbing, slow walking and contradicting of trump's agenda.  By the swamp creatures - or as I will call them, the snakes of Washington.

I think Trumps administration was hindered by the lack of political experience trump had.  Snakes from the pits of institutionalized bureaucracy made their way into the administration as payback for getting trump elected and political favors for deals made along the way on the road to the Whitehouse.  I don't think Trump understood how Washington worked and he was naive to think the presidency would function like a board room.  It didn't and doesn't.  There are too many competing agendas and existing alliances and agendas that are nurtured in the complicated relationships of power.  Favors owed.  Payback is a bitch.

It's really unfortunate - because had trump had a tam of people on board with his agenda and way of thinking, his presidency could have been transformational for America.  While aspects of his agenda were implemented, many parts were slow walked and fell by the wayside.  

A présidence job is to charm the snakes into moving on the presidents agenda.  But in the end, a snake is always a snake.  And the snake always looks out for itself.  

It's interesting that Peter Navarro is currently serving a prison sentence for not appearing in a house committee inquisition...  Steve Bannon was ordered to report to prison on July 1 for not complying with a subpoena.  Trump says he has no qualms about going to prison should he be sentenced in NY.  All these people view this as being martyrs and unjustly persecuted.  

Interesting times we live in.

Side note - My next book I'm excited to read is Deception by Rand Paul.  I'm sure it's going to be a dandy. One thing to ponder - are these books true accounts, embelishment or outright lies?


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