The GOP’s attempts at reform have failed, and the President’s account of his own views on the topic seems to vary all the time.
And the Republicans have forgotten how to stop a demagogue from becoming their presidential candidate.
The President insists that he and the Prime Minister ‘like each other a lot’.
They offer the best chance to maintain influence in Syria to counter Moscow, but the question of their ongoing conflict with Turkey must be addressed.
Indeed, the next shutdown might come before very long. And there’s no sign that Trump or his opponents are in a compromising mood.
It can be hard to look past the President’s excesses – but the realities of government and the economy tell a more mixed story than you might assume.
The pessimism of some at home is contradicted by the successes of British businesses, and the rising interest in the UK that I see around the world.
That means taking back full control – then using our new-found independence to its greatest possible benefit.
The circumstances may be exceptional, but the populist hurricane that bore him into the White House is clearly on the wane.
The loud disapproval of those who never liked him anyway, and a possibly violent response in the Arab world, serve the President’s purposes.
With an alarmingly few legislative days before Christmas, a looming shutdown is the last thing Congress and the White House needs on their plates right now.
The Republicans are so determined to rid themselves of their candidate the leadership is thinking of running a write-in challenger.
Many Leave voters may dislike the necessary kowtowing to President Trump just as much as they did our deference to Brussels.