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WATCH: Stormy scenes for Donald Trump on latest Time cover

Another month, another Time cover featuring Donald Trump. The illustration by Tim O’Brien f...
Newstalk
Newstalk

08.30 17 Feb 2017


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WATCH: Stormy scenes for Donal...

WATCH: Stormy scenes for Donald Trump on latest Time cover

Newstalk
Newstalk

08.30 17 Feb 2017


Share this article


Another month, another Time cover featuring Donald Trump.

The illustration by Tim O’Brien for the February/March edition of tjhe news magazine shows the US president sitting at his desk surrounded by dark clouds and rain.

Papers are seen swirling around him, as his hair and tie blow in the wind, with the simple caption: "Nothing to See Here".

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Philip Elliott, a Washington correspondent for the publication, says: "Name a political precept and he probably broke it during his improbable march to the White House.

"But disruption in government - the rulemaker breaking the rules - turns out to be more costly."

He adds: "Disruption can take many forms. Protesters have filled the streets, blocked airports and interrupted town-hall meetings by lawmakers across the country.

"Republicans, meanwhile, have been growing increasingly restless, with the House Oversight Committee probing Trump's security protocols for discussing classified information at his weekend retreat in Mar-a-Lago.

"In response, the White House has fallen back on its reality-show ways, distracted by the internecine drama of senior aides who spend their days mixing government business with jockeying for position and favour with the boss."

"Little takes place in the White House these days without a complication or contradiction," he says.

But Elliott writes: "Ultimately, Trump is the only person who can calm the storm, fan it further or just let the show go on.

"But the clock is ticking. Even popular new presidents enjoy a limited window of effectiveness, at best six to nine months."

He also points out that the US Congress needs to pass a spending bill by April 28th and another in September.

"That's before lawmakers tackle Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court or his big-ticket items like building a border wall, creating an infrastructure package, repealing Obamacare and replacing or rewriting the tax code.

"At some point, Trump may have to decide whether to risk his agenda by continuing with his old ways, or ditch what he knows best to get something done."

Illustration by Tim O'Brien for Time 

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