As I understand trump`s source of information is Fox News.
With his questionable intelligence and limited knowledge of the word situation, I wonder where this man is going to take us to?
Oh I hope Bobby Mueller gets the con man and pathological liar soon !
14
Mr. Blow's continual stream of Progressicve-left-bias-laden anti-Trump rants are beginning to get a bit silly.
Surely, there is some other topic that Mr. Blow can rant about, where he has some reasonable expectation of having some positive impact on our society ?
Anti-Trump rants, such as this one, ignore basic concepts of our nation, like innocence until proven guilty.
And they just reinforce the opinions of persons who disagree with Blow, that he is a rigid and obstinate ideologue who is incapable of engaging any topic rationally, and fairly.
And if that is the case - and it certainly appears to be - then why waste editorial space when it could be filled with something useful ?
8
Mister Blow. A question. Trump was I believe known to have blown his credit twenty years ago, not repaying loans and stiffing contractors etc. I've just naturally assumed he laundered Russian mob money for funding since. And that that explained his "Russian Policy." And that there was no need for nod and wink collusion with Putin because of course this wasn't a secret between them. Putin owned him. Sure, maybe I'm wrong and of couse men occasionally bite dogs but really? So my question is why do I feel like I'm the only one in on the secret? Like between the NYT and CNN and MSNBC I'll hear a glancing reference to money laundering every six months or so and that's it. I mean isn't this a kind of big story or opinion or something? Is it a libel or slander thing? Please explain. Thanks.
20
"Trump Reeks of Fear." I think Trump just plain reeks.
15
Trump fears prison, and has for a long time now. The real question is, why don't all the self-proclaimed Republican "patriots" fear destroying the democracy they claim to love by working to keep an amoral criminal in office?
17
Has Mr. Blow forgotten the Clinton impeachment ? There was never such a concerted effort to discredit an investigation. The efforts of the Trump supporters to discredit Mueller don't nearly approach the efforts to discredit Ken Starr. And yet through it all the Clintons proclaimed Bill's innocence and that it was only about sex . There have yet to be any charges of wrongdoing leveled at Trump. Mr. Blow's sense of smell is all in his imagination.
6
The only Fear I see is Progressive fear. They fear Americans will finally see how disruptive and deceitful the Statis Progressive agenda really is towards freedom and economic liberty for all.
8
It's not Trump who is at risk for collusion, it's his son and son-in-law. That's why he's anxious.
13
I have to disagree. Trump has no fear of impeachment or anything else he has done or is doing. He, his family, ect. have attacked and degraded everything of value here and in the world. They have done so with total immunity from any substantial actions to stop them or hold them accountable. Congress, be it Democrat or Republican, has supported Trump by their actions and certainly by their inaction's. I would predict, that Mueller's investigation will not come up with anything of real value.
It will simply continue to be a source for our attention and anticipation. Trump's possible impeachment. Will be a tremendous spectacle! Leaving us with Pence and his pardon's.
Accepting your suspicions of guilty feelings on Trump’s part, and I do, I still do not understand the fight.
Trump is clearly in over his head in a job he never wanted to begin with.
He is the laughingstock of the International community, he constantly has to revise his own decisions based on their lack of legal standing.
His family lives under a microscope, assailed daily by criticism and negative press.
Aside from being very afraid of impeachment, I truly do not understand why Trump doesn’t just walk back to his old life.
9
so lets say democrats win the house in november , of course they can impeach trump but impeachment does not remove a sitting president and neither does it keep him from running for another term !
In order to "get rid" of trump the senate will have to remove him from office but this requires a 2/3 majority or 67 votes !
now let this sink in : democrats currently hold 48 seats , in order to have enough votes to remove a net seat gain of 19 seats is needed so they will not only have to hold all 8 seats they are defending but also pick up 19 additional seats on top of it ! the very best scario gives democrats a 51-52 seat majority ( and thats a very optimistic scenario ) if this happens they still need 15-16 GOP votes but the problem is that most of the die hard never trumpers are retiring or are out sick , add to this that trump enjoys a 90% approval rating with the base and the fact that in 2020 the GOP will defend more seats than the dems and you realize that the chances of removal going to happen are near zero !
4
Trump is not worried about Mueller finding collusion with the Russians.
Trump is terrified that Mueller is uncovering evidence of years worth of highly illegal financial dealings with the Russians, proof that an American president is grievously compromised by a foreign power.
Even Mitch McConnell couldn't spin his way out of that one.
13
Mueller, millions are counting on you. Get it right....but any chance of speeding it up? We're watching the country we loved be decimated piece by piece, day by day. Thank you in advance. #ImpeachTrump
7
Now that Adelson, Mercer, the Kochs and the GOP financiers got the tax bill billions $$$ that they paid the GOP for, they might allow their Republican congressional flunkies to take note of Trump's Russian treason; his attempt to become the American Putin, and his destruction of America's democratic institutions.
But I wouldn't count on it.
4
No, Rudi, the LAW will decide, not public opinion.
Perhaps you had better look at who your friends are or you might find yourself on the same coach out of town.
4
Guilty of what, exactly? Collusion is a nubulous term, against which there are no specific laws. Besides, one can only commit treason with the “enemy.” Russia is not an enemy of the United States, we are at war with “terrorism.” Further, the electoral college selected Donald Trump to be President and they do not have to vote according to the popular vote. So, can they “prove” that Trump was a party to trying to affect the election and if so, how important is that? The Democratic primaries were tampered with, illegally, yet no heads rolled for that. If Trump broke any laws (actual crimes and misdemeanors) he should be charged accordingly. Unless, as he claims, he IS above the law. Also, the Dems have been voting with Trump more than against (i. e. military spending) so let’s not be so sure they will rush to give him the boot! The Dems are too busy trying to squash any Progressives in their own party to notice whether Trump represents a worse threat. It will be nice to stop having to hear all this “Russia shmussia” propaganda everyday, though. Then maybe we can get on with blaming the Chinese for our lousy infrastructure and opioid crisis.
4
Trump, the mobster, in his private conversations, uses profanity in every sentence. These kinds of low life people become drunk with power and never see the train wreck awaiting them around the corner. He fears nothing, and there in lies his Achilles heel.
5
Yup. Trump has to run 'home' to Moscow to talk to his boss and extortionist about how to handle the truth that's starting to emerge.
'Treasonous Trump' is what Trump would call himself if he wasn't Trump.
16
Trump: a fearful person's idea of what a brave person looks like.
2
"Impeachment is always on Trump’s mind".
I suspect that impeachment is much more on Mr. Blow's mind than Trump's. It looks like his personal obsession. Mr. Blow seems not to be able to think of anything without immediately floating the idea of impeachment.
3
The lady doth project too much.
"Trump reeks of fear"? Don't you wish.
I can smell your fear Chuck and all the other liberals who are crazed by their hatred of Trump. You see the opinion polls and America is tired of the collusion nothing burger. 2018 mid-term elections are coming fast and the Democrats have no agenda. The fear is turning to panic and we will see more unhinged liberals verbally and physically abusing those that don't comply.
8
That Republicans give Mueller a 17% approval rating tells us all we need to know about the state of the union.
It is in tatters.
Half the electorate approves of (to quote Socrates) "Donald Trump, a draft-dodger, career scofflaw, tax-dodger, bill shirker, flesh-grabber, publicity hound, pathological liar, expert Birther Liar, deranged narcissist, international money launderer and psychological black hole who doesn't know a thing about public policy, the Constitution or American ideals."
And they don't approve of Republican "Robert Mueller, a Vietnam War Marine, Bronze Star Medal with Combat "V" for heroism and Purple Heart Medal recipient, a highly respected United States Attorney and FBI Director."
When half the nation would put party before country, you don't have much of a country.
31
Honest to goodness, you folks live in an alternative universe. Where in the world do you come up with this stuff? Wishful thinking does not reality make.
7
The left’s fragile psyche is indeed laughable. Charles Blow keeps beating this Hate Trump drum, in my opinion, to no available. Trump won the election. American citizens elected him. Any degree of hysteria to get Trump out of the office is nothing but wishful thinking. The irrational rage of the left only proves Trump is winning. American people are watching the antics of the left. From physically confronting Trump officials, hurling slurs at them to Maxine Waters screaming “Impeach Trump” and provoking violence are not winning strategies. The Democrats are doomed to fail both in 2016 and 2020.
