It's hardly a surprise that Steve Bannon declared the Trump presidency -- the one "we fought for and won" -- dead a few hours after he was banished from Trump's White House.
The former chief strategist to the President has always enjoyed a grand view of himself and, especially after helping guide Trump to victory last year, grandiose ideas about his ability to reshape the American political landscape. Bannon's plans, though, were quickly interrupted when it came time to work the levers of government. His florid notion of an ascendant "economic nationalism" -- the kind that could birth a generational coalition -- has so far wilted after just seven months in the West Wing.
Bannon isn't the first political operative with a better sense of how to sell ideas than realize them. Nor is he unique in seeking to cast his departure from the halls of power as the end of a hopeful era. But his suggestion that the administration is entering a new phase rings true.
Trump's failure to gut Obamacare, followed by last week's meltdown in the aftermath of Charlottesville -- and the President's own assessment of each -- are the essential factors to consider when mapping out where his presidency is headed. The political capital poured into the health care push was a historic bust. Not only was Trump denied the "win" he so desperately craved, but in stumbling over such unpopular legislation, he diminished his dealmaking brand and with it, his ability to push the next item on the GOP to-do list: tax reform.
Now, with his economic agenda on the skids, Trump is dropping the pretense and pivoting to an outright culture war.
For all that is unprecedented about this President and his administration, his response to the deadly attack in Charlottesville was fundamentally unsurprising. Trump is a voracious consumer of political media and Fox News is at the core of his diet. Under pressure, he articulated his growing frustration as cultural grievance.
"You are changing history, you're changing culture," Trump said during his Tuesday press conference. Then, two days later, he returned to the point on Twitter, writing in a series of posts, "Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments. You can't change history, but you can learn from it. Robert E Lee, Stonewall Jackson - who's next, Washington, Jefferson? So foolish!"
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