Trump is stalled and caught in a Republican civil war, Washington Post reporter says

President Donald Trump has been unable to pass any substantial legislation because he’s a Washington outsider, the Republican Party is in the midst of a civil war, and he’s “plagued by distractions” – notably the investigation into his campaign’s possible collusion with Russia, Washington Post political reporter Robert Costa said Monday in Fresno.

“He’s stalled,” Costa said, “but he’s also a relentless personality that likes to cobble together alliances to get things done, so within the stall we see the president cutting deals with Democrats … the president is making surprising in-roads with Democrats.”

Costa spoke with reporters at Fresno State before presenting, “Inside Trump’s Washington: The Rise and Stall of an Outsider President,” on Monday night during a lecture series featuring guests invited by Fresno State President Joseph Castro. He said Costa is uniquely positioned to help “de-mystify” what’s happening in Washington, D.C., for those in the central San Joaquin Valley.

The lecture was co-sponsored by The Fresno Bee, Valley PBS and KSEE 24.

Costa has regularly interviewed Trump since 2013. Costa covers Congress and the White House for The Post, is a political analyst for NBC News and MSNBC and moderates PBS’s “Washington Week.”

He said many Trump voters overlooked things they didn’t like about Trump because he represented change and the promise of an improved economy to many struggling Americans.

“The frustrations I encounter are beyond political anger,” Costa said of his reporting across the nation. “It’s an anger about the whole direction of the country.”

Costa said the Republican Party’s agenda stayed similar to that of the Reagan administration in the 1980s – focused on “hawkish foreign policy, lower taxes and fewer regulations” – until recent years when rising anger against the Republican establishment led to the creation of the Tea Party during President Barack Obama’s administration.

“What we’re seeing is a Republican Party in many respects splitting apart – not formally, there’s no third party yet – but we’re seeing the rise of populism and grievance politics inside a Republican Party that’s still clinging in part to President Reagan’s principles. And so we’re watching the Republican Party go through its own civil war, its own wrenching redevelopment as President Trump is in office.”

Costa said Trump called him in March to share his frustrations with his party after he was unable to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, the health care overhaul that former President Obama signed into law. It’s one of many promises he’s been unable to deliver, Costa said, among them striking down trade deals and sweeping immigration reform – including the building of his signature border wall between the U.S. and Mexico.

Recently, Trump has relied more on his executive authority, much as Obama did, Costa said. As Trump strives to break out of his stall, the Post reporter said, the next big test will be whether he’ll be able to provide tax cuts, a “central tenant of the GOP.”

Costa also talked about Trump’s relentless criticism of the media and his use of the term, “fake news.” There’s an important difference between fictional news stories, which should be criticized, Costa said, and someone calling a story fake because they don’t like its content.

Costa said he welcomes scrutiny of stories when that criticism is “fair and not politically driven.”

He encouraged the media not to be baited by this rhetoric but instead stay focused on being “vigorous chroniclers of American life.” He said the press is sometimes portrayed as out of touch and needs to do a better job of getting out into the country to tell stories about how policies are affecting people.

In covering future elections, Costa said, it’s important for the media to “pay more attention to unconventional figures in American politics” like Trump and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and take their candidacies seriously.

“I have a sign on my desk that says, ‘Assume nothing.’ ”

Costa met with Fresno State students and staff ahead of his Monday talk and said he enjoyed his visit to Fresno – including its friendly people, fresh produce and Fresno State football – and that the agricultural central San Joaquin Valley reminded him of where he attended college, the University of Notre Dame.

This story was originally published October 16, 2017 at 8:39 PM with the headline "Trump is stalled and caught in a Republican civil war, Washington Post reporter says."