Free of court cases and full of power, Donald Trump has never been calmer | Opinion
A mellow Donald Trump? Apparently anything is possible.
The description of the president-elect comes from Robert Costa, the chief election and campaign correspondent for CBS News who previously worked at The Washington Post covering politics.
Costa came to Fresno Monday to meet with students at Fresno State and to be the featured speaker at an event sponsored by the Kenneth L. Maddy Institute, which fosters nonpartisan civic engagement.
Blake Zante, executive director of the institute, asked Costa about the state of America’s politics as well as the significance of the San Joaquin Valley in national elections.
Costa began getting to know Trump in the the 2016 presidential campaign, and then helped cover him when he was elected to the White House the first time.
Trump’s first administration was characterized by chaos, with conflicting policy statements commonplace. Trump routinely acted outside the norms of the presidency established by those who came before him, like snubbing world leaders he did not like when they gathered for conferences.
Trump is also well known for using ALL CAPS in social media posts late at night to name-call those he dislikes and express his outrage at perceived slights.
But unlike 2020, when Trump falsely claimed he had won the election over Democrat Joe Biden, he has calmly taken last month’s win over Vice President Kamala Harris.
Costa noted that the president-elect no longer faces perils in court. Trump was found guilty of fraud in a New York case that has been suspended. A case involving mishandling presidential records, a crime, was thrown out of court and not reinstated. A special prosecutor’s case against Trump for trying to subvert the 2020 election has been dropped. And a Georgia case accusing Trump of trying to subvert that state’s election results has been suspended.
Trump will also enjoy a Republican-led Senate and a super-slim GOP majority in the House. So his policy goals stand a good chance of getting through Congress.
“We see in President-elect Trump one fully comfortable with power,” Costa said. “I have never seen him calmer. He is what I call Zen Trump.”
Trump the pragmatist
While Trump is the standard bearer for the Republican party – indeed, Costa said Trump is the GOP – he actually is pragmatic when it comes to decision making.
Costa said Trump’s approach is this: “I just trust my gut. I am common sense.”
That stands in contrast to conservative ideologues in Trump’s orbit like Steve Bannon, a strident nationalist who wants “America First” to be the determining principle, Costa explained.
Trump has already lined up his cabinet appointments, and plans to take a multitude of actions on his first day based on campaign promises he made, such as deporting undocumented people out of the nation.
Costa noted that Trump says he will first focus on migrants who are accused of crimes. “But there are no guarantees” that will be how Trump’s deportation program actually starts, he added.
In other words, any undocumented person caught by federal agents could be removed.
Should major deportations actually occur, it could be disruptive to American society, Costa said, even as Trump is clear about doing it.
How deportations work will determine whether Democrats are willing to work with Trump on issues, Costa said. He believes Trump will be more bipartisan than would be expected, given his rhetoric over the years characterizing Democrats as “evil.”
One area both Republicans and Democrats can work together is tax cuts, Costa said. The reductions were engineered in Trump’s first term but expire at the end of next year. Members of both parties want to be able to tell voters they cut taxes, so bipartisanship on this issue is possible in the new Congress, Costa said.
Getting to know Fresno State
Costa shared how much he has enjoyed visiting Fresno and meeting students at the university. He first came to Fresno State in 2017 when Trump was starting out.
In his introduction, university President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval presented Costa with a red Fresno State tie. Costa joked he will wear it on the nightly news.
Costa characterized the San Joaquin Valley as a crossroads of American politics. It is where key national issues play out – immigration, trade and tariffs, agriculture and water – and so it is logical it has some of the closest races for Congress in the nation. In fact, America’s final race to be decided is California’s congressional District 13, which covers a part of Fresno County.
Costa was asked by an audience member if civility and bipartisanship in politics will ever return.
He said topics people used to talk about – music, movies, and yes, politics – are now kept private as Americans read social media on their phones. This isolation behavior has lessened the public square.
Maybe our nation’s politics were never as civil as we like to think, Costa said.
“It is a rough country, but a beautiful country. And there is no place better than Fresno.”
This story was originally published December 4, 2024 at 5:30 AM.