Top O’ the Briefing
Happy Friday, dear Kruiser Morning Briefing friends. Uzüuqyn never failed to wow with his International Meatball Rolodex and IKEA Dream soirées.
OK, I know I haven’t done the Mailbag of Magnificence for a few weeks. After deciding to move it to Mondays, I keep forgetting to get to it when I get back to work on Sunday nights. I’ll get to it again, I promise. Keep writing!
When I think back on President Trump’s first term — which seems like it happened 20 years ago — I remember it often felt as if he was getting as much pushback from Republicans as he was from Democrats. The GOP was a dysfunctional mess that lacked any real identity. I still cringe when remembering the spectacle of establishment Republicans and consultants openly talking about trying to sabotage Trump’s nomination at the Republican National Convention. The Never Trumpers had some cockamamie ideas about getting some bald freak from Utah on the ballot.
Once Trump was in office, the administration was a leaky ship full of people who weren’t brimming with loyalty.
Contrast that with the Trump 47 administration. I’ve frequently marveled at the fact that everyone is on the same page. Loyalty abounds, and everyone is laser-focused on making the president’s agenda a reality. More importantly, the Republican Party is a fairly well-oiled machine. Not perfect, but nothing like the impotent mess it was in 2017.
I’ve written a lot about President Trump transforming the personality of the GOP and making it a party that not only wants to fight, but keeps making sure that it is ready to. The idea that there is something noble in gentlemanly capitulation is no longer a thing. The Democrats definitely have not adjusted to the new Republican 2025 zeitgeist. On this side, many are still waiting for the other shoe to fall. A couple of times this week, I’ve mentioned that that feeling is going away. The Trump transformation of the Republican Party is sticking.
We got a great example of that this week, which Matt wrote about:
Senate Majority Leader John Thune has a reputation for being rather restrained and soft-spoken, but on Wednesday, he unleashed a blistering floor speech, lashing out at the Democrats and their shutdown shenanigans. Thune was visibly and audibly frustrated as he laid bare what many Republicans feel as the Schumer Shutdown drags into its fifth week.
The normally cool-tempered Thune was visibly and audibly furious as he stared down Senate Democrats across the aisle. His voice rose as he accused them of deliberately prolonging the shutdown for political gain while pretending to care about the Americans who are now suffering the consequences.
The post has video of the whole thing, and Thune really was on fire like I’ve never seen him. Matt goes on to quote someone who worked for Thune for three years and never heard him raise his voice.
Honestly, Thune has surprised me. He was Mitch McConnell’s righthand man, which is why he got the job. McConnell had gotten squirrely again and I worried that we would get more of that once his closest confidante took over for him. We’ve been spared McConnell 2.0, though, and we can obviously thank Trump for that.
I often wonder if the GOP could have gotten to this point with Trump without suffering through the Biden years. Sure, I would have preferred to not deal with any of that, but I do think it helped some of the squishier Republicans in Congress get on board with Trump for his second go-round.
John Thune’s handling of the shutdown has been fantastic. Chuck Schumer has been back on his heels the whole time and now even some of the Democrats’ most reliable voices in the mainstream media are placing the blame for it dragging out squarely on the Democrats. Maybe now that Thune has taken the Senate Dems to the woodshed we’ll see some dissension in the ranks over there.
I hope everyone has a great weekend.
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