#pretty much foreign affairs rewritten

[thaonos]

clear the slate and start over

book: foreign affairs

part: 1 of ?

word count: 3372

As the jet flew above the renown Vancross Institute, Joey couldn't help but contemplate the implications of her arrival. Her brain racked over the countless possibilities her new life could bring. Until now, all she had ever known was certainty. As the First Daughter of Rutherland, Joey's days were meticulously planned out from the second the sun rose to the moment whatever photo op she was to attend that night concluded. Every day was micromanaged by her mother, to say the least.

She wasn't ungrateful. She wasn't. There are worse ways to live. It wasn't as if she didn't enjoy the opulence and riches that came with being the president's daughter and a generally well-known public figure. She's had two terms to grow accustomed to her new life in the public eye. Joey would say she's done well for herself thus far.

Are there nights where she lays in bed, replaying lost memories with her friends back in the city? Does it hurt not remembering the person she was before a world full of flashing lights and cameras? Haven't two terms of presidency weathered down whatever relationship she and her mom might have had after her father passed away? Joey tries not to dwell on it.

"Josephine, we'll be landing soon." Winston, her mother's advisor and close friend, strolled down the aisle. He had momentarily cut off his conversation with someone over the phone to address the blonde. "Melissa won't be able to make it, regrettably. She had to schedule a last-minute meeting with an ambassador."

Joey stiffened. Although her mother wasn't winning any Mother of the Year awards any time soon, it always stung whenever she brushed her off. "This master's program was her idea. She couldn't find the time to see her own daughter off?"

For a moment the air between them consisted only of the animated babbling from Winston's phone. The poor assistant—she's assuming, it wasn't in Winston's nature to ignore important calls—hadn't even realized Winston's attentions were elsewhere.

"I could have helped her with the campaign, you know. Prove to her that I'd be a valuable asset outside of just parading around pretending to be some trophy child. She never even considered that," she finished.

The sympathetic look that she was so familiar with now adorned the advisor's features. "Josephine, she'll find a way to repay you. I'm positive she is as unhappy about this as you are. She's your mother, she loves you."

"Correction. She's the president first, my mother second. Maybe not even second."

"It's not that simple, Josephine."

"I never said it was." Joey deadpanned.

With that, she turned away from her mother's advisor and stared back out the window. Always the observant type, Winston took the hint and walked away to attend to his call. Hearing the footsteps fade into silence as he walked towards the cockpit, Joey cast her eyes down towards the school again. Only now were they about to pass by the school completely. Joey had to admit Vancross was impressive. The institute bested every Rutherlandian university in size, no doubt. Its alumni boasted some of the most influential people and leaders in the world. Vancross offered the best education money could afford. Not to mention, its stellar reputation spoke volumes. Her mother had been overjoyed during the phone call the previous night. Supposedly, Joey's rumored enrollment at Vancross boosted her approval rating by a respectable margin.

Joey flinched at the intrusive memory. The campaign and her mother was dead last on the list of things she wanted to think about. She forced her thoughts away from politics and focused on her observations earlier. She had seen many students in the beautiful pavilion outside a large, contemporary structure. There were people playing frisbee, students scattered around making use of the many benches and tables around campus, residents walking to their dorms. There were friends laughing at stupid joke one of them had said. There were couples sitting next to each other, each lost in their own world studying. Grandeur aside, the sight reminded Joey of any other university she had visited. It was hard to believe that half of them were the sons and daughters of some of the most powerful people alive. They were proof that, if she tried hard enough, maybe she could pretend to be normal too.

A wistful glaze overtook Joey's eyes as a ding signaling the plane's landing rang out through the cabin. Vancross was an opportunity to start fresh, away from the prying eyes of the media. She could find or reinvent herself again. Everything was about to change; she could feel it. Her mind strayed back to the conversation she had with Winston.

Well, not everything.

Moments later, the plane touched down. Winston appeared by her side the instant it came to a stop. He wasted no time, already spouting out today's agenda. "Josephine, the car will arrive any second now. Your new head of security is running a bit late, so we've arranged for him to meet us at Vancross instead. Fair warning, the gates are already swarming with paparazzi. Your arrival may be the only thing our people talk about for the next week or so."

That caught Joey's attention. "Why's that? Vancross has no shortage of politicians and monarchs. I heard the Prince of Ulmeria attended only a few years ago. How am I any different from the other students?"

Winston narrowed his eyes. "Josephine, it would do you some good to be more aware sometimes. All eyes are on you right now. The Peace Summit will be here in the blink of an eye, and it doesn't take a genius to piece together why your mother wanted to send you to Vancross in the first place. These are your metaphorical baby steps in the world of politics. Not to mention, your actions at Vancross could make or break the reelection campaign. Before this, only one other president has served more than two terms. Your mother is about to be the first woman to do so." He made a show of mulling over something internally. "Also, there are two princes of Ulmeria."