7
how many times have we heard this and similar lines ? for the past 2 years blow and his fellow leftie columnists told us virtually every month how mueller is closing in on trump , that trump is scared , that a indictment is near ..... and yet NOTHING has substantiated itself .. absolutely NOTHING !
Truth is that its not trump that is feeling the heat but mueller and his team , the longer his investigation drags on the more the american people learn about people like peter stroszk and their role in not just the clinton email probe but also the mueller investigation , DOJ and FBI officials are stalling handing over documents to congress but their efforts to keep the truth from coming out are going to be as sucessfull as people trying to keep the titanic afloat by removing water from the ship using buckets !
Mueller and the FBI are in damage control mode but its already too late , any "evidence" that is even losely connected to stroszk has become tainted and therefore worthless , mueller is busy collecting guilty pleas because he wants to avoid trials for just that reason !
its one of the basic rules for defense lawyers, if you cant prove your client is innocent attack the integrity of evidence , it worked for OJ and in thousands of other cases and it surely would work for trump as well !
4
If you thought Benedict Arnold was a traitor, wait until Mueller gets done with Trump.
16
No problem, he is the "Teflon Don!
Vote 2018
3
He's not afraid.....he can't wait for the fight....
1
Mr. Blow reeks of fear.....for no good reason.
The nation would be in terrible shape if Clinton won.
7
Exactly!
Blow, Of course Trump is guilty. Of what? Of all sorts of things
Does he reek? Don't be silly
Trump is on to the next con.
Try to stay up, Blow.
1
That the majority protects this president with thier attempts at interfering by intimidating the FBI and the Mueller investigation , shows an egregious disregard for the Constitution and should be seen as treason . Trump has destroyed 70 years of historical leadership of our country as the conscious and defender of the free world. These enablers should be voted out NOW and they should be sent back under the rocks that they crawled out of. If any other President behaved this way and wen t out of his way to please Putin in ways that scream he is afraid of him. He should never be allowed to be alone with Putin. Where is the Den leadership fighting for us!!! VOTE
2
You are living in Wonderland...an alternative universe. Utterly inane.
3
Charles, we get it. You hate Trump. But don't you have anything else to say? The world is a big place.
4
Bill Clinton was impeached and served two full terms as POTUS.
Trump will serve two full terms as POTUS.
You all can keep reading Blow and the NYTimes if it helps you get to sleep at night.
3
Trump, our first 'Russian' president, is such a total moron with his 'trumped up' charges that the witch hunt investigation is a Dem conspiracy when all the 'players' in it are members of the GOP.
Impeachment should happen because we have a racist reprobate and unqualified failure in our WH to get rid of and not just rely on charges emanating from the DOJ Mueller investigation. Americans, and the majority of them are in agreement with me, need to rid America of the most toxic, disgusting, corrupt, amoral, 'president' in American history.
He is a hater, a Putin Puppet, and has made enemies out of our allies. His mind is deteriorating due to dementia right before our eyes and Merkel's once she cleared them of candies thrown at her by our woman hating man baby.
America is going to take a lot of healing after this fake leaves office and takes most of the corrupt GOP with him who have had their pockets filled from Russian monies as well.
5
Does Charles Blow believe anything he writes? Or is he simply a tool for the DNC trying to get voters to show up. Another week another Charles Blow article about the end of Trump. Win an election. Clean up the Democratic Party. Get the party back to its roots, not the super rich who dominate it today. Get over identity politics and get onto the economy. Trump is going to get a 2nd term at this rate and he may end up appointing 3 SC judges. Meanwhile, Charles Blow is writing drivel.
4
he reeks all right.
fear is only one dimension of his odiferousness.
4
Don't worry Charles, are commenters below. The great big reveal will reward your breathless waiting one day. One day, the daily bombshell will not be a dud. Perhaps. Until then, I can hear Charles' gnashing of teeth from here. His panic...
On a brighter note, a word search for "rac*" did not produce the words "racism" or "racist" anywhere in this article. Perhaps Charles had an epiphany and is writing about something else these days. Please come back to us Charles. More accusations of racism are what we need.
3
Trump knows he is a criminal....tax evasion, money laundering, sexual perversion, delinquent bill payer, etc, etc....and knows Mueller will find out about many of his crimes!!!
4
A totally asinine article written by a career victim!
You can smell his fear? Seriously? The New York Times has been right about nothing regarding Trump except for the slip up when you had to admit that why yes, there was a spy in his campaign! ( IT WAS A GOOD SPY, THOUGH!) Let me ask the genius writing this drivel, for this rag, the following-
if he was involved in an investigation, was being investigated and every single investigator AND juror was an "evil" WHITE, CHRISTAIN, CONSERVATIVE ,MIDDLE AGED, WEALTHY person , what would you say? Why of course the r-word would come out within seconds , yes,that's standard operating procedure, right out of the black victimization play book! Got that- But, what about the fairness factor do you think you'd also cry about that? See, only YOUR president has no rights whatsoever! Set your mind at ease , Trump is never getting impeached , there is no Democrat wave coming in November, all a figment of the left's imagination Instead it will be a republican ass whipping again for the last fourth major election win in a row . Mr. Trump will remain your President for the next 6. 5 YEARS! Cry me a river!
3
Oh Charles, all of your fabulous intersectionality has clearly gone to your head. The only folks who colluded with the Russians are the Clintons, lining their own pockets as well as those of their fake charity with Russian cash, and the Obama administration acting through the DOJ and our oxymoronic "intelligence" agencies to run with the fake Dossier ginned up by Crooked Hillary and the Crooked DNC working through the same crooked law firm now sliming Rep. Jordan (note, you won't read about the intersectionality of the Crooked Perkins Cole law firm in these two matters in the All The Fake News That Fits The False Narrative Times) to use fake allegations sourced from the Russians to initiate spying on the Trump campaign and Mueller's shambolic investigation that has surfaced absolutely NOTHING on Trump (it woulda leaked by now for sure!).
As usual, your gassy column offers nothing but rank speculation and ill-will. It reeks of not only fear, but hate. Shame on you and the Fake News Times for this dishonest and divisive nonsense.
5
i dont know what the republicans are afraid of. there is no way the democrats are going to muster enough of a turn out in november to take the house. they will very lucky to gain control of the senate. in fact if they aren't careful with their supreme court tactics they may so energize the republican base that they end up losing seats in both the house and the senate. lets not forget how they screwed up 2016
7
Charles Blow is hallucinating.
4
Watch carefully Trump's choice for Supreme Court Justice. He'll let his "base" think he's interested in overturning Roe v. Wade, end the ACA and so forth. But his main concern will be to put a Justice on the Court who find for him when he resists the now almost certainly inevitable charges he face for his illegal and/or unconstitutional actions that are coming down the pike.
25
Follow history people...I mean just like few years ago. Welcome US to Greece and Italian Austerity.
1
This article is long on speculation and short on facts. Nothing to this date has been produced by Mueller or his team with respect to obstruction or collusion by the president. I think until there is evidence, President Trump is right in calling it what it is.
10
I think that is why it was put in the opinion section.
1
Bill Thomas, It's called COLLUSION.
3
SsssHHHHH. Don't tell anyone but Trump is a money launderer for the Russian kleptocrats and Mueller is going to prove that beyond a shadow of a doubt. Starting with the Palm Beach $100 million house flip arranged by Willber Ross, Deutche Bank and his money laundering Bank of Cypress., where Manafort did so much business.
7
Trump has gone bankrupt four times, at least, and been sued over three thousand times. He's in real estate not the wholesale garment business. Going bankrupt once could destroy a businessman's ability to find lenders and investors, having done so that many times means that he convinces people against rationality to risk their money. This is a man who can do this because he is perceived to be too rich to actually fail. The key to Trump is his money. He is an intellectual fly weight but he is intelligent enough to know that his guarantee of success in life is money, having access to lots of it, and not having it will leave him very vulnerable to fate. If Trump has any fear, it's anything that can deny him the money that his businesses need to operate. If anything is making him fear Mueller it's something related to his personal and business finances.
17
Interesting theory but in real estate the loan is secured by the underlying property. The owner puts in equity, the bank loans the remainder. Let’s say the owner puts up 10% and the lender 90%. The cash flow of the project suffers and it goes into default. The lender takes over the property and doesn’t lose money till the value declines by 10%. Even then there are up front fees that would cushion such an outcome.
This is my long winded way of saying that in real estate finance the character of the borrower is not that important. The perceived quality of the project is the driver.
