In yesterday’s blog on Fatigue, I mentioned a new kind of fatigue: Trump Fatigue. It’s a combination of information fatigue, “impairment caused by excessive information”, and voter fatigue, “public apathy about elections” (Wiki). I have been suffering from Trump Fatigue since he got elected as the 45th President.
I am not alone in my Trump Fatigue. Trump Fatigue is affecting bystanders, media, stakeholders, supporters and voters. The clearest sign of Trump Fatigue is his continuously deteriorating approval rating. This rating has been dropping since his inauguration. It’s now around – or (well) below – 40%, depending on your pick of polls (eg, 538, Gallup, RCP, RR). I wonder who will surrender first: the remaining Trump voters or the Republicans in Congress?
Recently, Trump Fatigue has reached the Republican party. Bipartisan efforts are quite rare in Washington and even more so when they curb the power of the President. Nevertheless, bipartisan efforts were made on (1) the Russia sanctions bill, (2) bills to protect Robert Mueller who is investigating RussiaGate, and (3) the joint blocking of recess appointments during Congress’ summer break (eg, CNN, the Hill).
I’ve been wondering whether Trump Fatigue was/is his deliberate strategy or an unintentional consequence. I’m inclined to opt for consequential as Trump also shows clear signs of fatigue (eg, leaks, media, the Republican GOP). On 2 August 2017, the Twitter account of the Russian Prime Minister even showed signs of Trump Fatigue: “The Trump administration has shown its total weakness by handing over executive power to Congress in the most humiliating way”.
Only Trump’s adversaries show no sign of Trump Fatigue. The RussiaGate investigation by Robert Mueller may take many more months. I’ve been wondering whether the duration of this investigation is a deliberate strategy or an unintentional consequence. Partly, it’s consequential as this probe can only be done once. Partly, it must be deliberate as it enrages Trump, and stressed people make more mistakes (eg, ForensicMag, ScienceNordic, TIME).
Hence, Trump Fatigue will affect many more people and Trump’s approval rating may go below 30%. According to a recent Foreign Policy article, Donald Trump “is already a lame duck President”, while only being 200 days in office on 7 August 2017. The next billionaire may already be lining up for the 2020 U.S. presidential election: Mark Zuckerberg (eg, Wired).
The collusion of 2 out of the 7 Belief systems, being Money and Politics, is worrisome. Some call this collusion a kleptocracy, like ex-U.S. government ethics chief Walter Shaub (eg, Guardian). Others, like American singer-songwriter Conor Oberts, claim that Trump “wants to replicate Russian oligarchy in America” (eg, CNN).
I remain optimistic, partly because of this Benjamin Franklin quote: “Fatigue is the best pillow.”
Tyrone (1997) by Erykah Badu – artist, FB, lyrics, video, Wiki-1, Wiki-2
I’m gettin’ tired of your shit
You don’t never buy me nothin’
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