Donald Trump has gotten a political lump of coal in his Christmas stocking. He loves to pretend that he's a macho guy, even though he actually is a grossly overweight, out of shape, hair-dying, makeup-wearing narcissist who doesn't demonstrate any genuinely manly qualities.
Now his weakness is on full display, and he hasn't even taken office yet after narrowly defeating Kamala Harris for the presidency.
It's clear that the genuine leader of the Republican Party isn't Trump, but Elon Musk. That's why Democrats like me are finding great satisfaction in referring to President Musk and Vice-President Trump -- as these titles accurately reflect who is in charge of Washington, D.C.
Trump had no problems with the bipartisan House bill needed to prevent a federal government shutdown at midnight tomorrow, Friday, December 20, until Musk unleashed a salvo of tweets on X calling the bill a horrible piece of legislation.
After President Musk did this, Vice-President Trump meekly did what Musk commanded, come out against the bill. In a pitiful attempt to save face, Trump claimed that he was doing this because the bill didn't contain a provision to raise the debt limit.
Which wasn't an issue before, since raising the debt limit hadn't come up during the months of negotiations between House Republicans and Democrats that resulted in the bipartisan bill to keep the government functioning.
Sure, technically the current debt limit will be exceeded on January 1, 2025. But practically speaking, the Treasury Department can take steps to avoid a default on the nation's debt until around May of next year.
Trump wanted the debt limit raised now so this will happen during Joe Biden's presidency, not Trump's term in office, since traditionally most Republicans are deeply opposed to deficit spending and detest having to raise the debt limit to accommodate the need to borrow more money to finance federal budget deficits.
It's going to be more than a little embarrassing when Trump needs to get Democratic support to raise the debt limit to accommodate the trillions of dollars in additional deficits due to a renewal of the tax cuts passed in Trump's first term that mainly benefitted large corporations and wealthy individuals.
But that's likely what's going to happen after the House failed today to pass a replacement bill to keep the government open. Thirty-eight Republicans voted against the bill, which included a suspension of the debt limit for two years.
This doesn't bode well for Trump's legislative outlook during the next four years. He clearly isn't in charge of the Republican Party. Elon Musk is. And Musk is even worse at congressional politics than Trump, which is a low bar.
What Musk and Trump have in common is a vastly exaggerated sense of their own competence and knowledge. Both men are savvy in a cunning sort of way, but not in an effective way. They stumble along, being rescued by associates who make up for their leadership deficiencies.
Here we are, a month from Trump's inauguration, and he already has suffered a major legislative defeat. This should be the honeymoon period for Trump. It's a nightmare for him, having his subservience to Musk being put on such an obvious display.
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