WASHINGTON (AP) – Washington policymakers have a time-tested method for rolling out new ideas: float a trial balloon. Spread rumors of a policy change or selectively leak it to the press, then see how it plays and proceed only if it looks doable.
President Donald Trump has flipped that script.
Big and startling ideas fly out of his mouth or from his Twitter feed. Then the rest of his administration scrambles to catch up and to figure out when his statements are new presidential policies or just offhand remarks that mean little.
In the past week alone, Trump has suggested he’s open to higher gas taxes, tweeted that a government shutdown could be a good thing and opened the door to a possible future meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.