A few weeks back, I asked rhetorically whether President Obama had just “given up debating” now that his presidency is coming to a close. In particular, I cited his peculiar dismissal of Elizabeth Warren’s opposition to his trade agenda. Rather than actually offering arguments as to why he was right, I contended, Obama instead appeared to be saying, “Hey, it’s me. You know I wouldn’t do this if it weren’t a good idea!”

This weekend, Obama provided yet more evidence that this is how he is going to approach this debate. Per Matt Bai of Yahoo Politics, this is how Obama responded when he was reminded that Warren disagrees with him:

“Think about the logic of that, right?” he went on. “The notion that I had this massive fight with Wall Street to make sure that we don’t repeat what happened in 2007, 2008. And then I sign a provision that would unravel it?
“I’d have to be pretty stupid,” Obama said, laughing. “This is pure speculation. She and I both taught law school, and you know, one of the things you do as a law professor is you spin out hypotheticals. And this is all hypothetical, speculative.”

Once again, then, Obama’s case is: “Trust me.” That’s not an argument; it’s tribalism. There is no clear or detailed explanation of why her hypothetical is incorrect and his is correct. There is no sustained attempt to outline why his plan is good for the country and bad for Wall Street, and hers is not. Essentially, he’s just throwing gang signs.

Even worse, Obama is following his “trust me” schtick to its logical conclusion. You shouldn’t listen to Elizabeth Warren, he submitted later on in the interview, because she’s just a politician. Here’s Bai again:

Obama wasn’t through. He wanted me to know, in pointed terms, that for all the talk about her populist convictions, Warren had a personal brand she was trying to promote, too.
“The truth of the matter is that Elizabeth is, you know, a politician like everybody else,” he said. “And you know, she’s got a voice that she wants to get out there. And I understand that. And on most issues, she and I deeply agree. On this one, though, her arguments don’t stand the test of fact and scrutiny.”

This is classic Obama, and it is notable only because it is aimed at somebody his own side rather than at the Republican party. As we have learned by now, there is a level at which Obama honestly does believe that his ideas are the only sensible ones; that there is only one way of running the country and of addressing problems; and that all opposition to his agenda is base and political, while his own motives are pure. If I were Elizabeth Warren, I’d feel pretty miffed that my considered and heartfelt opposition to this measure is being dismissed in this way. But then, I’d feel that way if I were pretty much anybody on the Right, too. That Obama is now playing this game with his own side perhaps serves to show where his mind is at in the waning days of his presidency.