Trumpiana: POTUS LOTUS grumpus ‘veto-us’

Pool pool on the mall, who’s the greatest loser of them all?As the midnight massacre of red Republicans turned Washington’s Reflecting Pool deep Democratic blue, Donald Trump turned a petulant “Political Pundit, both good and bad,” to find scapegoats for the stinging rebuke.For once, POTUS 45& 47 who had undertaken a 3o-state blistering blitz over 32 days to fire up his MAGA base exhorting them to pretend he was on the ballot— 47 times by a New York Times count — was “absolutely willing” to accept the election results — but the blame, no way!“I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!” declared an unfazed Trump on Truth Social blaming everyone from individual candidates to even Fox News but himself, as the Republicans rout robbed them of control of both chambers of the Congress.As the writing on the wall became clear on election night, Trump told the Times he looked forward to working with Democrats even as he flexed his veto muscles. “I have total veto power, so they have to come to us,” he said. “And if they have some good ideas, I’m certainly open to working.”While his Vice President JD Vance suggested on X that the “real reason” for the Republican’s widespread losses was anger over Iran war, Trump himself had no regrets for a “very wise decision for the future of the country and the world” saying he “would do that again.”He acknowledged that voters were unhappy about gas prices. “They don’t mind the Iran, but they probably weren’t happy — they weren’t happy with the oil price,” Trump said.But he insisted that he regretted nothing about the first two years of his second term, despite the widespread Republican defeats. “I consider it to be the most successful two-year period in the history of any president,” he told the Times.And as Trump’s enemies and frenemies at home and abroad gleefully viewed him as a “hobbled duck,” he lost no time in declaring a new war with a photo of a red baseball cap with just one word “VETO” followed by another of a glaring Trump reminding everyone, “PSA: TRUMP IS STILL YOUR PRESIDENT.”Then as Friday rolled in Trump replaced his “Ice Maiden” chief of staff Susie Wiles with her deputy Stephen Miller, a key architect of his tough immigration crackdown and other provocative policies, signalling his intention to double down on his hard-line MAGA agenda with an aggressive approach to executive power.And while liberal critics lamented the “exit of another powerful woman,” Trump announced wily Wiles, a key architect of his own 2024 victory, will be moving over to the Trump Political Operation, signalling that he wasn’t going to loosen his hold on Republican party any time soon.With the curtain finally down on the most expensive midterm elections with ultra wealthy donors spending an estimated $2 billion with tech titan Elon Musk alone contributing $474 million to Republican groups, candidates and their allies, Trump returned to more pressing matters of state — like making Washington beautiful again.Less than 24 hours after the Republican rout, Trump was back boasting about his big beautiful ballroom, rhapsodizing about its “magnificent” columns carved out of limestone, 50ft-high ceilings, ability to hold more than 300 guests, heavy-set beams, “drone-proof” roof, thick marble floors and military-grade bunker.“The whole thing is a miracle, and it’s all because of you,” Trump told gathered reporters and network TV cameras at a White House event to congratulate his team making no mention of Democrats’ ‘blue wave’ for more than 20 minutes.“Look, I’ll get along probably with the Democrats, unless they want to be destructive, but I have the power of the veto,” Trump said when he finally got round to answering questions.It was a fitting finale to the campaign for Trump who chose to make his last pitch to voters at the Reflecting Pool, touting his troubled $14 million renovation project and accusing his bêtes noires Barack Obama and Joe Biden of neglecting the Washington landmark.Holding up a blown-up photo of the pool before he cleaned it up, Trump said, “The algae is brutal. It forms easily … All you saw was dirt and filth and paper and everything else for years.”And then as Trump quickly won approval for his controversial 250-foot-high “Triumphal Arch” from a planning commission led by his own appointees, a desi federal judge promptly blocked its construction for 14 days.Back in the White House, Trump signed a proclamation declaring his gilded Oval Office a “national monument” — to his blunderbuss rule — to preserve his kitschy renovations as a “landmark for the ages.”His first executive act after the midterm drubbing “would ensure the West Wing rooms would not be “touched by anybody, destroyed, ripped down by stupid people, in order to build something in a slightly different shape,” he declared sitting behind the Resolute Desk.On the desk next to him sat a red baseball cap emblazoned with the word “Veto” – an explicit reminder of how he planned to confront the new Democratic-controlled Congress next year. He followed it up with his glaring picture in black and white proclaiming ‘Mr Veto.’Earlier on the result night, as shadows lengthened outside, Trump complaining, “It’s so dark outside, so early…Isn’t that ridiculous?” vowed to“keep fighting” for year-round daylight saving time. “Just a few days ago it was so nice and sunny at this same time,” he reminisced nostalgically.Alas, all the king’s executive fiats and all the king’s vetoes can’t put the clock back on the midterm blues!(By arrangement with The American Bazaar) You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.