Regular readers of this column are aware of my math guru friend, Ted Hahn, who, among other accomplishments, predicted the election of Donald Trump well over a year before the election. Not only was he able to massage the numbers for his prediction but his 30 years of political involvement also aided his dead-on predictions. Given his management of 4 statewide contests in Rhode Island, another 4 municipal campaigns, and numerous roles as pollster, consultant, etc., he recently met with me to boldly predict that Mr. Trump will be successful with his campaign promises.

Here’s why:

Trump—This is the first “T’ weapon. The man knows how to do a deal. There is a difference between what Mr. Trump may ask and what he really wants. He wants the overturn (at least symbolically) of Obamacare, the appointment of a conservative judge to the Supreme Court (knowing full well that a democratic appointment on that bench must retire to overthrow Roe v. Wade so he is not confronted with the abortion rights issue) and that Mexico will “pay” for the wall. Mr. Hahn says that President Trump will claim that the wall already has $4 billion from Mexico in that construction of facilities for transfers of jobs there has ceased as have the jobs themselves. The United States, therefore, has $4 billion from canceled projects that now will be stateside. This “accounting” will be the mechanism to claim that the wall is paid for by Mexico.

Twitter—Ted Hahn thinks that this “T” is a powerful tool since it neutralizes the media. Additionally, it keeps the Republicans in line. Eight republicans will be up for reelection in 2018, many of whom are in states with a barrel full of Trump supporters. Woe to any Republican who crosses Donald Trump since that incumbent will be excoriated via twitter.
Targets—The final “T’ is not only the marshaling of Republican loyalty from the first two T's above but also the intimidation of the 23 Senate Democrats who are up for reelection in 2018. Key contests are in Indiana, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, West Virginia—all of which voted for Mitt Romney and Donald Trump for President—and Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan, which went with Mr. Trump. In other words, he has bench strength to further reduce the number of “annoying” Democrats who stand up to him.

Finally, Ted Hahn, assessing the laws of averages and the “smarts” of Donald Trump, opined that the offer of Mr. Trump to pay all the proceeds into the United States Treasury from his DC hotel is not just a method to clear up a conflict of interest. Ted thinks that a deal has been struck with the Internal Revenue Service for Mr. Trump to pay sub rosa the taxes he may owe to the United States for past due taxes, or to mask how little taxes he has paid and/or to have the payments count toward upcoming estimated taxes. Since the IRS is supposed to hold secret peoples’ tax situations this gives him an opportunity to clear up any tax issues and keep it all private. Mr. Trump’s parlay against the intelligence community might just be a preemptive warning to the IRS to maintain secrecy.

So, tuck this column in your file and see if Mr. Hahn is correct again!

Arlene Violet is an attorney and former Rhode Island Attorney General.