How do we manage President Donald Trump?
asserted
we → manage → Trump
He’s our president.
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He → ’ → ?
He works for us.
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He → work → us
It makes sense to maximize his effectiveness, right?
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It → make → effectiveness
That requires management.
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That → require → management
The trouble is, one of the things that makes Trump, well, Trump is his creativity, unpredictability, and instinctive nature.
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Trump → make → things
All three are nullified by sticking to a rigid playbook.
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three → nullify → playbook
Which is why it’s best to manage Trump via the child’s game of “Hot and Cold.”
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it → ’ → Hot
Don’t police his tactics — but give him feedback when he’s directionally misaligned.
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he → police → feedback
That’s our job as managers.
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That → ’ → managers
If you think Trump’s three biggest mistakes were not passing the SAVE America Act, growing the debt, and the Iran war, have at it.
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mistakes → think → it
But even if that were true, there’s no viable course-correction before Election Day.
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that → ’ → Day
This op-ed is a call-to-action that’s executable today — so the Republicans can win the 2026 midterm elections.
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Republicans → ’ → elections
And besides, I don’t deal in “substance.”
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I → deal → substance
Here are the three biggest mistakes Trump is making right now — and how to correct them ASAP.
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Trump → make → them
Mistake No. 1: Focusing too much energy on ballrooms, legacy projects, and DC beautification
In the grand scheme of things, does renaming the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts or building a ballroom matter?
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renaming → focus → ballroom
And with a federal budget of $7 trillion annually, does anyone care if Trump spent $15 million to repair the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool?
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Trump → care → Pool
War matters.
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War → matter → ?
Prosperity matters.
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Prosperity → matter → ?
Freedom matters.
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Freedom → matter → ?
A snazzy new ballroom doesn’t matter even a little bit.
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ballroom → matter → ?
Yet these and other projects are receiving heavy media attention.
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projects → receive → attention
They’re oxygen-sucking storylines.
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They → ’re → ?
Newsflash for Republicans: the legacy media isn’t pushing these stories because they make Trump look good!
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Trump → push → stories
Trump’s legacy projects are occupying too much real estate in the attention economy.
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projects → occupy → economy
It’s helping the media — and thus, the Democrats — brand him as a wannabe monarch who’s building monuments to himself while half the country struggles to afford gas and groceries.
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country → help → gas
I don’t care about statues.
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I → care → statues
Because I’m not a pigeon.
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I → ’m → ?
Stop helping the media hurt you!
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media → stop → you
New York Times journalist Maggie Haberman estimated that 70% of Trump’s mindshare “goes to his gilding, construction, renovation, renaming and tribute projects.”
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% → estimate → projects
Whether that’s true isn’t the point: Trump’s actions fueled this narrative.
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actions → ’ → narrative
He exposed his own jugular.
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He → expose → jugular
That’s not to say renovations weren’t helpful.
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renovations → ’ → ?
As the Heritage Foundation noted, “If D.C. were a state, it would have the highest homicide rate.
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it → note → rate
But we don’t need to hear any more stories about whether or not the Kennedy Center ought to add Trump’s name.
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Center → need → name
It’s not only off-message; it’s handing PR ammo to the Democrats.
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it → ’ → Democrats
Reopen when the midterm elections are over.
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elections → reopen → ?
Mistake No. 2: Not focusing enough on crime and border security
These two issues tell the same story: Trump and the GOP inherited a problem that the Democrats botched — and immediately achieved historic results.
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Democrats → focus → results
We’ve now gone 15 straight months of zero releases at the border.
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We → go → border
And even though the media stubbornly insisted that “there was no link between undocumented immigrants and a rise in violent or property crime,” that’s not what our data suggests.
uncertain
data → insist → what
…and 41 more, not listed.
The Aporia
