So What Went Wrong?

In light of #sharpiegate and Hurricane #AlaDoriangate, Donald Trump's latest personal meltdown, I feel I have to make this comment, for what it's worth.

I have to wonder if Trump knows he could have been the greatest president in the entire history of the United States, something he hopes for and would complete his fondest dream.  After the usual shenanigans of the rough-and-tumble primaries and 2016 election, he could have done a complete 180°. 

It was already widely known that his friendship with and financial contributions to both sides of the political aisle (Democrats and Republicans) had always been a plus going for him, and something he could have built on and used to his and everyone's advantage.  With complete backing of a GOP congress for the first two years, he could have gotten so much done that basically all the people of America want:

• a major infrastructure program which would also have further stimulated the economy
• some sort of affordable healthcare for all, as he once promised
• comprehensive immigration reform, including for DACA
• a full-speed-ahead, no-holds-barred green energy program
• higher education promotion and assistance, a tide that lifts all our boats
• reasonable gun regulations to mitigate mass shootings, our U.S. way of life today.  

He’d still have kept his entire 30-something % base relatively happy (since he can do no wrong with them), and he’d have won over political factions of all stripes, including progressives who say they want all these things too. He would have been considered godlike, going down in the history books right alongside of Washington, Lincoln and FDR. We’d even be seriously suggesting putting his face on Mt. Rushmore. Wow!

But did he try to address and accomplish these difficult problems?  No.  He squandered his political capital on, among other things:

• a border wall NOT paid for by Mexico, but out of our states’ military budgets
• a trillion-and-a-half dollar tax break to the already wealthy, most of whom reinvested it in stock buybacks of their own companies
• managed to make our society, this beautiful melting pot experiment called America, even more xenophobic

As history played out, to Donald Trump and everyone else’s surprise, he became the unlikely President of the United States, was handed the keys to the most powerful office on the planet which was served up to him on a silver platter, but wasted that kind of power and influence on self-interest.

Do you agree with this assessment?  What did I get wrong?  Let’s discuss.