7
"I can smell Donald Trump’s fear from here. His panic. His anxiety."
And yet President Trump is in the White House, and about to nominate his second(!) U.S. Supreme Court nominee.
President Trump enjoys a U.S. Senate with a GOP majority; the U.S. House has a GOP majority; there are more Republican governors than Democrats in the 50 states of our Union; and the nation's voters have elected GOP majorities in most of our nation's state legislatures, Charles.
Maybe it's time for a long overdue reality check?
Perhaps it's the smell of the Democratic Party's (entirely justifiable) fear that you're reacting to, Mr. Blow.
16
Raconteur, I see you Trump Trolls have targeted a journalist who stirs up that good old boy fear; an outspoken black man!
5
The only plank in the GOP platform that was changed, was changed by Trump during the convention, attended by the chief Russian spy in the US who met with Kuschner, Sessions, Flynn and Manafort, it was the plank that protected the Ukraine from Russia. They killed it. And it was the only GOP platform plank change made. Investigation has proven that a treasonous crime against America has occurred. Too bad you don't want to know about it. Real Americans do.
3
Thank you for explaining why these United States are on a downward trajectory from that "shining city on a hill" we used to be.
Single party rule, with that single party the republican party is the reason.
Let's see how true your comment is come next january.
3
"But that strategy of discrediting the investigation seems to be working almost exclusively among Trump’s base."
His base would turn on our national sport of baseball if he told them it was infested by foreigners.
17
Giuliani's message to Michael Cohen, telling him to "tell the truth because the truth won't hurt Trump" is a thinly veiled threat. It definitely looks like desperation time.
Remember the DOJ has Cohen's business records and -- possibly recorded phone conversations. Cohen may already be out of options as he chooses his direction.
11
How convenient to have a closed door meeting with Putin. I see three reasons already: 1) checking on whether Putin still will keep quiet about his relationship and dealings with Russia; 2) the midterm elections that are coming up, and his need of help again from Putin.... not to mention the 2020 election and the help he will need to win then; 3) he'll also want to check to make sure his hotels and golf courses are on course for being built in Russia. For these reasons, he'd want a private meet with Putin.
20
Maybe Mueller should bug the meeting. There could be some juicy evidence there.
1
#4: fear of what Putin might say or clues he might drop as to the nature of his leverage over Trump.
3
I was explaining "why" Trump what he does (again), and realized why bother helping the left, not that they'd listen.
Re-read Blow's article. It's a grasping mess of longing for meaning; desperate to find justification to hold onto the delusional belief that Mueller will indict, recommend impeachment, or at least say bad things about Trump. Hillary is, at this very moment, seeking media attention regarding her run in 2020. To say that Democrats don't get why they lost is at this point a gross understatement.
And yes, Hillary won the popular vote. Hillary won 4.2 million more votes than Trump in California, and yet a total of 3 million more Nationally. I'm sure Hillary's extra campaigning in California down the stretch brought in millions of dollars, and millions of votes. It didn't win the country.
10
If I were Hillary and I were even remotely considering running again, I would be pounding the pavement in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Florida, shaking as many hands as possible and apologizing profusely for not being present and concerned enough in 2016. I would get out there, listen to people and take their anger with grace and humility. I certainly wouldn't be meeting with lawyers and donors in an air conditionted parlor in Chappaqua.
1
Grounds for impeachment: allowing investment/loan for 666 Fifth Avenue to change policy toward Qatar.
Grounds for impeachment: $500M Indonesia loan leads to change in China policy.
Grounds for impeachment: emoluments received through Trump hotels.
Grounds for impeachment: failure to impose Russia sanctions (regardless of the reasons for such failure).
Grounds for impeachment: failure to fully staff executive branch and to execute duties of office.
The office of the president has forever been sullied by Trump. We can only begin to restore it by his removal, with prejudice.
39
One wonders if any presidential candidate will disclose their taxpaying history after Trump. The US public is too stupid to care.
1
When Trump comes out against women breastfeeding their babies, you know he is so far from reality he couldn’t get back with a golf Cathy.
What is he afraid of? Facing the fact that the whole world knows he is a fraud, and a despicable person in his own right.
19
The only thing Trump should fear is that Mueller can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that he broke many laws. The proof must be unassailable and of meaningful crimes not just criminal conspiracy, not just obstruction, but money laundering and other financial crimes. Like Nixon we will need a smoking gun like the Watergate tapes to close the deal. Republicans fearing a backlash must decide its not in their political best interests for Trump to remain. Without that we are stuck with this guy until 2020. BTW if you expect Republicans to have any shame with regard to the Presidential clown I would just say "forget about it".
14
“The people of Germany are turning against their leadership as migration is rocking the already tenuous Berlin coalition. Crime in Germany is way up (A LIE - the crime rate there is at its lowest point since 1992). Big mistake made all over Europe in allowing millions of people in who have so strongly and violently changed their culture!” Trump wrote, adding that, “we don’t want what is happening with immigration in Europe to happen with us!”
TRANSLATION: We whites know that we will be the minority race in America by 2030 (at the latest) and must do everything within our power to remain firmly in control of the levers-of-power! We will use every legal, non-legal and unconstitutional means available to subjugate/imprison the Majority so that the Minority can remain firmly in control of this Country and maintain their "White-Privilege".
7
Trump has a lot of experience avoiding and not much confronting. He is a good manipulator because he knows how to push people's buttons, how to change the subject, how to mislead, and generally how to turn attention away from what he really should have to confront to attention upon himself as being treated unfairly or misunderstood by others. If his actions resemble the behaviors of those caught committing bad acts, it is because he has a lot of experience being caught doing the wrong things and escaping the consequences or minimizing the costs.
8
Fear?
Journalist Wheeler recently wrote in a blog that she went to the FBI to reveal her source, who she said was important in the Mueller/Russia probe.
Her release of this info was not only due to spotlighting GOP cavaliering with informant safety, but also the recent Ignatius report which explains the SAME deal that was planned 14 hours after the election. It had nothing to do with ISIS she claims, which was Kushner’s excuse for seeking the Russian “backdoor” communication at the Russian embassy. It was a potential Assad/Putin/Trump agreement.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/is-trump-handing...
“I’m making this public now because a David Ignatius report Thursday maps out an imminent deal with Russia and Israel that sounds like what was described to me within hours of the election. This deal appears to be the culmination of an effort that those involved in the Russian attack worked to implement within hours after the election.”
https://www.emptywheel.net/2018/07/03/putting-a-face-mine-to-the-risks-p...
3
He knows that he will be caught out for his decades of transgressions.
He knows that he's a fraud and monumentally corrupt.
He knows that Mueller has the goods on him and that Michael Cohen is going to sing like a canary.
13
So this is how far down the rabbit hole we are now - when a man, of the same party of the accused, mind you, has been appointed to investigate wrong-doing, treachery, and even treason in the highest office of the land has to be concerned about HIS OWN poll numbers?? The corruption here is so deep, the normal standards by which we judge may no longer apply.
Mueller: "We're gonna need a bigger boat."
11
Regardless of what Mueller’s investigation uncovers (and, like any investigation, it should proceed unimpeded until complete), Trump should be impeached because he has not, as far as I can discern, taken steps to prevent future foreign interference in our elections despite established knowledge that this has occurred and will likely occur again. He is thus not fulfilling his oath of office to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” If his efforts, whatever they may be, thus far are actually “the best of my ability” to meet this requirement of the oath, then he should also be impeached for incompetence.
19
It's pretty obvious. An innocent person doesn't act this way.
7
I don't understand why all the Trump shills are claiming Mueller's investigation constitutes a "witchhunt" and "gone on to long."
Selective amnesia!?
How long did Ken Starr's Whitewater investigation last? And in the end results in impeachment over semantics describing an affair between Mr. Clinton and Ms. Lewinsky.
Yet here we have Trump, refusing to show his tax returns, paying 6-figure sums to consort with a porn star and routinely shredding the truth and anyone critical of him on a daily basis.
Hypocrisy much?
hy·poc·ri·sy
həˈpäkrəsē/Submit
noun
the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform; pretense.
14
It's all a speculation at this point. Reading intent into what Trump is doing and using our idea of Trump's intent as evidence is not how it works unfortunately.
