The Costanza Presidency

In a classic Seinfeld episode, George Costanza concludes that every decision he has ever made has been wrong. Jerry offers a solution: “If every instinct you have is wrong, then the opposite would have to be right.”

President Trump might want to give that a try.

Take public health. If you want to protect Americans from Ebola and the next pandemic, you strengthen the institutions charged with detecting and fighting disease. Trump’s administration has instead cut public health grants, sought deep cuts to the CDC’s budget and withdrawn the United States from the World Health Organization.

Then there’s the president’s professed hatred of communism. Trump rails against government control while his administration has acquired a special “golden share” in U.S. Steel and bought a stake in chipmaker Intel. Government investment in strategic industries isn’t communism, but it’s an unusual approach for a president who likes to denounce his opponents as socialists.

And remember Trump’s promise to lower prices? His tariffs have raised costs for American businesses and consumers. His war with Iran has disrupted oil supplies and sent gasoline prices soaring. Families were promised relief; instead, they’re paying for his decisions at the store and the pump.

On Seinfeld, George’s experiment in doing the opposite turned his life around. Perhaps Trump should try it. The next time his instincts tell him to weaken public health, start a trade war or launch another military adventure, he could pause—and do the opposite.

At the very least, the rest of us might catch a break.