As Jonathan Chait in New York reports:
While many reporters have described President Trump’s aggrieved psychology, his phone call this morning on Fox & Friends gave outsiders unfiltered access to the sorts of rants he routinely imposes upon his staff. In the interview, Trump’s sense of persecution was so acute he was barely able to concentrate on an open invitation to tout his own success, the thing he does best. Asked to grade his presidency to date, Trump began by denouncing the “phony cloud” placed over his head by the deep state, briefly regained his balance to give himself an A+, and then returned to the calumnies inflicted upon him by his enemies in the media and the justice system. “A horrible group of deep-seated people,” he insisted, “are coming up with all sorts of phony charges against me and they’re not bringing up real charges against the other side.” Trump’s belief that his enemies, not he himself, should be the subject of legal investigation overwhelmed even his ability to boast about his great success.
Sorry, dumb Leader, those of your opponents who needed investigation have been investigated and either cleared or dealt with, except for McCabe, who’s still in process. Now it’s your turn, and you keep giving off clues like other people give off halitosis.
I really wish I could write with conviction that this is the beginning of the end of the amateur movement, but I think there’ll be too many excuses made, too many conspiracy theories constructed, for Trump supporters to come face to face with their own failing – their failure to properly vet Trump, and accept that he is not suited for the Presidency. From literally hundreds of lies (“crime has never been so high!”), to empty boasting (saving jobs), invocations of xenophobia (Mexican rapists), his willingness to say anything that would make the current audience happy (“clean coal”), to promises that he could not keep, or if he could keep them would ruin the Nation (ludicrous military boosts in spending), it was clear, starting in the primaries, that he was completely unsuitable and, worse, unwilling to do the work necessary to become suitable.
But I fear the Trump supporters will mostly go to their graves convinced that the President was railroaded, because that’s how this will be presented to them and, because it fits with their preconceptions, they’ll not further investigate, as they should.
He’ll probably turn into some damn martyr, and we’ll run into “believers” from time to time.
And, in the meantime, another test faces the American loyalists in the Federal government, denying Trump what he childishly wants – direct control of the Department of Justice. I wish everyone from Sessions on down the good judgment to tell the asshole No.
And maybe Ryan will get off his fat government ass and start impeachment. While I sympathize with Comey’s view that the voters should just boost Trump, and by implication all of his adherents, out of government, I worry that it’ll take too long.