2
Previous Presidents have never faced impeachment unless they have let their emotions cause them to act irrationally. They then realize how much trouble they face and they react with more emotions. Johnson, Nixon, Reagan, and Clinton all faced the possibility of impeachment and two were but escaped conviction, and one resigned. Each man had committed acts that clearly exceeded their authority and might have violated the laws. Each reacted with fear and committed more illegal acts in vain attempts to escape accountability.
Trump from what I can see, has lived his life in a bubble, a gilded cage, where he never has had to deal with life alone, with only himself to blame for anything going wrong, and without any certainty that whatever could go wrong will just take him down, all the way. It's has left him without any real knowledge of his own limitations and potentials, and it's why his ego is so fragile, and why he acts so tough when he does not have to.
If all Trump did was allow his people to talk to the Russians about what they wanted, it probably was outside the spirit of the law and deserves censure, Trump should take it calmly, and let it go, but he is too affected to let that happen. I tend to think that Trump has done a lot of business with Russians close to Putin, so much that not doing so might affect the cash flow in his businesses and interrupting that could be a big problem. That would be enough for Trump to want to please Putin.
2
"That man is acting suspiciously" has been used many times in ways that Mr Blow would definitely disagree with, even if the behavior could reasonably be viewed as possibility suspicious.
I maintain two distinct possibilities. One is that Trump is so arrogant and dismissive with other people, that he is playing one giant game just to mess with people for the fun of it, because he can. This isn't entirely out of the realm of possibility for a person who clearly loves the attention, control, and made a loving making slobering 20-somethings stab each other in the back while trying to curry favor with King Trump.
The second is that there is something deeply criminal that happened. Now, as a man who is happy to rationalize anything, I'm thinkijg that loans that were routed through some large German bank long ago would not have cared about that. "That's business". "I did nothing wrong". "My lawyer approved the transactions". "I don't know the details". Therefore, I'm wondering IF it is something deeply criminal, does it go to something that a large number of people who agree he should be jailed with a sort of obviousnesses that is nerve wracking, such as video evidence of him with an underage prostitute in Russia, group sex, perhaps someone accidentally died and the death had to be covered up (with help from Putin). This is ALL speculation, but IF there is a criminal trail here then I'd wonder if it's more than just money.
4
honestly, i don't enjoy being pessimistic but SUPPOSE the mueller investigation does not come up with the evidence many hope for to impeach djt? who or what will you then blame for so many things out of joint these days? even if there was russian interference in djt's election ... WHO GUARANTEES you that when you vote in november [or any other time soon], those elections won't be messed with [by national interests even]? a graffito once stated: "elections don't change anything. if they did, they'd be prohibited." the global inequality machine is at work. as long as truly democratic forces don't manage to reverse its course, djt & company will have very little to fear.
2
If it wasn't so sad, it might be amusing, as Trump Jr already admitted to collusion. When victory is the highest, and only priority, little else matters.
5
Q: If every Trump backer repeats 1,000 times that special counsel Robert S. Mueller is on a Democrat's witch hunt in his investigation, does that change Mueller's party registration from Republican to Democrat?
A: Only in their fevered minds.
8
It is worth noting that eithint the past twoo weeks 72% of the Thai kids trapped miles deep in a cave have been reunited with their parents, but less than 50% of the kids Trump, in essance, kidnapped have been in the same time.
13
Why is it legal for Trump to meet or talk in private with Putin when there is an investigation into illegal influences on our election?
17
Could it be (it couldn't be could it?) that Trump really is innocent of anything re: Russia and is playing this out the way he is, knowing the Mueller report will produce a manageable level of culpability, and the Trump regime will wave the report around further inflaming the base. Think about this: If Trump is not as dim as he acts - this could be a real possibility. Not that I prefer it...
4
Impeach. Don't impeach. Doesn't much matter to me, either way. Also his SC choice. Will change American lives for the next 30 to 40 years. Me, not a bit. So if don't mind, I'll just sit back and enjoy the show.
1
Famous last words.
In the depths of her despair, our country reads the tea leaves of Trump's fear . .
3
Come off it Charles. He won't be impeached, and even if he was he probably wouldn't vacate the White House. Of Congress and SCOTUS he would ask, as Stalin asked of the Pope, "How many Divisions do Congress and SCOTUS have to enforce their silly edicts?"
2
I will always remember Nixon leaving the White House saying I am not a crook. At least he was smart enough to resign. Unlike Nixon trump will not leave on his own. Why? Because in his mind it is somebody else who got him into this mess. If there is any fear at all it is because of what Cohn is going to show and tell.
7
If you remember Nixon, you must remember Bill Clinton telling the nation it depends on what "is" is. Unlike Nixon, Clinton hung around to be impeached.
2
He'll kill the GOP to buy himself another two weeks in office. The Republicans going along with this are betraying their oaths, their voters, the history and the future of their Party, and their country.
13
As Moynihan said - you're entitled to your own opinion...
But not your own facts...
In the case of the NYT, this would mean not being able to ignore inconvenient facts...
Like this, for instance...
https://nypost.com/2018/07/09/subway-panhandler-bashed-me-with-a-pipe-be...
4
Are you kidding me? What does President Trump have to fear about? He controls all branches of the national government which will remain that way after the mid terms. There are no signs of collusion whatsoever, despite Comey dragging a desperate investigation along. President Trump will be appointing a federal Justice shortly that will abide by his agenda. In addition, Ruth Bader Ginsberg seems on her way which may very well open up another spot. The country is chugging along on all cylinders right now and there is no fear on the horizon.
8
The meeting in Trump Tower between Russians seeking to end sanctions offering dirt on Clinton and Trump campaign leadership looking for dirt and willing to listen to what quid pro quo was requested was clearly intentional working together to see what they could do together. By itself it might not amount to a prosecutable act but the intentions were clearly to violate the law if they saw a worth while advantage from doing so. That is Trump. Trump is a man who has no grasp of anything but what will satisfy his latest desire. His supporters are people who think that they are going to benefit from going along with him.
2
Casual observer, you must think paying $12 million to, among others, Russians, to create a fake dossier is really bad if a meeting that went nowhere has you so antsy.
As usual, Blow gets this one completely wrong. Nothing will be a better motivator to get Trump voters to the polls in November than fear that the Dems will impeach him should they win.
This is so patently obvious that it begs the question as to whether Blow contributes anything to the NYT bench of liberal opinion writers. He has no ability to analyze politics.
9
Democrats are equally as motivated to vote this fall for the flip side of the same reason. Sorry, but it's a wash.
5
plus, even though our gerrymandered Red voting districts and rural states skew Republican, there are still more Democrats (and, of course, indepe7ndentz) around than Republicans.
that said, I cannot see Democrats taking the House, so there is not much chance of a vote of impeachment.
Trump has nothing to fear and it is not possible to see that he has altered his behavior at all since being elected. He is immune to the efforts of those who seek to hold him responsible for something, whatever it may be. The best outcome one opposed to Trump can realistically hope for is that he be sent skulking back to his Tower removed from public life. That would be an improvement, but to think his excellent adventure as president will somehow redound to his serious detriment is a pipe dream. Our political leaders are too weak to hold Trump responsible for his actions - any of them. It’s pathetic, but there will be only huffing and puffing and eventually his term will expire.
2
The New York Times editorial page reeks of fear. Day after day, diatribe after endless diatribe attacking Trump from every front imaginable. Some days he is called a stupid child, others a fascist evil genius. Obviously they can't both be true (and obviously neither caricature is true). Even when he sits down with Kim for a breakthrough summit, the NYT must nitpick and criticize every shortcoming, never offering a single word of praise. Why not? Does that not reek of fear?
10
Yes, fear of what he's doing to this country, and how much more damage he will do before we can kick him out of office. Regardless of the weak efforts at defense from the citizens who can't see his corruption or acknowledge his lies, there's more than enough evidence to "attack Trump from every front imaginable." We have to keep it up, louder.
8
Louder is only good if people are listening. If you think that pounding Trump every day, no matter what he does, for the last 18 months, increased the number of listeners, well then keep doing that. So far it is working great.
1
Trump lies and does so without concern for the truth. He tells what he knows people who support him want to believe, for him and them that is the truth, what they want to believe. The news produces contradictions with his narratives, so Trump lies by called it 'Fake'. His supporters respond by saying it is 'Fake'. Facts are facts, denying them may convince some people, but reality cannot be changed to conform with people's imaginations.
