Be wary of anyone who purports to understand the deep meaning of President Trump’s decision to side with the Democrats on short-term budget issues. Instead, he has spent his energies since Jan. 20 strengthening the hand of his opponents and weakening his own party. All this might have added to the deficit in a big way, but Trump has always lived on debt. He could also have given himself more bargaining room by putting everyone, Democrats as well as Republicans, in play. His poll numbers are terrible, the Russia story has ballooned in importance, and Democrats are in no mood to throw him any lifelines.

Source: Washington Post September 11, 2017 00:00 UTC