"No pressure at all. You're really killing it in the motivational speech department, Winston." Joey deadpanned, rolling her blazer on. "I don't understand what me attending Vancross has anything to do with my mother, though. It's not like me failing my World History exam is symbolic of my mother's inability to deliver tax cuts."

The sound of a car horn could be heard from outside. Winston shouldered Joey's backpack, stepping aside so she could move into the aisle. "That may be so, but politics are tricky. People see you as a reflection of your mother. Not to mention, I wouldn't be so hasty to dismiss the notion. You could follow your mother's footsteps one day."

Joey started down the aisle, closely followed by Winston. "That'll be the day, Winston. That'll be the day."

As they reached the steps and walked towards the car waiting outside, Joey let her curiosity get the better of her. "Winston." The gray-haired man hummed, reaching the vehicle first and opening the door for her. Once she and Winston settled into the limousine, she continued. "You mentioned my mother meets with an ambassador today. Do you happen to know which country sent him?"

Confusion etched onto Winston's face from her sudden interest in Rutherland's diplomatic affairs. He quickly schooled his expression. "Truth be told, I'm not too sure. She mentioned the border skirmishes, so my best guess would be an Ardonian representative." Winston nodded affirmatively to himself. "Yes, that sounds about right. She would have been here if she could."

The strawberry blonde shrugged, picking at the hem of her navy-blue skirt. Truth be told, she hated wearing skirts or short dresses. She felt exposed enough in public. "Don't get my hopes up, Winston." Although she had meant it as a joke, this earned another decisive nod from the older man.

Eager to change the subject, Winston whipped out a notepad and flipped to his notes without even fumbling for the correct page. "I strongly advise you brush up on your knowledge of foreign affairs. Several other countries are sending their own delegates this year. We have it on good authority that Drivosa, Esherstein, Ithanstan, Naporvie, Pavadena, and Ulmeria are sending representatives. Your head of security should have more information on each of them."

The younger woman's brows furrowed. "That's every country in western Europe minus Ardona—not that there are any complaints there, of course. That would be a public relations disaster."

"The task may appear daunting, but this does work in our favor. You're already aware that this is a purely diplomatic move. Their support is essential in moving forward with the Ardonian Accords. Most of Western European Alliance���such as Esherstein and Ithanstan—seem to support your mother in welcoming Ardona and their allies into WEA, but there are people out there who would stop at nothing to prevent Ardona and the rest of the Eastern Powers from joining the union," he hesitated, unsure whether or not he should continue. "Especially after..."

"The war?" Joey finished.

"No." The advisor spared a hasty glance up at the partition. His voice dropped slightly. "The nature surrounding your father's death."

A flicker of emotion briefly passed over Joey's features before she adopted a blank expression. "I see. Which countries are not in support of the Ardonian Accords?" She trained her eyes forward, trying to focus on the conversation at hand. After all, it had been years. She had a duty to fulfill right now.

If Winston had noticed her behavior, he didn't let on.

"For starters, Ardona is only begrudgingly entertaining the idea. They're not happy about being practically forced into a peace treaty. This shouldn't be a problem, though. The prime minister knows what's best for Ardona. Drivosa is still upset about the humiliating loss they suffered in the Battle of Trinket Hill. You may have heard that Pavadena isn't a fan of the Ardonian Accords either. King Serrano was fond of Bleu." At the sound of her father's name. Joey's right hand clenched into a fist around the fabric of her skirt. "Luckily, Ulmeria seems to be cooperative. Prince Philip is eager to forge ahead."

The conversation died as the car lurched onto campus grounds. Joey took a glance at the flashing lights outside of the window and exhaled slowly, preparing herself. Her right hand slowly relaxed its grip. Next to her, Winston threw his notepad into his briefcase and shoved outside into the eager crowd. This routine was one of secondhand nature to the both of them at this point. Joey fixed her hair and adjusted her clothing in the few seconds she had before the door opened. She blindly grabs the strap of her backpack and turns towards the door in the same moment Winston pulls it open. Agents Demarco and Pierre are already keeping the photographers at bay.

"Josephine!" An obnoxious reporter jammed a microphone into her face. "Mike Williams with Stalker Media. Any comments on the Peace Summit looming over us? What does the Rutherland presidency think of the Ardona-Esherstein border clashes?"

Josephine rolled her eyes. Stalker Media might be one of the trashiest news outlets out there. At least the piece about Esherstein's First Son drunkenly crashing that gala the other night was interesting to read about. She was in attendance that night and had nearly choked on her drink when Alexei Vukoja drunkenly strolled in, a horde of cows trailing behind him. She'd have to ask Alexei where he found them.

Demarco pushed the microphone away and the two guards started paving the way towards the gates for Josephine. Seconds passed, and the voices began to blend as she tried to focus on the different media outlets vying for her attention.