3
Mueller = German for "miller", grinds slowly and thoroughly leaving nothing untouched
Trump = Bavrarian "Drumpf" Americanized to Trump, stands for a suit in a card game that gains advantage over the other suits for no reason
Kushner = German for "furrier", someone who contracts for the killing of animals so their hides can be sold as a luxury item
6
I am stunned every day, not only by the inaction of this GOP congress to act as a check on Trump but also by their actions to protect and defend him. What the hell is going on? Devin Nunes’ midnight run. The house shutting down their Russian inquiry. Prematurely. Then they go to Russia on July 4th to kiss the feet of Russian politicians while Putin makes it known he has no time to meet with them. Rep. Richard Shelby’s statement to the Russian delegation that “we don't necessarily need to be adversaries." What??? After they meddled in our election? And now Trump is scheduled to have a private meeting with Putin in which we may never know what the two of them are discussing? I ask again, what the hell is going on?
If we don’t vote these people out of office in November then we deserve what we will get and I don’t think it will be pretty.
11
If nothing else, Mr. Trump has proven to be predictable. Given that, I genuinely wonder, with Mr. Trump’s entire life as a roadmap, will he resign soon? His marriages, debts, businesses, personal statements, they have all been walked away from at some point. Therefore, isn’t there a preponderance of evidence showing us that he’ll resign when it gets tough again? Well, it’s getting tough again.
3
He won't resign because in this case that would expose him to more criminal liability. Right now the Presidency is the only thing keeping him from a nice cozy jail cell.
9
While every one of my predictions over the entire 2016 election cycle were wrong, I still hold to me prediction that Trump will resign under duress.
Wrong, Mr. Blow. Completely wrong
Impeachment is always on YOUR mind, not on his.
In the House a simple majority is required, in Senate a two-third one. GOP owns narrow but stable majority in both. A hard and long way to go.
Is there any impeachment process for impeachment resolution? I never heard about. Did you?
If not - sleep well Mr. President. Mr. Blow might dream of your impeachment but as things stand at present this is not going to be your personal nightmare, to put it mildly.
But as a forward looking person you should not dream about Mr. Cohen too much, I think....
4
He’s afraid that someone is following the money, that which he treasures more than the Presidency, his children or his country.
15
I agree with another comment that Trump keeps tweeting to keep his base fired up. I don't believe a man like Trump shows fear... BUT... I do believe he fears being exposed as the chump he really is. The way he's always done business, and had affairs for that matter, is to go ahead with the questionable action and worry about the consequences later. This is the way he's running the country for g-d's sake. Rules don't apply to him so he never bothered to read the rules. He doesn't believe he did anything wrong because he doesn't know right from wrong. His flunkies admire this about him even though they all think everybody else should be following the rules. Do as I say but not as I do, amiright?
6
Trump says no collusion, folks!
I think he believes it...
because collusion is when the heads of the five families hold a secret pow wow in the Adirondacks to agree in advance how to divvy up the territories where they can commit crimes without stepping on each other's toes...
or the heads of the major broadcasting networks have a secret confab at a private dining room at 21 to conspire to set ad rates, knowing full well it's illegal...
agreeing to accept proffered dirt on a political rival from a source who will later demand special concessions, or accepting and laundering money from the enemies of your country knowing full well they'll demand something from you in the future - well,that's not collusion, it's only blackmail.
it's all in how you
parse it, which words you use. ask President Clinton.
Trump has an exquisitely honed sense of what he can most likely get away with, and how to weasel around the truth.
this is a man who went bankrupt in the gambling casino business, for God's sake. what are the odds ?
1
I never expected to see a Republic pro-Russian President in my lifetime. Something is very wrong. Also, for all the screaming about Mueller's length of investigation, other Special Counsel nvestigations have gone on far longer.
16
Surely Trump and his cabinet (today's cabinet, anyway) is aware that it would take 67 votes in the Senate to convict, which might lead one to think that whatever Mueller might expose is so egregious that even the GOP can't just shrug it off. That might be so, but I rather think that his fears are much broader. His moral standards range from painfully low to nonexistent, leading me to suspect that his "primal fear" is exposure of a number of things that would be so embarrassing that resignation would be the only unlocked door available. For instance, money laundering. There's little room for doubt that many Russian oligarchs enriched themselves by devious means during the chaos of the collapse of the USSR, and they needed to hide their thievery. Running stolen money through the Trump Organization - purchases of real estate holdings in all forms - would explain Trump Jr.'s "disproportionate" remark about the role of Russian money flowing through the T/O. It's quite possible that Trump Sr. - Great Rationalizer that he is - gave little to no thought about the money being part of laundering operations, but the embarrassment would be huge. Also, receipt of stolen goods is a crime in this country. I think that - and other things like it - are the basis for his fears.
7
Somebody once said that Trump was like the frat guy who talks about how ugly a girl is and how he'd never date her in a million years -- and then later you find out that he asked her out and she rejected him. He is trying to preemptively shape public opinion because he knows what's coming better than any of us. Thus the attacks on the free press and law enforcement -- in the desperate hope that no one will believe the truth about him when it comes out. Trump is fearful, but like all bullies, that's when he lashes out the most. He is terrifying, not because he's all-powerful, but because he's selfish enough to take the country down with him.
17
Hard to get excited about impeachment and the prospect of President Pence.
8
Who needs the last season of Game of Thrones when we've got this?
8
Trump has too much work to do, and the last thing on his mind is impeachment talk. However, it does expose how the left has turned away from original ideas. The left is now a place of virtue signaling, identity politics, and hatred.
Hatred for our border laws.
Hatred for individual rights and liberties.
Hatred of real debate.
Hatred of logic.
The left, post trump, now supports violence, civil disobedience, and mass group opinion thought. If you disagree with the left they attack with violence and anger.
5
Exaggerate much?
3
Imagine if a brave group of people had stepped up in 1935 and spoken out against Hitler -- back before Hitler was committing systematic mass murder, back when he was just consolidating power, rounding up people into camps, and demonizing a group of outsiders by calling them "enemies of the state." Well, now we know what would have happened. People would have chided the protesters by asking, "Whatever happened to civil dialogue?" and pointed out that Hitler and his friends had a right to eat at a restaurant without being asked about the Jews in camps. And the protesters would have been described as hateful and divisive, because they were the ones stirring up problems and not supporting German leadership. And the protesters would have been asked to be nice. Hitler would not have been defeated in 1935 by people being nice. People who routinely and constantly lie to the public (such as Trump saying the murder rate has never been higher, etc etc) are not playing a game of who is the nicest. They are using "nice" as a weapon. They deserve to be kicked out on their rear end, for the good of all of us, especially the most vulnerable. Nice has nothing to do with it. And Democrats know that.
10
Trump spends his days watching TV, golfing and tweeting. He lies at least six times EVERY DAY. You really need to get a clue.
9
Trump is his own worst enemy. Trump repeatedly claims "there was no collusion" [with Russia in 2016 election] and by doing so draws more attention to the matter. But Trump refuses to answer questions about his involvement with Russia and thus drags on the investigation indefinitely. Trump does everything he can to destroy NATO. Trump is having private meetings with Putin next week (to do what?). Such behavior only serves to continually re/focus attention on the Russia investigation. His repeated claims about no collusion are highly suspect, especially given the ease with which Trump lied about knowledge of Stormy Daniels hush money while being questioned on Air Force One. Can there really be any doubt as to Trump-Russian collusion. Ref: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/30/us/politics/questions-mueller-wants-t...
4
There's a name for what gets Trump so incensed: lèse-maj·es·té. It's the flip side to that part of him that feels, despite his gilt lifestyle and cosmopolitan marriages, like a bumpkin compared to many European leaders, Atlantic City to their Monaco.
9
As usual Charles terrible commentary. I told you a few weeks ago to MoveOn and write something of interest.. Even if the house undertakes impeachment It will never pass the Senate
6
Trump lives and dies by the media exposure, his celebrity status. To have that threatened by 'reveals' would terrify him more than collusion or obstruction charges. Unless there are criminal charges either brought by Mueller's investigation or by the southern district court, Trump probably doesn't have much to worry about.
His exposure as being in debt to Russians and not as rich as he claims is probably driving his fear. We know of many of his failures as a business man but I suspect there is still a lot more.
He is acting like a guilty man because he is. What exactly he's guilty of and whether he is in Putin's pocket for more than just tapes or loans is yet to be seen. But if Donald Trump is exposed for things he doesn't want the world to know then that explains in part his fear and irrational behavior.
