It is among the most famous phrases in presidential history: “ The buck stops here.” Except with Donald Trump, it almost never does.
Concerns about a weak economy and still-high inflation? His predecessor, Joe Biden, saddled him with that, he says, even though the Democrat has been out of office for 18-plus months and despite Trump once promising an immediate turnaround.
The problem-plagued revamp of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool? That was marred by vandalism, the Republican president insists, even though the office of a prosecutor he put in the job has said the damage was due to shoddy workmanship.
The increasingly unpopular war in Iran that has kept oil prices high, Trump’s approval rating low and sent shock waves through the global economy? Actually, this was Trump making up for timid earlier presidents who, he argues, squandered nearly 50 years of opportunities to curb Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
Is this different than when Democrats repeat their failed mistakes over and over and blame everyone else but themselves?
“But the Democrats!”
I’m reminded of a joke that involves Cokie Roberts and how she would hypothetically cover a news story about some prominent conservative, like Newt Gingrich, if they were literally lighting actual kittens on fire and tossing them into heavy traffic.
Cokie: “But the Democrats!”
Both refuse to take responsibility for their failures and voters carry water to cover for them because they wont take responsibility for them being in power.