Opinion: Trump paved the way for Alabama’s abortion law
By Dana Milbank Dana Milbank Op-ed columnist covering national politics Email Bio Follow Columnist May 20 at 7:07 PM The ship has sailed, the train has left the station, the horse is out of the barn, the genie is out of the bottle, and the toothpaste is out of the tube.
This is just one of many cases in which Trump seems to be catching up with the consequences of his own actions. His policies toward China, Iran and on the southern border have likewise produced a variety of ill effects and unforeseen consequences. Unforeseen, but not unforeseeable: Trump seems to govern by smashing crockery, undoing decades of precedent and causing upheaval for its own sake — without much regard for what the consequences might be.
At some point, though, the consequences show themselves. Trump, for example, turned Iran policy upside down, pulling out of the “horrible” Iran nuclear agreement negotiated by the Obama administration and badgering European allies to accept tough new sanctions against Iran. In the broader trade dispute with China, Trump slapped tariffs on Chinese goods to push China to negotiate. But trade talks broke down; China’s retaliatory tariffs have caused a growing number of farm bankruptcies, while U.S. steel consumers and natural-gas producers have also been hurt.
On the border, Trump vowed a hard-line policy to reduce illegal immigration, but it had the opposite effect. His threats of zero tolerance induced migrants to hurry across the border, his alarms about America’s vulnerability to “caravans” encouraged more, and his crackdown on lawful asylum seekers spurred illegal crossings. Apprehensions at the border exceeded 100,000 for a second straight month in April, the highest in 12 years.
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