When you perpetuate a myth carefully for years by lying and manipulating it's hard to see that going away. Small men with great needs don't want to be exposed for who they really are.
No, that just won't do. Those needs have to be nourished in the grandest way so the fall has to be big, really bigly.
3
I smell a bit more than fear here, Charles! It's just stinky from bone spurs to grope to good people on both sides to Pocahontas to Manafort in prison and all the junk in between. Fear? Yes. Stink? Are you kidding? It smells really bad here in CA! And those who "like what he's done" (I hear this from his supporters) - did you lose your sense of smell?
6
When your constituents can believe that you, as a failed businessman who made your name by being a fake gold playboy, lying, cheating, bribing, bullying and God knows what else.. you would certainly want to hold rallies to make you feel better and you would certainly want to discredit those investigating you for wrong doing.
Trump picked his marks well, they will continue to support him. The rest of the world.. not so much.
9
If you are committed, as you certainly seem to be, Mr. Blow, to the idea that President Trump is guilty, then your whole theory here, the whole sinister tone and dark substance of your essay here, more naturally follows. But that is precisely the problem.
Writing politically based essays (especially for the New York Times) isn't like forecasting the weather. Yup, it's gonna rain and be a whopper of a storm.
"One has to ask: Why exactly is impeachment front of mind for these people? If they were as innocent as they publicly proclaim, they would know that impeachment would be out of the question as a matter of fact and law. But that is apparently not the case." These are your words.
What is missing from your essay, and in fact consistently also missing from the entirety of this paper, are the horrifying details of how this whole investigation originated, who was involved, and what they for a fact have written and stated. Not presenting those facts renders your initial assumption null and void, a mere hopeful wish, and more importantly, simply and deeply dishonest.
6
I'm sorry, where is your evidence that Trump is racked with fear of impeachment? The fact that he sends tweets discrediting the investigation? You write: "Yes, there is some impeachment fervor on the left, some that party leaders have tried to tamp down, fervor even in advance of Mueller’s findings. But there also appears to be very real impeachment fear in the Trump inner circle.
One has to ask: Why exactly is impeachment front of mind for these people?" But it isn't; you're only assuming it is.
"I believe that Trump is conducting himself as only a guilty man would, one who has a very real and well-founded fear that he is in imminent jeopardy." How so? His tweets again? Is that all you got?
"Trump has done and said many heinous things as president and before, but it is highly unlikely that any would be solid ground for a successful impeachment. However, damning findings from Mueller would create that solid ground. Yet Trump contends that there’s no there there. If not, why is he acting like there is?"
But he isn't. His legal team has researched impeachment procedures, as a sensible precaution, and he's sent some tweets critical of the investigation. That's all. And of course it's natural he'd be a little wary of impeachment since the Democrats are hell-bent on pursuing it. But that doesn't mean he's acting guilty or scared or anything else.
3
Trump knows that even if "there was no collusion" he is guilty of obstruction of justice. I suspect he did conspire on some level with the Russians to swing the election. He was very upfront about it, inviting the Russians to work against Clinton. He may well have thought no one would take him literally, but many did.
The obstruction seems fairly clear, though perhaps not rising to the level of an indictment (but I think it does). He wrote a false memo for his son about the meeting with a Russian operative in 2016. He fired Comey for reasons he later renounced. He has harassed other federal officials, particularly at the DOJ.
As Mr. Blow says, Trump acts like a guilty man. An honest and innocent man would have no problem with an investigation that would prove him innocent. But a guilty man calls it a "witch hunt," rants against the investigators and so forth.
I look forward to Trump being not only impeached, which might shame even him, but being indicted and tried in federal court.
15
Sometimes the obvious answer is correct, meaning that Trump is guilty of: conspiracy to commit election crimes; cyber-hacking; social media / news fraud; bribery; corruption; money-laundering; tax evasion; and much more.
There are overwhelming signals of this, and much supporting evidence. Soon, there will be overwhelming evidence.
10
I can "smell" Blow's fear! Afraid that he might have to actually work for a living instead of simply calling everyone who is not black and does not agree with him a racist. Afraid that some day there might no longer be people in this society so desperate for immigrant slave labor that they'll give Blow a paycheck for running the "THERE'S RACISM EVERYWHERE" distraction that allows our 1% just enough lee way to continue to rig our society against the 99% of all races and ethnicities.
4
Chances are we'll all get to see the outcome of the Trump moment in America. I'm guessing there will be convictions of capital crimes and the full on destruction of the GOP, which will be replaced by a party of principled conservatives and a few splinter parties of hate groups and extreme views.
3
A very well reasoned perspective that is simply stated and true. Trump certainly behaves like he has something to hide. In the face of the Republican Senate committee found that the Russians interfered with our elections Trump continues with his mantra. Given that Trump deals with only his conception of the truth that he hammers on multiple times a day in an effort to persuade people of his version, he will confront any damaging evidence by trying to distort it to fit his narrative. We know how precise Mueller's team has been with specifics contained in their indictments so far and it is reasonable to assume that they will present extensive, compelling evidence to support their findings. One would think that Trump and his cohorts would welcome the release of findings from the Mueller team if Trump has nothing to conceal. His protests and the fear Mr. Blow described suggest otherwise.
7
It was reported yesterday that Mr. Trump threw Starburst candies at Angela Merkel as a part of his infantile temper tantrum at the summit meeting in Quebec. The New York Times, amongst many other mainstream news media outlets, seems to be ignoring this story.
May I ask a few simple questions? Is it not an impeachable offense for the president of the United States to throw candy at the leader of the free world? Is this not grounds to invoke the 25th amendment and remove an obviously mentally ill and deeply impaired man from office?
Just how much lower is the Republican party willing to drag this country?
16
Sadly, as much as I would love to see Trump impeached, convicted, and removed from office, I'm deeply concerned that a President Pence would be just as vile, perhaps more so in certain respects. Our nation, our democracy under siege, would be subject to the fraudulent piety that defines Pence and his ilk. Given Pence's predilections, and those of the soon to be even more conservative Supreme Court, I'm afraid we'd be heading towards a "Gilead" type nation that subjugates and diminishes women. (Those of you who have watched "The Handmaid's Tale" are fully aware of the reference.)
7
A president’s greatest responsibility is foreign policy. Pence is qualified and hopefully would retract much of what Trump has done. For domestic issues, vote and if you can donate to Democrats.
3
I am not so sure.
I *am* sure that he is the worst President during the last 80 years, but I am not sure that he has done anything impeachable, and I am not sure that he even cares or is afraid.
In any case, he is a disgrace for the people that voted for him, and it would be a disgrace to get rid of him for being a lousy President. That is not how the system works.
1
Fly on wall overhears this answer from Trump during his deposition: " It depends on what your definition of fact is."
3
Nothing would be better for Trump that to be impeached. He'd revel in the honor. And, like Clinton, he would gradually reap sympathy from those who tire of the compulsively relentless and over the top personal attacks,
I think that Rudy Giuliani's attack on the character of of Michael Cohen's lawyer Lanny Davis is a calculated, protective response that affirms Mr. Blow's theory.
http://www.businessinsider.com/rudy-giuliani-blasts-michael-cohen-new-la...
10
President Trump is a businessman. He's never served the public or the public interest. He only knows business. He's a huckster who got lucky, profiting from his own grandiose marketed image of himself, and his way of life. Sure a few good decisions here, a couple of lucky breaks there, and a lot of half-truths. The master of chaos and message. The truly mind-boggling thing is the ineptitude of the Democrats to construct a meaning message, other than, "Trump equals bad." Meanwhile the hegemony of the newly emerging world hierarchy post-World-War II has the U.S. heading into uncertain waters including, trade wars, nuclear expansion and climate denigration, and a distracted captain and crew of U.S. Industry and Government at the helm. Worrisome times for our nation, and a chance to shine or fail miserably. Can someone say, " Let's fund a major United States comprehensive Infrastructure program?"
9
the impeachment case will be 'is Trump a degenerate' and that will be an easy case to make.
6
Are you quoting Mad Max?
Trump exhibits behaviors that can be attributed to fear. He is a bully. He is a liar. He is hostile to friends and he fawns with foes. He talks to impress but he acts only with immediate objectives in mind. He sees what affects people and uses it to gain their favorable attitudes. He has no convictions, no ethical nor moral order that can provide him with any existential center.
