Trump's State of Union address scores one round for the 'normalisers'

SINCE Donald Trump and his family relocated from the Trump Tower in New York City to the White House in Washington, DC, two schools of thought seemed to have dominated the debate among members of the political class over the fate of his presidency.

According to those whom we label as the "normalisers", it is only a question of time before the former real estate magnate - who has had no previous experience in politics and in policymaking and who ran as a populist outsider determined to break all the rules that governed Washington and to transform the policy consensus - would realign his agenda with that of the establishment he had blasted during the 2016 election campaign.

The Trump presidency would become more normal as the new president learns the ropes of governing the nation and the rules of the political game in Washington. The former amateur would become a real political pro, and under the right conditions he would be in a position to win re-election in 2020.