"Josephine, over here! Smile, honey." Josephine gave the reporter forced grin as a flash went off. She turned away.

"Miss Fils-Aime! Did you see Lewis Wright's new campaign video? It's good stuff, he might just give your mother a run for her money." She shrugged innocently.

"Josephine! Josephine! Does your enrollment have anything to do with your mom's worsening approval ratings?" She avoided eye contact with that particular paparazzo.

She could see the gates by now. A few more steps separated her and freedom. Just as relief began to flood her system, another question rang out.

"Josephine, we were interrupted earlier! Do you have a moment to discuss the implications of the Ardonian Accords? Why is your mother trying to push for an alliance with Ardona given your father's assassination?"

At that, she couldn't help but whirl around, jaw clenched. She found herself face to face with the first reporter. Mark, if she recalled correctly. He had a smug smirk on his face, knowing she had taken his bait. "Why is she welcoming your rival, who your people believe is responsible for her husband's death, with open arms?"

Josephine opened her mouth to respond. Before she could make a fool of herself in front of the cameras, Winston gently turned her around and guided her towards the gates. "Really? Nothing to say, even about Ardona sending a representative this year as well?"

Joey frowned. Still walking, she looked to Winston for answers. "You didn't mention an Ardonian delegate," she whispered.

"Our intelligence indicated they wouldn't be sending anyone this year. Hopefully your new head of security will be more on top of things," He murmured in a clipped tone.

As the group crossed the gates, Joey was taken back by the contrast in atmosphere. Outside, it was suffocating. Between the cameras being shoved into your face and excessive badgering by the press, it was difficult to even hear your own thoughts. Inside, there was none of that. The tranquility made her teary-eyed. She thinks she may even hear birds. Winston quietly excused himself from the group as they reached the quad, leaving Demarco and Pierre to escort her to her room. Shortly after, the three of them reached the doorstep of her new living space for the next few years.

As the door swung open, Joey let out a small whistle. The dorm was spacious. The homey furniture made the room vibrant yet intimate. Vancross was treating her nicely. She walked in, nearly bumping into the luggage her team had dropped off a few minutes prior to her arrival. Joey slowly took in the sight of the dorm, the corner of her mouth quirking up.

With a toothy grin on her face, she triumphantly turned towards her guards. "This place makes the State Manor look quaint! Jealous, are you?"

The agents cracked a smile at her teasing. They'd worked for her family long enough to recognize that Joey struggled to enjoy herself, even in private. The First Daughter of Rutherland could afford many luxuries but being able to have fun wasn't one of them. They've learned to appreciate the young woman's refreshing personality on the rare occasion she permitted herself to be authentic and carefree.

Demarco's mouth moved to retort back, but a silvery voice rang out instead. "Almost makes you feel like royalty, huh?"

All heads turned towards the bedrooms. A young brunette stepped out from one of the rooms, planked by a burly man. "Of course, I actually am royalty, but all the dorms are this nice. I'm trying not to take it as an insult. You must be the roommate." She extended a hand. "Princess Dionne Mariana Regina Dorada de Rothschild Serrano of the Kingdom of Pavadena. This walking protein shake ad is my bodyguard Murphy."

Joey took her newfound acquaintance's hand, her easygoing smile softening into something less genuine. "Josephine Fils-Aime of the... country of Rutherland? I'm afraid those are all the names I have. I prefer Joey, though. Not sure that helps my case."

Dionne gave a dismissive wave. "Names are overrated, anyways. Luckily for you, I only go by Princess Dionne. For my new best friend, I'll accept just Dionne."

Dionne plopped down onto the couch, gesturing for Joey to join her. "Since we'll be spending an insufferable amount of time together, I thought we could get to know each other. Any dirty family secrets? Long lost half-siblings? Oh, I know! Did your first pet goldfish die as a direct consequence of your neglect and you have never been able to love anyone since?"

"As if any family secret could be kept out of the public eye for this long. Don't think I have any half-siblings, but you'll be the first to know if I find out otherwise. His name was Hugo and I took great care of him, thank you very much," Joey smiled as she received rolling eyes in response. "My mom thought it would be a great idea for me to enroll in the master's program here. She hopes I'll have some epiphany and realize I've always wanted to follow in her footsteps one day. At least I have some time away from the public. It's been a while since that was the case."

Dionne gave her a quizzical look. "I'd figure. You really sell the whole 'perfect First Daughter' image, you know. My parents always gush about how great you are with handling your image and reputation. I'd go insane if I attended the number of galas, conferences, or state dinners you do."

"I try," Joey shrugged, sudden insecurity clouding her features. She glanced around, noticing her agents' disappearance. She briefly wondered when they had slipped out without her knowing.

