Trump recently blocked a government funding bill before endorsing a new proposal that would extend the debt ceiling until 2027, though 38 Republicans opposed it. Speaking on American Agenda, Halperin noted that these actions disrupted Trump’s “momentum” but argued that regaining support from “all Republicans” and “some Democrats” on major policy matters could help him recover.
“Look, for the first part of the transition, Donald Trump looked like a colossus. He seemed to have a lot of momentum. The Democratic incumbent president seemed to be either a negative for his party or a zero,” Halperin said. “I think the caution for team Trump is what happened in the last few days, which is Donald Trump said, ‘Kill one bill, give me another bill, including raising the debt ceiling.’ And 30 Republicans said no.”
“Now, if they go for policy and they can convince Democrats that they’re on the wrong side of history on things like immigration, I think they could gain some momentum. This is not just a one-off. What policy? One by one. Momentum matters a lot at the beginning of an administration,” he continued. “And if they can get some Democrats on board, all Republicans on board, I think unity could be the word of the day going into the fall. If they can’t, I think he’ll retreat back, as presidents do, to the base.”
Halperin also voiced doubts about whether Trump would focus on the core promises of his campaign.
“What hangs in the balance is whether Donald Trump succeeds in focusing on the things he ran on: Immigration, cutting taxes, cutting regulation, ending the forever wars,” he said. “Those aren’t partisan issues if they’re handled right. Let’s see if he keeps the focus there or moves on to other things.”
Earlier, during the negotiations over the continuing resolution, Halperin described Trump’s transition as “extraordinarily successful” on December 17.
“When we say here that the transition is not only unusual, but unusually successful, it’s just a factual statement. It’s not about rooting for Trump. It’s not about not holding him accountable for not telling the truth. It’s about the reality,” Halperin said. “Now, this may not translate into the presidency, but there are signs that it could, and it probably in some ways will. But this is extraordinarily successful, what he’s doing.”
