But...
I think on his first day in the Oval and for some days, weeks, maybe months thereafter, Donald Trump, in his insouciance and profound ignorance, sincerely wanted to do good, as he saw it, for his base. Yes, he was going to grab all he could for himself; no, he didn't care about the law or his constitutional oath. And yes, he still would have "grown" into the utter horror he was, the most dangerous man ever to bespoil the office, no less a catastrophe for his base, for the country, for Democracy in America. So no "what ifs" The answer to every "what if" is still horror. Could he have done some good nonetheless?
The Las Vegas Massacre. Oct. 2017, months after inauguration. By all accounts Trump was shaken by the massacre; came in the next work day and wanted to do something about assault weapons. In his campaign he had said Republicans are "scared" of the NRA, that's why nothing got done on gun control. He, on the other hand, would have the courage. Yeah, well...
You remember "Chuck and Nancy." That meeting occurred in 2019. He sincerely wanted to work with Democrats on fixing Obamacare. During the 2016 campaign he argued plausibly, compellingly, that he could work with Democrats. "I used to be one."
Trump didn't do shit on either of them. He was in way over his head on health care (would have been in over his head if the water was plate deep). Remember "Who knew health care was so hard?
The menage a trois lasted ONE day. Trump didn't know what he didn't know so that was never going to happen.
On gun control he successfully added 1+1. Gun control necessary+Republicans scared=no gun control. What if Trump had gone to his base with an assault rifle band? Wait, I know, he urged his base in an Alabama rally to get vaxed this year and got booed. It probably wouldn't have worked with gun control either, but...The vax advice was after two years of Trump disdaining the science. The Las Vegas massacre was in Oct. 2017.
He had/has a svengali-like hold on his base base. "What do you like about Donald Trump?" "Everything." "They don't CARE about his stands on the issues. They care about HIM. They believe he won't screw them over." What if, in Oct. 2017, he had gone to his supporters and INSTRUCTED them: "You don't hunt with an assault rifle! DON'T GIVE ME THAT! We're going to ban assault rifles!" Nixon and China like. Probably nothing. Mitch McConnell and the others would have had the green shits for a couple of days...What if Trump had kept at it, gone every weekend between rounds of golf for months holding one-issue rallies, "WE'RE GOING TO BAN ASSAULT RIFLES!"? McConnell, et al would have had the shits for months... They still would have had to vote on it. What are the chances that Trump could so rile his base OVER GUN CONTROL that an orange wave of filth would have swamped McConnell and his swamp monsters into banning assault rifles? NONE! Trump's base storming the capitol in favor of gun control? No. Fucking. Chance.
Like on health care, Trump folded after one day. After one conversation. He asked his chief of staff Mick Mulvaney the day after, "What are we going to do about assault rifles?" "Nothing." "Why not?" "Because you'd lose."