Dionne took note of the shift in the First Daughter's tone, rushing to amend her statement. "Not that it's a bad thing! It's admirable you're so supportive of your mom and her presidency. You hold your own against the press well, too."

Judging by the lack of change in Joey's expression, Dionne was unsuccessful. Seeing as Joey didn't seem like she was going to respond, the princess pursed her lips and continued.

"Have you taken a tour around campus?"

The Rutherlandian shook her head.

Her roommate clapped her hands together and jumped up. "It's decided, then. I'll show you around! Let me go get dressed."

"You weren't already...?" Joey trailed off as Dionne jogged to her bedroom, locking the door behind her. "...Dressed?"

Silence filled the dorm as Joey awkwardly sat there, awaiting the return of her eccentric princess roommate. Then she heard shouting outside. From the volume, she figured it was distant. Near the gates. If she was a betting woman, she'd guess another high-profile student just arrived. Curiosity peaked, she walked towards the window. She had to strain her neck a little to find the entrance, but as soon as she did, a brown-haired girl strutted through the gates.

Without turning back, the newcomer raised a middle finger towards the paparazzi as she walked away. Joey's eyebrows rose as her gaze traveled down to her ripped jeans and solid maroon blouse. As if her behavior wasn't scandalous enough, her casual attire was a bold statement in itself. Something in Joey lurched forward, drawn towards the woman with an attitude.

As the woman drew closer, Joey's breath hitched. From afar, it was easy to mistake her for anyone else. Although it had been a while since she had seen Blaine Hayes, there was no mistaking those striking green eyes up close. The last she's seen a picture of her counterpart was when Blaine was in grade school sporting a dorky haircut and neon pink braces. Time had treated her well, and, Joey had to hand it to her, those braces definitely worked. The woman she was openly gaping at now was refined, beautiful even. As Blaine and her security detail made their way towards a different building, Joey's eyes trailed the group across campus in disbelief. She must be seeing things.

"There's no way that's..." She began, mumbling to herself. She trailed off as the waving of a flag caught her eye. A fleeting glance at the top of the black vehicle pulling out of the lot confirmed her suspicions.

There was no universe in which Joey wouldn't recognize that sea green and gold striped Ardonian flag, floating mockingly around in the air.

[stormdoors78476]

Trump's First 100 Days: A President's Very Public Education

WASHINGTON (AP) — Health care is complicated. China can be a useful ally. NATO isn’t obsolete. Being president is hard.

Over the course of his 100 days in office, President Donald Trump has been startlingly candid about his public education in the ways of Washington and the world.

He’s been blocked by the courts and befuddled by a divided Republican Party that’s running Congress, and his first months on the job have left the long-time reality-TV and real estate tycoon struggling for major governing victories and searching for a new approach to many of his campaign promises.

His “America first” campaign rhetoric has bumped up against the challenges of conflict overseas. His ambitious declarations on health care and immigration have run into the limits of Congress and the courts.

A president who prides himself on his ideological flexibility has struggled to manage a novice political team, split between moderate and conservative advisers, and he’s found himself reaching out to the friends and business associates from the world he left behind.

On foreign policy, Trump has been persuaded by foreign leaders and has leaned heavily on a national security team with more governing experience than his political advisers. He’s looked for lessons in his biggest victory: putting a conservative judge, Neil Gorsuch, on the Supreme Court.

“I really just see the bigness of it all, but also the responsibility. And the human responsibility,” Trump said in an Associated Press interview, assessing the difficulty of the presidency.

“This is tougher than what he thought,” said Trump friend and business partner Phil Ruffin, who has visited the president twice since he took office Jan. 20. “In business, you make a decision and it happens. In government, it’s not like that.”

Just days into Trump’s presidency, the courts rejected his first travel ban. Since then, they’ve pushed back on his rewritten travel ban and his attempt to cut federal money for cities that harbor people who are in the United States illegally. But Trump’s roughest lesson has come from Congress, which has balked at his attempt to repeal the Obama-era health law his party campaigned against for years.

During the campaign, Trump said the Affordable Care Act would be gone on his first day in the White House. In the weeks after his inauguration, the realities set it.

By February, he told a group of governors that “it’s an unbelievably complex subject,” adding: “Nobody knew that health care could be so complicated.”

For Trump, the health care battle was a rude introduction to the complicated internal politics in the Republican-run House, which includes hard-liners in the Freedom Caucus and moderates in the Tuesday Group. When the White House made concessions to conservatives, it pushed some moderates away, and vice versa.

Unable to cut a deal in late March, House Republicans pulled the health bill from consideration. Trump lashed out at Freedom Caucus leaders on Twitter and indicated he would seek retribution come campaign season.

Trump’s team tried to pick up the pieces but hasn’t gotten there yet. A renewed burst of momentum this past week, buoyed by hopes the House would vote before Saturday, Trump’s 100th day, petered out. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said he would not be rushed by the president’s deadline.

