‘I’m Baffled’: Mark Halperin Says Trump’s ‘Opponents’ Have Been Completely Failing To Block His Agenda

Veteran journalist Mark Halperin said on his podcast Friday that he’s “baffled” at the seemingly ineffective efforts of President Donald Trump’s opponents to thwart his political agenda.

In “The Commentary Magazine Podcast,” Halperin said he’s out of words for the Trump administration and added that the public and the media are witnessing only a fraction of what’s actually happening.

“I’m paid to not be baffled or speechless. That’s been my job. I’m baffled and somewhat speechless. I’ve been thinking in the last couple days. Is there anything in my career as a journalist that I’ve covered that I’d compare to this? And the answer is no,” Halperin said. “I’ve covered presidential campaigns, governments, Oklahoma City bombing, OJ Simpson trial. I’ve covered lots of big complex stories. I find this to be extraordinary and singular.”

Reflecting on the early weeks of past second terms, such as those of Clinton, Bush, and Obama, Halperin said, “It’s nothing like this for obvious reasons. But it also is a second term presidency in the sense that he’s experienced. He knows more about how to do the job and what he wants.”

Trump’s time away from the courtroom, Halperin said, has allowed him to strategically plan his return to power, aiming to enact what he called a “revolution” in American politics.

“And the theater of it and the personality and the historical narrative arc are all of course super compelling but what matters is the real lives of real people and the impact this is going to have on not just American government and the world, but American history,” Halperin said. “And I think on that score, based on the early returns here after a couple weeks, this turns the Reagan Revolution a joke. It makes the notion that George W. Bush came into Washington really shake things up. There’s no comparison, what they’re doing.”