This is a personality that is weak and insecure, always afraid of being confronted by challenges beyond his ability to handle and of appearing vulnerable. He is like the little animal who immediately behaves aggressively with bigger ones to keep them from getting too close, where it’s true inability to protect itself would become too obvious.
But Trump has enormous power which means that he really is dangerous. Regardless of his inner fear, he can do great harm, and should not be underestimated.
12
The following quote is a description of the psychology of a tyrant from Plato's Republic, written approximately 2400 years ago:
" A real tyrant is really a slave, compelled to engage in the worst kind of fawning, slavery, and pandering to the worst kind of people. He's so far from satisfying his desires in any way that it is clear...that he's in the greatest need of most things and truly poor. And, if indeed his state is like that of the city he rules, then he's full of fear, convulsions and pain throughout his life...he is inevitably envious, untrustworthy, unjust, friendless, impious, host and nurse to every kind of vice, and his ruling makes him even more so. And because of all these, he is extremely unfortunate and goes on to make those near him like himself... - The Republic, 579 e - 580. Sound like anybody we know?
15
Trump is obviously a paid (not so secret) agent of a hostile foreign government. Can you imagine the tirade that would have rightfully risen from the far right had Barack Obama come into office with this cloud hovering over his administration? They would have impeached him on the day following his inauguration.
If you are unable to see the double standard here, you probably shouldn't be voting. Seriously.
www.tomdegan.blogspot.com
Tom Degan
Goshen, NY
13
How about starting with the fact that he lost the election?
He does not have the majority of Americans behind him, never will.
Of two, single file lines of voters, the one voting for Mrs Clinton was over a thousand miles longer than the one voting for Trump. Nearly 3,000,000 voters longer.
He is a republican partisan install. His installation was against the Will "Of The People". Same thing with the installation of Gorsuch. The accessory after the fact of McConnel's theft.
16
What an unoriginal article from Mr. Blow, half of it is quotes, no original thought.
You used to be an excellent writer, but have gotten so utterly consumed in your animosity for the sitting President that you have lost your gift.
Come back to the light and remember how to write.
3
Whatever the results of the Mueller investigation I am afraid that the country is in the same situation that it was in the 1850s. And we know what happened in the 1860s.
5
I thought we were living in Germany in the 1930's. Which is it?
1
Samuel, It's a combination of both !
Don't assume that he knows more than the rest of us. I am not convinced that he has ever known the difference between acceptable and out of bounds. Or at least not between what affects normal people and what affects him. So there's a very real chance that he is completely oblivious to the actual extent of his offenses.
5
What if Mueller does acquit trump (he won't)? Does that push impeachment aside? It absolutely shouldn't. trump is incompetent to hold the office he holds. Never in my life have I disrespected the Office of the President of the US, but I do now. People say "He's your president." I say "He is not." People say "Respect the office, then." I say "I can't." trump is clueless. He doesn't know our Constitution. He doesn't know our laws. He rages through the entire world like a bull in a china shop. And he's destroying what it took us 240 years to build. Articles of Impeachment should begin immediately if Mueller acquits him. His twitter account alone gives us plenty to go on toward invoking the 25th against him. He is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. He was never competent to take on those duties in the first place.
12
Charles Blow bases his article on his delusions, and not on any fact.
It is an essay that could only be published in an echo-chamber of liberal fantasies.
Although the NY Times often publishes such rants, this essay is particular pathetic.
The only explanation I can give is that Charles Blow's writings have never been subjected to cursory review, let alone real critique from an editor.
Sadly, we such expect more of such drivel as the NY Times further drops its standards in its attempt to slander Trump (or any other republican, for that matter)
5
You, sir or madam, seem to be functioning in the same dream world as trump. How can you hear or read the news day after day and still defend this unqualified, lying, hateful bully? Everything he does is to get his face in the news one way or another. I never thought I would see the day that we would allow such a despicable excuse for a human being to represent any political party much less put him in the White House. But now that he's in office, this Congress should be working to remove him asap........before he gets us all killed.
15
"How can you hear or read the news day after day and still defend this unqualified, lying, hateful bully?"
Surgres is not defending Trump, he's merely pointing out that Blow's claims are not based on much fact. For liberals who care about winning, instead of only venting, this is disconcerting. You don't defeat your enemies by unjustifiably claiming they're full of fear, because that's simply what you'd like to believe. You defeat your enemies with facts, logic and appeals to a higher morality. The sooner Democrats realize that yelling and hit pieces aren't a substitute for facts and arguments, the sooner they will start to regain ground.
Trump is not fearing the impeachment per se. Trump major fear originates from people who stay behind him, strongly influencing every step of his presidency.
1
Trump colluded with the Russians in public, calling on them to hack Hillary Clinton. The question is how bad the unseen collusion was and the extent of Trump's 'business' (money-laundering) with Russian nationals and companies (then and now).
19
I would encourage everyone to rid themselves with their focus on Trump and impeachment. Trump is only one chancre here. Impeachment merely brings us POTUS Pence. And forget somewhat about whether this is about legality, politics, or public opinion. It's about voting, first and foremost. A majority of eligible voters do not exercise their public responsibility, and not just for reasons of voter suppression. Exercise your right, your responsibility, to vote.
10
This may seem simplistic to some, but it appears that Trump does everything based on his narcissistic impulses.
1. His grandstanding at various events with other countries - "Look at me!"
2. North Korea - "Look at me!"
3. Tariffs - "Look at me!"
4. Campaign stops with grandiose but not thought out observations - "Look at me!"
5. Deriding his own staff anytime they get limelight over him - "Look at me!"
The list goes on and on and it all revolves around his narcissistic pathology.
The rest is people trying to figure it out from other angles and that seems maybe like a waste of time. We have a mentally defective, (not mentally ill), President.
11
It's there, and I believe no one is above the law. Vote
13
My educated guess is that Trump fear of impeachment pales compared to his fear of having his income tax returns examined by Mueller and his team. After all, there is Al Capone's precedent.
18
Since the Democratic leadership has already said that impeachment is not going to be pursued, and since Republicans are never going to impeach, I have to wonder who, exactly, has Trump reeking of fear?
3
Easy answer. Robert Mueller.
2
What truly is remarkable for me is the fringe / base / Fox / & Republicans in Congress that find no fault with Trump. Their desire to defend the indefensible is dangerous.
They all appear to be drinking the cool-aide / hashish Trump is selling. It is their irrational desire to believe this hukster that is remarkable. It is both sad and frightening, and demonstrates that history can repeat itself in having leaders mislead their desperate followers. Only our laws and the Constitution may be able to help us. If not now when?
13
Mr. Blow, I read your article and I have a simple legal question that you may help me with. It is a proven fact that Mr. Trump has repeatedly lied while he was holding the office of the President. This is established by repeated fact checks. How come and repeated and malicious lying is not a misdemeanor? And if it is why the person that performs it is not impeacheable? In particular if this official holds the office of the president that represents our country.
7
Because he wasn't under oath. Ordinary lying is not a crime. Lying under oath is perjury. That's what got Clinton.
We are searching for the true American character here. The levers of power are in the hands of a criminal and possible traitor. The checks and balances that should be the power of Congress have failed because they have not the character to stand strong. The opposition have an opening, but so far are feckless. So it falls to the people. Do the people have the character to fulfill their responsibilities to a democracy? Will the protest or become active in the process? Will they at least vote? We shall soon see, and our grand experiment will live or die.
5
I strongly suspect that Trump would not allow his tax returns to be available to the general public, not because he followed the law and paid little or no income tax, but because his returns would show payments to LLC's or other entities which, if investigated, would show that he participated in bank fraud and money laundering.
20
I'm hoping that those tax returns are being looked at, but in this day and age, when someone as blatantly awful as DJT could find himself in the White House, I'm not sure anything would come of it even if they found he was getting payments directly from Vlad.
It's hard to believe that truth and justice will prevail these days...
3
Trump's legal team is simply raising shoot the messenger to Accuse the Accuser. In my opinion John Brennan's wonderful words " When the "full extent" of your venality, moral turpitude, and political corruption becomes known.....' provides the answer. Mueller's case must be as comprehensive, multi-faceted and air-tight as possible, so as to leave only the irreparably gullible to cherish their allegiance. Combine this with investigations into the Trump Foundation, using tax returns, etc. if necessary to pursue criminal charges in his home state and most of the electorate will finally come to see this President for what he is: the biggest and loudest alligator in the swamp with no one to blame for that except himself.
