What unites both of these blunders, apart from simple political stupidity, is that neither has much to do with actual policymaking. There is zero chance that the Special Olympics will be defunded; the budget that imagined doing so was a symbolic statement that gets ignored by Congress every year. Why set yourself up for “Trump Defunds Special Olympics” headlines? The first presidency is mostly real; the second presidency has been mostly imaginary ever since the failure of Obamacare repeal left Ryanism neutered. orthodoxy, rather than elevating the kind of conservatives who have actively theorized for a more populist right.

Source: New York Times March 30, 2019 19:52 UTC