The contrast between the scuttled first attempt on health care and the relative smooth sailing of Gorsuch was a learning experience. The takeaway: working behind the scenes with outside groups, which lined up solidly behind Gorsuch, and lawmakers can pay dividends.

“Outreach to partner organizations starting sooner is helpful and I think that you will see that,” said Marc Short, the White House legislative director. “Probably we were a little bit surprised when we engaged some of the conservative groups on health care that they felt they’d been left out of the conversation from the Hill.”

None of Trump’s top advisers had deep experience in legislating. Now they’ve begun to compensate with outreach. The White House has hosted 230 members of Congress, and there have been 10 bowling sessions in the Executive Mansion’s basement. But no amount of bowling can overcome the division in the Republican Party.

The president has seemed taken aback.

In the AP interview, Trump said there was “a pretty vast area” between the approach by the most conservative members of his party and those who are more moderate.

To bridge the divides, Trump’s advisers have worked to moderate between the factions as his team tries to revive the health bill. The White House is taking a similar approach on the president’s tax plan.

Restless in Washington, Trump is working at “breakneck speed,” chief of staff Reince Priebus told reporters. Sometimes so quickly that his own advisers can’t keep up.

The president’s declaration last week that his team would release a tax proposal before the 100 day mark startled some in the White House, who scrambled to put together the one-page outline that was released Wednesday.

The proposal lacks the details about making taxes simpler and more efficient in ways that don’t add to the federal government’s mounting debt. Those are core Republican principles that would require lawmakers to eliminate or reduce precious tax breaks enjoyed by millions of people.

Trump did meet his goal of starting work on the plan in his first 100 days, but another tough challenge awaits on Capitol Hill as he still contends with health care.

Trump’s frustration with a lack of progress has sometimes erupted in anger — and sometimes in the direction of his political advisers. He’s frequently blamed his team for being unable to quash negative stories. He was particularly incensed by the steady drip of revelations about his campaign’s possible ties to Russia.

After Attorney General Jeff Sessions stepped aside from Russia investigations because of his own undisclosed contacts with a Russian ambassador, Trump unleashed on his top advisers in an Oval Office meeting. Sessions’ decision overshadowed Trump’s well-received first address to Congress days earlier; it was a speech the White House hoped would give the president a burst of momentum.

But ultimately it was Trump himself who created the biggest distraction. The morning after his Oval Office row with his staff, he tweeted a series of inflammatory accusations about his predecessor wiretapping Trump’s New York skyscraper.

One of the lowest moments of Trump’s young administration was the forced resignation of national security adviser Michael Flynn, who misled the White House about his Russia ties. Flynn’s departure cleared the way for a well-received overhaul of the National Security Council.

Trump has relied heavily on Flynn’s replacement, Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, who has formed an alliance of experience with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. The president has largely heeded their advice on major foreign policy decisions and given the Pentagon vast control over military operations around the world.

It’s been Trump’s evolution on foreign affairs that’s perhaps been clearest to track.

Confronted with photos of injured children, victims of a chemical attack in Syria, Trump quickly pivoted from what he billed as an “America first” policy during the campaign in favor of intervention.

After listening to European leaders make the case for NATO, he stopped saying it was obsolete.

And after pleas from business executives and warnings of economic turmoil from foreign leaders, Trump just this week abruptly abandoned plans to pull out of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Each shift has different forces behind it.

On Syria, Priebus said he said sees a “Trump Doctrine” coming into focus: a combination of putting America first but not sitting around while world injustices, such as the Syrian government’s alleged use of chemical weapons, go unanswered.

In some cases, Trump has acknowledged he was ill-informed during his campaign. As a candidate, he dismissed the NATO alliance without knowing much about it, he told AP last week. “Now I know a lot.”

He had pledged to label China a currency manipulator, part of his tough-on-China populist rhetoric. But after a particularly warm visit from President Xi Jinping, Trump acknowledged the downside to alienating a power that could be a useful partner in curbing North Korea’s nuclear program.

“The bigger picture, bigger than even currency manipulation, if he’s helping us with North Korea,” he said. “What am I going to do, say, ‘By the way, would you help us with North Korea? And also, you’re a currency manipulator.’ It doesn’t work that way.”

Trump has proved to be open to persuasion, particularly from world leaders and outside forces. When news spread Thursday that Trump was considering triggering the U.S. withdrawal from NAFTA, the leaders of Mexico and Canada launched a diplomatic full-court press to persuade Trump to rethink the plan. It took only a matter of hours before the president relented.

__

Associated Press writers Ken Thomas and Julie Pace contributed to this report.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2pxqI7G

[realestate63141]

Trump's First 100 Days: A President's Very Public Education

WASHINGTON (AP) — Health care is complicated. China can be a useful ally. NATO isn’t obsolete. Being president is hard.

