Was Prez Trump's real political mistake not going bigger on criminal justice reform?

The question in the title of this post is prompted by this Axios piece headlined "Scoop: Trump regrets Kushner advice."  Here are some excerpts:

President Trump has told people in recent days that he regrets following some of son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner's political advice — including supporting criminal justice reform — and will stick closer to his own instincts, three people with direct knowledge of the president's thinking tell Axios.

Behind the scenes: One person who spoke with the president interpreted his thinking this way: "No more of Jared's woke s***." Another said Trump has indicated that following Kushner's advice has harmed him politically.

Why it matters: This could be the final straw for federal police reform legislation this year, and it could usher in even more incendiary campaign tactics between now and November.

Details: The sources said the president has resolved to stick to his instincts and jettison any policies that go against them, including ambitious police reform.

• Trump dipped his toe into police reform under pressure after a Minneapolis police officer killed George Floyd — with an executive order that activists considered toothless — but he will likely go no further to restrain law enforcement officers, according to senior administration officials.
• Trump has made clear he wants to support law enforcement unequivocally, and he won't do anything that could be seen as undercutting police....

• In response to this reporting, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in a statement, "President Trump is very proud of the historic work that he's done to benefit all communities.  The First Step Act made historic strides toward rectifying racial disparities in sentencing while his executive order to secure America's streets works with our nation's heroic police officers to ensure we have safe policing and safe communities."...

Between the lines: Trump never really wanted criminal justice reform, according to people who have discussed the subject with him privately.  He's told them he only supported it because Kushner asked him to.  Though he has repeatedly trumpeted it as a politically useful policy at times.

• Trump now says privately it was misguided to pursue this policy, undercutting his instincts, and that he probably won't win any more African American support because of it.
• "He truly believes there is a silent majority out there that's going to come out in droves in November," said a source who's talked to the president in recent days.

Anyone who has followed Prez Trump through the years should not be surprised by reporting that he has never been a real fan of criminal justice reform or that he is eager to praise and promote the police.  But Prez Trump did play a key role in getting the FIRST STEP Act enacted back in 2018 and it has seemed his campaign had wanted to make this fact a significant talking point in the 2020 political season.  But, in light of Prez Trump's poor recent poll numbers and his disaffinity for bold racial justice efforts, this story suggests he may be giving up on the prospect of securing any political advantage from criminal justice reform efforts.

But, as the question in the title of this post is meant to suggest, I think Prez Trump may be getting little political credit for criminal justice reform because he failed to really go big and because his frequent "tough" talk eclipses his reform efforts.  Had Prez Trump pushed dramatic and historic reforms — by, say, advocating for federal marijuana reforms and pushing for a federal expungement statute and creating a clemency council in the White House — he might well have burnished a real reputation as a real reformer.  And if Prez Trump stressed how these kinds of reforms advanced racial justice and racial equity in our criminal justice system, I really think he could have secured significant political benefits from being much more progressive on these issues than Joe Biden has historically been.