by Nomad
Trump the Partisan President
Commentator John Dickerson on a recent episode of the podcast Slate's Political Gabfest, was talking to the show's host, David Plotz, about why President Donald Trump represents something new and foreboding in American politics.
He pointed out:
"One thing we are witnessing is our first purely partisan president. The rise of partisan politics in the presidency has been increasing since 1980 for a variety of reasons. But the idea of the president who could build a coalition from members of both parties- kind of fly above the party fights and pass legislation- has been declining.
According to Dickerson, there has been a sea change in the rhetoric under Trump. There was a time when a president would, at the least, give a nod to the idea of Americans' putting aside their differences and working together. True, most of it was less than sincere when push came to shove.