Over the course of his 100 days in office, President Donald Trump has been startlingly candid about his public education in the ways of Washington and the world.

He’s been blocked by the courts and befuddled by a divided Republican Party that’s running Congress, and his first months on the job have left the long-time reality-TV and real estate tycoon struggling for major governing victories and searching for a new approach to many of his campaign promises.

His “America first” campaign rhetoric has bumped up against the challenges of conflict overseas. His ambitious declarations on health care and immigration have run into the limits of Congress and the courts.

A president who prides himself on his ideological flexibility has struggled to manage a novice political team, split between moderate and conservative advisers, and he’s found himself reaching out to the friends and business associates from the world he left behind.

On foreign policy, Trump has been persuaded by foreign leaders and has leaned heavily on a national security team with more governing experience than his political advisers. He’s looked for lessons in his biggest victory: putting a conservative judge, Neil Gorsuch, on the Supreme Court.

“I really just see the bigness of it all, but also the responsibility. And the human responsibility,” Trump said in an Associated Press interview, assessing the difficulty of the presidency.

“This is tougher than what he thought,” said Trump friend and business partner Phil Ruffin, who has visited the president twice since he took office Jan. 20. “In business, you make a decision and it happens. In government, it’s not like that.”

Just days into Trump’s presidency, the courts rejected his first travel ban. Since then, they’ve pushed back on his rewritten travel ban and his attempt to cut federal money for cities that harbor people who are in the United States illegally. But Trump’s roughest lesson has come from Congress, which has balked at his attempt to repeal the Obama-era health law his party campaigned against for years.

During the campaign, Trump said the Affordable Care Act would be gone on his first day in the White House. In the weeks after his inauguration, the realities set it.

By February, he told a group of governors that “it’s an unbelievably complex subject,” adding: “Nobody knew that health care could be so complicated.”

For Trump, the health care battle was a rude introduction to the complicated internal politics in the Republican-run House, which includes hard-liners in the Freedom Caucus and moderates in the Tuesday Group. When the White House made concessions to conservatives, it pushed some moderates away, and vice versa.

Unable to cut a deal in late March, House Republicans pulled the health bill from consideration. Trump lashed out at Freedom Caucus leaders on Twitter and indicated he would seek retribution come campaign season.

Trump’s team tried to pick up the pieces but hasn’t gotten there yet. A renewed burst of momentum this past week, buoyed by hopes the House would vote before Saturday, Trump’s 100th day, petered out. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said he would not be rushed by the president’s deadline.

The contrast between the scuttled first attempt on health care and the relative smooth sailing of Gorsuch was a learning experience. The takeaway: working behind the scenes with outside groups, which lined up solidly behind Gorsuch, and lawmakers can pay dividends.

“Outreach to partner organizations starting sooner is helpful and I think that you will see that,” said Marc Short, the White House legislative director. “Probably we were a little bit surprised when we engaged some of the conservative groups on health care that they felt they’d been left out of the conversation from the Hill.”

None of Trump’s top advisers had deep experience in legislating. Now they’ve begun to compensate with outreach. The White House has hosted 230 members of Congress, and there have been 10 bowling sessions in the Executive Mansion’s basement. But no amount of bowling can overcome the division in the Republican Party.

The president has seemed taken aback.

In the AP interview, Trump said there was “a pretty vast area” between the approach by the most conservative members of his party and those who are more moderate.

To bridge the divides, Trump’s advisers have worked to moderate between the factions as his team tries to revive the health bill. The White House is taking a similar approach on the president’s tax plan.

Restless in Washington, Trump is working at “breakneck speed,” chief of staff Reince Priebus told reporters. Sometimes so quickly that his own advisers can’t keep up.

The president’s declaration last week that his team would release a tax proposal before the 100 day mark startled some in the White House, who scrambled to put together the one-page outline that was released Wednesday.

The proposal lacks the details about making taxes simpler and more efficient in ways that don’t add to the federal government’s mounting debt. Those are core Republican principles that would require lawmakers to eliminate or reduce precious tax breaks enjoyed by millions of people.

Trump did meet his goal of starting work on the plan in his first 100 days, but another tough challenge awaits on Capitol Hill as he still contends with health care.

Trump’s frustration with a lack of progress has sometimes erupted in anger — and sometimes in the direction of his political advisers. He’s frequently blamed his team for being unable to quash negative stories. He was particularly incensed by the steady drip of revelations about his campaign’s possible ties to Russia.

After Attorney General Jeff Sessions stepped aside from Russia investigations because of his own undisclosed contacts with a Russian ambassador, Trump unleashed on his top advisers in an Oval Office meeting. Sessions’ decision overshadowed Trump’s well-received first address to Congress days earlier; it was a speech the White House hoped would give the president a burst of momentum.

