Much is made about Trump's canniness in keeping his base tightly bound to him. And it's true. Trump has been good at shoveling red meat to his supporters. But working class white reactionaries do not approve of the Saudi royal family; they loathe them.
Attacking little Ilhan Omar comes off as all the more unseemly and perverse when Trump time and again is pictured in flagrante licking Saudi boots.
Trump's veto takes a sledgehammer to his conservative base. As Mark Landler and Peter Baker remind us in "Trump Vetoes Measure to Force End to U.S. Involvement in Yemen War," the Yemen War Powers resolution was co-sponsored by arch-Trump Republicans:
“This is deeply disappointing,” said Representative Ro Khanna, Democrat of California, who was one of the original sponsors of the measure in the House and had sought a meeting with Mr. Trump to try to persuade him to sign it.
“The president had the opportunity to sign a historic War Powers Resolution and stand with a bipartisan coalition, including his allies Rand Paul, Mark Meadows and Matt Gaetz, to stop endless wars,” Mr. Khanna said. “He failed to uphold the principles of the Constitution that give Congress power over matters of war and peace.”
Mr. Khanna was referring to the Republican senator from Kentucky, Mr. Paul, and two Republican representatives, from North Carolina and Florida, Mr. Meadows and Mr. Gaetz, who are closely aligned with Mr. Trump, but split with fellow Republicans to vote with Democrats in favor of the resolution. Members of the group had asked to meet with Mr. Trump to make their case against a veto, but the White House brushed them off.Trump is gambling that Yemen disappears as a campaign issue a year from now. His veto guarantees that it won't, particularly if the Sanders runaway train continues to gain speed.
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