N ow that President Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan have suffered a humiliating defeat on the new health care bill designed to replace ObamaCare, what do the Republican leaders do next? The …
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Now that President Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan have suffered a humiliating defeat on the new health care bill designed to replace ObamaCare, what do the Republican leaders do next?The best thing the president could do is step back and analyze his presidency, which should include keeping his speaking voice in low gear, and try to reach out not only to Democrats but to his own Republican Party.Wouldn’t it be nice if President Trump would not tweet or say anything for a week or two? He still thinks what worked in the campaign, that is, sounding off on an array of issues, and getting all kinds of free publicity, especially on television, will endear him to his followers in Congress. Mr. President, you are wrong. It won’t work with Congress.If your personality is what you say it is — that you are Mr. Persuader, par excellence — and if you are as smart as you say you are, build bridges lighted with communication, beginning with members of your party. Can you do that?We don’t know if the new health care bill was the right one to replace ObamaCare. Apparently, the majority of our people in Congress weren’t sold on it.What needs to be done is for Trump to become a coalition builder. The opportunity is there. We don’t know what Speaker Ryan can do to repair the damage. He has a bigger challenge than President Trump. The repair job is going to take time. The Speaker has to build credibility.Other presidents have been dealt powerful blows by Congress. The smart ones swallowed their aching pride and moved forward in a positive manner. The not so bright ones never recovered and ended up with accomplishing very little. Few presidents before The Donald had the ego the size of Trump’s.We all are in a waiting pattern wondering, What’s Next?