But ultimately it was Trump himself who created the biggest distraction. The morning after his Oval Office row with his staff, he tweeted a series of inflammatory accusations about his predecessor wiretapping Trump’s New York skyscraper.

One of the lowest moments of Trump’s young administration was the forced resignation of national security adviser Michael Flynn, who misled the White House about his Russia ties. Flynn’s departure cleared the way for a well-received overhaul of the National Security Council.

Trump has relied heavily on Flynn’s replacement, Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, who has formed an alliance of experience with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. The president has largely heeded their advice on major foreign policy decisions and given the Pentagon vast control over military operations around the world.

It’s been Trump’s evolution on foreign affairs that’s perhaps been clearest to track.

Confronted with photos of injured children, victims of a chemical attack in Syria, Trump quickly pivoted from what he billed as an “America first” policy during the campaign in favor of intervention.

After listening to European leaders make the case for NATO, he stopped saying it was obsolete.

And after pleas from business executives and warnings of economic turmoil from foreign leaders, Trump just this week abruptly abandoned plans to pull out of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Each shift has different forces behind it.

On Syria, Priebus said he said sees a “Trump Doctrine” coming into focus: a combination of putting America first but not sitting around while world injustices, such as the Syrian government’s alleged use of chemical weapons, go unanswered.

In some cases, Trump has acknowledged he was ill-informed during his campaign. As a candidate, he dismissed the NATO alliance without knowing much about it, he told AP last week. “Now I know a lot.”

He had pledged to label China a currency manipulator, part of his tough-on-China populist rhetoric. But after a particularly warm visit from President Xi Jinping, Trump acknowledged the downside to alienating a power that could be a useful partner in curbing North Korea’s nuclear program.

“The bigger picture, bigger than even currency manipulation, if he’s helping us with North Korea,” he said. “What am I going to do, say, ‘By the way, would you help us with North Korea? And also, you’re a currency manipulator.’ It doesn’t work that way.”

Trump has proved to be open to persuasion, particularly from world leaders and outside forces. When news spread Thursday that Trump was considering triggering the U.S. withdrawal from NAFTA, the leaders of Mexico and Canada launched a diplomatic full-court press to persuade Trump to rethink the plan. It took only a matter of hours before the president relented.

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Associated Press writers Ken Thomas and Julie Pace contributed to this report.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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[exfrenchdorsl4p0a1]

Trump's First 100 Days: A President's Very Public Education

WASHINGTON (AP) — Health care is complicated. China can be a useful ally. NATO isn’t obsolete. Being president is hard.

Over the course of his 100 days in office, President Donald Trump has been startlingly candid about his public education in the ways of Washington and the world.

He’s been blocked by the courts and befuddled by a divided Republican Party that’s running Congress, and his first months on the job have left the long-time reality-TV and real estate tycoon struggling for major governing victories and searching for a new approach to many of his campaign promises.

His “America first” campaign rhetoric has bumped up against the challenges of conflict overseas. His ambitious declarations on health care and immigration have run into the limits of Congress and the courts.

A president who prides himself on his ideological flexibility has struggled to manage a novice political team, split between moderate and conservative advisers, and he’s found himself reaching out to the friends and business associates from the world he left behind.

On foreign policy, Trump has been persuaded by foreign leaders and has leaned heavily on a national security team with more governing experience than his political advisers. He’s looked for lessons in his biggest victory: putting a conservative judge, Neil Gorsuch, on the Supreme Court.

“I really just see the bigness of it all, but also the responsibility. And the human responsibility,” Trump said in an Associated Press interview, assessing the difficulty of the presidency.

“This is tougher than what he thought,” said Trump friend and business partner Phil Ruffin, who has visited the president twice since he took office Jan. 20. “In business, you make a decision and it happens. In government, it’s not like that.”

Just days into Trump’s presidency, the courts rejected his first travel ban. Since then, they’ve pushed back on his rewritten travel ban and his attempt to cut federal money for cities that harbor people who are in the United States illegally. But Trump’s roughest lesson has come from Congress, which has balked at his attempt to repeal the Obama-era health law his party campaigned against for years.

During the campaign, Trump said the Affordable Care Act would be gone on his first day in the White House. In the weeks after his inauguration, the realities set it.

By February, he told a group of governors that “it’s an unbelievably complex subject,” adding: “Nobody knew that health care could be so complicated.”

For Trump, the health care battle was a rude introduction to the complicated internal politics in the Republican-run House, which includes hard-liners in the Freedom Caucus and moderates in the Tuesday Group. When the White House made concessions to conservatives, it pushed some moderates away, and vice versa.

Unable to cut a deal in late March, House Republicans pulled the health bill from consideration. Trump lashed out at Freedom Caucus leaders on Twitter and indicated he would seek retribution come campaign season.

