There is thinking. And hoping. And promising. And talking.
But then there is the doing part.
Trump thinks, wishes, promises, and talks a lot. But he has no understanding of the separation of powers or the legislative process and no interest in pausing "Fox and Friends" long enough to learn about them. With Trump, passing legislation is three consecutive fumbles setting up a 4th-and-45 situation and then a punt out of his own end zone--back to the Republicans in Congress.
Trump the candidate promised to kill Obamacare. But Trump never even bothered to learn what was actually in the various Trumpcare bills, so therefore he couldn't help get more votes for it. He yelled at Republicans because he didn't have the knowledge to persuade them or compromise with them. That backfired spectacularly, especially with Murkowski and McCain. When the bill failed, he blamed his own Congress and insisted that they keep trying to pass a bill--any kind of bill, as he still has yet to offer any guidance to his own legislators because he has no real personal opinion on what the solution should be and no interest in taking the time to learn how health insurance works. So he punted health care back to Congress and threatened them with primary opponents if they don't pass something.
Trump promised endlessly during the campaign that he would get Mexico to pay for a border wall. Now he admits that the American taxpayers will pay for it. But he has no real personal opinion on how that wall should be funded or any interest in taking the time to learn the various ways in which funding could be secured. So he has punted the wall back to Congress, threatening to shut down the government if they can't get the money.
Trump the candidate unequivocally swore to end DACA. Trump the President hinted at reversing himself, saying that he "loved" the Dreamers, that they had "nothing to fear" from him, and that he would provide a solution for them that would show "a lot of heart." He had in effect backed himself deep in his own end zone. Trump has no personal opinion of how DACA should actually be ended, so he demanded that his advisors give him "a way out." In the end, he punted the Dreamers back to Congress, giving them six months to figure out what he couldn't figure out. (In the end, he didn't even want to convey this directive himself because of the considerable political downside, so he even punted the public announcement of his decision--to Jeff Sessions, the lap-monkey attorney general who Trump has repeatedly waterboarded in public.)
There's no doubt at this point that we will see the same total absence of leadership and accomplishment from Trump in the coming months when it comes to raising the debt ceiling, passing a budget, providing relief for the hurricane victims, reforming the tax code, and on and on and on. It's entirely possible that Trump will not pass a single piece of major legislation in his entire term, much less before next year's midterms. The third-string waterboy who has been too busy tweeting to read the playbook has become the quarterback, and from here on out it'll be threats to his teammates in the huddle, three plays and nothing but dust followed by ever more feeble punts. The only real action will be the intra-team fist fights on the GOP sidelines during commercials for MAGA hats.
