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The Foreman Forecast: Reboot time – Metro US

The Foreman Forecast: Reboot time

The Foreman Forecast: Reboot time
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From the White House to Capitol Hill, you can’t imagine the bustle and chaos gripping D.C. right now. So amid the moving vans and boxes, here are my three things to watch this week in politics.

BullinChina.Donald Trump’s opponents have long argued his “leap first, then look” approach could be dangerous in the dicey world of diplomacy where even a sloppy handshake has consequences. So you can imagine their dismay over his unexpected phone call with the leader of Taiwan. Many fear he is risking unchained turmoil in U.S.-China relations because, ya know, China is not exactly a fan of Taiwan’s behavior. Team Trump says it’s not such a big deal, just a congratulatory call, and anyway he said he’d do things differently. But many political pros see this as a rookie mistake, and it has put them on high alert to call out the next one with even more vigor.

Recount redux.As expected, the call to recount votes in some battleground states has turned into a fight of its own. In Michigan and Wisconsin, Trump supporters are howling that the idea is frivolous considering it was launched by Green Party candidate, Jill Stein, who received only a sliver of the vote. Stein says she wants to insure the integrity of the process, but Trump fans see other motives:delegitimizing his win. Watch for Trump’s team to push hard this week to at least slow the process, because any recount must be completed before members of the Electoral College meet on the 19th, or it likely won’t matter.

Wishlist.Your kids may be jazzed about the end of December, but for Republicans Christmas comes in January. That’s when they’ll officially have both chambers of Congress and the White House, and they’re already making up their legislative wish list which includes repealing major portions of Obamacare. Democrats are pledging a bar fight if the GOPers try, so as the temperatures drop watch for the words to get much, much hotter.

CNN’s Tom Foreman is the author of My Year of Running Dangerously.