Trump’s team tried to pick up the pieces but hasn’t gotten there yet. A renewed burst of momentum this past week, buoyed by hopes the House would vote before Saturday, Trump’s 100th day, petered out. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said he would not be rushed by the president’s deadline.

The contrast between the scuttled first attempt on health care and the relative smooth sailing of Gorsuch was a learning experience. The takeaway: working behind the scenes with outside groups, which lined up solidly behind Gorsuch, and lawmakers can pay dividends.

“Outreach to partner organizations starting sooner is helpful and I think that you will see that,” said Marc Short, the White House legislative director. “Probably we were a little bit surprised when we engaged some of the conservative groups on health care that they felt they’d been left out of the conversation from the Hill.”

None of Trump’s top advisers had deep experience in legislating. Now they’ve begun to compensate with outreach. The White House has hosted 230 members of Congress, and there have been 10 bowling sessions in the Executive Mansion’s basement. But no amount of bowling can overcome the division in the Republican Party.

The president has seemed taken aback.

In the AP interview, Trump said there was “a pretty vast area” between the approach by the most conservative members of his party and those who are more moderate.

To bridge the divides, Trump’s advisers have worked to moderate between the factions as his team tries to revive the health bill. The White House is taking a similar approach on the president’s tax plan.

Restless in Washington, Trump is working at “breakneck speed,” chief of staff Reince Priebus told reporters. Sometimes so quickly that his own advisers can’t keep up.

The president’s declaration last week that his team would release a tax proposal before the 100 day mark startled some in the White House, who scrambled to put together the one-page outline that was released Wednesday.

The proposal lacks the details about making taxes simpler and more efficient in ways that don’t add to the federal government’s mounting debt. Those are core Republican principles that would require lawmakers to eliminate or reduce precious tax breaks enjoyed by millions of people.

Trump did meet his goal of starting work on the plan in his first 100 days, but another tough challenge awaits on Capitol Hill as he still contends with health care.

Trump’s frustration with a lack of progress has sometimes erupted in anger — and sometimes in the direction of his political advisers. He’s frequently blamed his team for being unable to quash negative stories. He was particularly incensed by the steady drip of revelations about his campaign’s possible ties to Russia.

After Attorney General Jeff Sessions stepped aside from Russia investigations because of his own undisclosed contacts with a Russian ambassador, Trump unleashed on his top advisers in an Oval Office meeting. Sessions’ decision overshadowed Trump’s well-received first address to Congress days earlier; it was a speech the White House hoped would give the president a burst of momentum.

But ultimately it was Trump himself who created the biggest distraction. The morning after his Oval Office row with his staff, he tweeted a series of inflammatory accusations about his predecessor wiretapping Trump’s New York skyscraper.

One of the lowest moments of Trump’s young administration was the forced resignation of national security adviser Michael Flynn, who misled the White House about his Russia ties. Flynn’s departure cleared the way for a well-received overhaul of the National Security Council.

Trump has relied heavily on Flynn’s replacement, Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, who has formed an alliance of experience with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. The president has largely heeded their advice on major foreign policy decisions and given the Pentagon vast control over military operations around the world.

It’s been Trump’s evolution on foreign affairs that’s perhaps been clearest to track.

Confronted with photos of injured children, victims of a chemical attack in Syria, Trump quickly pivoted from what he billed as an “America first” policy during the campaign in favor of intervention.

After listening to European leaders make the case for NATO, he stopped saying it was obsolete.

And after pleas from business executives and warnings of economic turmoil from foreign leaders, Trump just this week abruptly abandoned plans to pull out of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Each shift has different forces behind it.

On Syria, Priebus said he said sees a “Trump Doctrine” coming into focus: a combination of putting America first but not sitting around while world injustices, such as the Syrian government’s alleged use of chemical weapons, go unanswered.

In some cases, Trump has acknowledged he was ill-informed during his campaign. As a candidate, he dismissed the NATO alliance without knowing much about it, he told AP last week. “Now I know a lot.”

He had pledged to label China a currency manipulator, part of his tough-on-China populist rhetoric. But after a particularly warm visit from President Xi Jinping, Trump acknowledged the downside to alienating a power that could be a useful partner in curbing North Korea’s nuclear program.

“The bigger picture, bigger than even currency manipulation, if he’s helping us with North Korea,” he said. “What am I going to do, say, ‘By the way, would you help us with North Korea? And also, you’re a currency manipulator.’ It doesn’t work that way.”

Trump has proved to be open to persuasion, particularly from world leaders and outside forces. When news spread Thursday that Trump was considering triggering the U.S. withdrawal from NAFTA, the leaders of Mexico and Canada launched a diplomatic full-court press to persuade Trump to rethink the plan. It took only a matter of hours before the president relented.

__

Associated Press writers Ken Thomas and Julie Pace contributed to this report.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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