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You can’t make this stuff up

A formal House impeachment inquiry does not bring out the best in our elected officials, but it does bring out some of the stranger statements of “fact” and insinuations.

My favorite statement of “fact” this week comes from Rep. Henry Cuellar (D, TX), a strong supporter of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement – no small priority for agriculture broadly – who was asked if the hell-bent-for-leather impeachment inquiry could derail the House legislative agenda, possibly delaying USMCA ratification.  

“We can walk and chew gum at the same time,” the lawmaker assured one questioner.  While self-disciplined legislators should be able to do more than one task at once – and hopefully Cuellar’s confidence in congressional multi-tasking is justified – it’s never a good idea to hand off such a straight line to anyone with a computer and an Internet connection.

Now, before I share the my favorite insinuation, I want to be perfectly clear I understand this administration has pretty much cornered the “you-can’t-make-this-stuff-up” quarter of politicking, especially when it comes to unconventional, unexpected and sometimes, incredible statements.

So when Trump added impeachment insult to impeachment injury by standing on the White House South Lawn openly declaring to the assembled media the governments of China and the Ukraine should investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, the next question from reporters should have been no surprise.

Would there be a quid pro quo in the U.S.-China tariff talks, as in would Trump predicate a tariff deal only if China investigates the Bidens?

The president denied he’d connect his called-for Chinese investigation into the Biden boys to any tariff détente with China.   “That has nothing to do with it,” he said when asked if he would link a trade deal with a Biden investigation. “I want to do a trade deal with China, but only if it is good for our country.”  

Then in true Trump fashion, he allowed the U.S. has the better poker hand a when the high-stakes trade game resumes.  One report quotes Trump saying he has “a lot of options on China…if they don’t do what we want, we have tremendous power.” The U.S.-China tariff talks resume next week in Washington, DC.

Another thing we’ve learned is not to underestimate the Trump administration’s talent for pulling a winning rabbit out of what appeared to be a loser’s hat.  The White House impeachment strategy appears to be to go after the House full bore, keeping Pelosi and her generals off balance by doing and saying the unexpected and the unconventional. 

With the political wars expanding the closer we get to 2020, and with seriously important economic policy and program decisions to be made, let’s hope Cuellar is correct about the House and multi-tasking, and that the crew down at the White House can also walk and chew gum at the same time.