Ace Reporters Marvel at Trump’s ‘Ever-Expansive Power’ and ‘Weak’ Democratic Opposition
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Axios co-founders Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen marveled at President-elect Donald Trump’s “ever-expansive power” and the “weak” Democratic opposition he faces as his inauguration approaches in a column published on Thursday.
“President-elect Trump — whose power was immense after his comeback win, enhanced by the coming full Republican control of Congress — has expanded that power substantially in the nine weeks since his victory,” asserted the pair in their lede. “It’s rare, if not unprecedented, for a newly elected leader to have so many world leaders and CEOs shift their policies or posture so blatantly during the transition to curry favor with a new president. Trump will start his presidency with a very loyal GOP Senate and House, a vastly empowered MAGA-friendly media and information ecosystem, businesses scrambling to make amends or further improve cozy relationships, and money flowing fast into his family’s business endeavors.”
VandeHei and Allen went on to argue that “Democratic opposition is weak and largely powerless,” before providing a litany of examples of Trump flexing his muscles, including that “major tech CEOs traveled to meet Trump in person and cut $1 million checks to his inauguration,” and “Meta shifted top personnel and its social media policing policies to match Trump’s interests.”
Nevertheless, they noted that all of this is “raw, transactional power — based in many cases on efforts to curry favor, as opposed to clear-cut inspiration or ideological embrace.”
“It’s easy to offer symbolic gestures in good times,” concluded VandeHei and Allen. “Trump’s true test will come when he has to pick winners and losers — and the losers decide how to react.”