6
If we Democrats take back the House, the important thing is that the light comes back on, allowing the American public to fully see what is scurrying around in the Trump administration, all formerly hidden by Republican complicity, fear, and inaction. Hearings will start regarding the Emoluments Clause, Trump's numerous conflicts of interest, as well as his hidden interests, debts, and Russian Kompromat. Congress will once again have a voice, not just crying in the wilderness but with subpoena power. Even stupid, but powerful things, like Trump's Twitter attacks, which flout that company's own rules and single out individual persons and businesses will no longer go unchallenged. The important point is that the Democrats need not immediately decide on Impeachment or not. They can present public objections to the "President" along with hearings, and insist that he remedy them. For example, insist that he divest himself of conflicts of interest. Should he choose not to, then they would have no choice but to impeach, and a significant majority of the public will be on board.
10
MY fear: Trump needs an epic distraction, something all Americans will feel compelled to support. Arranging to chat behind closed doors with Voldemort Putin does not put my worries to rest.
6
I have practiced law for 34 years, and every attorney I have met in court is able to communicate in proper, full English sentences when speaking out loud. Rudy's stammering shows he's no attorney.
16
Donald is indeed afraid, very afraid! His supporters continue to believe his lies, and I suspect will believe him until the evidence from the Russian Investigation is made public.
His supporters like to argue that Mueller is taking SO long because he has no evidence. They are wrong, Mueller is taking the time he and his staff needs to make a rock-solid case! They know that they will be attacked, and they will cross every T and dot every I, to ensure that there are no loopholes. Remember, the Nixon investigation took two years! Patience.
The investigation will prove that Donald and his cronies colluded with a foreign government in order to win the presidency. Which IS ....treason!
Vote, folks, cote for the sake of our democracy!
5
I don't feel that Trump is afraid, I feel that he's actually winning on all fronts, how revolting this may be.
He's going to appoint a Supreme Court justice, he's stoking fear and hatred against immigrants and Muslims, thus ensuring that his base is fired up for November.
He is actually shaping the country in his own image and the US are looking uglier by the day.
5
From afar, there seems to be way too much activity without achievement in the moves to try to bring Trump to account. Reacting to each and every one of his ongoing depredations is fast creating a ‘cry wolf’ environment. Trump is counting on flooding the airwaves to anaesthetise the American people into submission. Rather than the scattergun approach of the msm, it would surely be far better to home in on his Achilles Heel – his bloviating vanity about his billions. Trump’s tax returns are his kryptonite (with apologies to a real hero, Superman); publish them and he would evaporate.
“How to Make Trump’s Tax Returns Public” - https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/04/opinion/trump-tax-return-public-lawsu...
reports that NY State Attorney-General, Barbara Underwood, has filed a civil complaint against the Trump Foundation. Focus the laser beam of forensic accounting in this direction; may be history will repeat itself ... remember what brought Capone down. Could its publication date – 4th July – be an omen?
5
I've maintained since Day 1 that Trump had everything beat when he got away with not having to release his tax returns. That was the original sin. Sane Americans have been paying for it ever since. The rest just don't get it (unless they're on his payroll).
6
Capone also thought he was untouchable. The wheels of justice grind slowly, they they grind exceedingly fine.
3
I’m sorry, but I just have to laugh. How in the world could a man who never had any realistic ambition or chance of becoming president but somehow magically found themselves as one, possibly be afraid of not being one? This is all in Charles’ mind, like everything else.
3
How true. What does Trump have to lose at this point? Or fear? He never really cared about being President anyway.
"...it is highly unlikely that any would be solid ground for a successful impeachment..."
What's keeping Trump in office is not a lack of solid grounds for impeachment, but rather the most corrupt and spineless Congress in history. Drain that swamp and Trump is toast.
14
This is the classic cornered rat syndrome. Trump the inflated con-man projects and is hiding in plain sight. He wears his abject incompetence on his sleeve. He continues to back himself into a very large corner by his actions and his mouth. He is a small minded absolute fool who is incapable of growth & learning. Maybe his Putin meeting is all about finding his permanent escape hatch.
7
While it is true that very few people know what really happened during the campaign, what we know is very very powerful. We all watched candidate Trump smugly State at the debate that perhaps the Russians should provide the missing emailsconcernomg Ms. Clinton. This statement revealed a great deal. It revealed that there was some knowledge, and, more importantly, it revealed a toxic level of ignorance/hubris on the part of Mr. Trump. Too often both his supporters and his opponents simply accept or ignore what he says because they simply can’t believe that he could be so indecent or dishonest.
I believe he was very much aware and complicit with Russian interference and was simply too stupid and too ruthless to care.
5
Donald the Liar is afraid, no question. He's a bully, a coward, and above all, cruel. Fear underlies all of those behaviors, and he proves it over and over.
As the evidence quietly mounts behind the scenes in the Mueller investigation, he has to realize what's going to come to light. We have no idea, but he certainly does. Someone who's been accustomed to getting his way from his spoiled childhood through his reality-TV lifestyle has no reserves of character to get him through what's bound to come. His henchmen can't be counted on to protect him - the ones who knew what was really going on are already cooperating.
Donald the Liar has good reason to fear. We the People have reason to fear what he'll do to protect himself.
11
If he follows his normal practice, I would expect Mr. Trump to shortly sue America.
4
"I can smell Donald Trump’s fear from here. His panic. His anxiety.
And yet, I don’t have a full picture of what is causing it."
Let me help. It's his mirror, mirror on the wall.....
5
It may come to be that the whole Muller investigation concludes that, while Trump's campaign hired a bunch of international criminals & idiots, their dealings with Russia were more a campaign of stupid expectations than strategic criminality. What Trump probably fears more are his "business" dealings spreading outward from Michael Cohen et al.
4
People who aren't guilty, don't act guilty just as people who aren't liars and cheats don't accuse everyone else of being liars and cheats.
Trump is guilty of treason -- collusion -- whatever you want to call it. He's also guilty of racism, money laundering, and wanting to destroy the government and undermine the FBI and our national security. He's a misfit and he's going to end his life in prison for his collusion with the Russians.
4
Trump thinks he is an American oligarch, and that he is untouchable. As with most criminals, what he thinks does not matter. Unlike most criminals, he has a public forum and can pretend to map the outcome - but only to his base.
His minions, fearing being caught in the web themselves, will choose self-preservation over loyalty. What happens with Manafort and Cohen will undoubtedly set the tone.
He is the Sun King and believes his own lies. Provided enough rope, he will ultimately hang himself.
12
Trump impeached? No. He should be charged, indicted, tried and imprisoned for treason. The Trump White Hose is the political equivalent of the men's room at the Tijuana bus depot.
17
Article 2 Section 4 states "Treason, bribery, and other high crimes and misdemeanors" are grounds for impeachment and removal from office. Trump has pulled off the hat trick.
4
Trump has very long ties to the mob in NYC. There must be piles of illegal deals with very shady criminals that Mueller has found.
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/05/donald-trump-2016-mob-or...
4
I insist that Trump and Sessions be arrested for kidnapping and illegal confinement of minor children.
6
Trump is fearful? If you say so.
You know who is riding on the fear ferry? Democrats. Well, anybody that wants to vote against Trump. Impossible? Well, I have long hypothesized Hillary was going to run, again. I said that about 9:30 PM, on November 8th, 2016.
First the NY Post and now, that paragon of side panel click bait, The Daily Mail, have suggested Hillary is ready to go again. She has a super PAC, collecting for, uuhh, whatever super pacs collect money for. Lately, everything Trump does, she is "OUTRAGED". Send cash. Now.
There is no doubt in my mind, as a Trump voter, DJT will beat her by even more, this time. And, with that defeat, the Democrat party sinks to ever lower as a viable party. It is up to the Democrat Party to tame this wild, free spirited, mare.
The good news is, nobody is going to declare her the winner, as early. I don't think she has a lock on Big Money, either. Who is her base? Single professional women? New moms? #metoo millennials? I said she would run again. I never said she would get far. Beware the Harpy.
I don't think that dt fears impeachment which he will use as a rallying cry for his base. ('Look, they're trying to take away your vote.') I think dt fears being caught out laundering money for the Russian mob to finance his hotel/golf 'empire' after the 2008 recession and his own bad business sense made securing legitimate financing unlikely if not impossible. And, I believe, that these crimes can be prosecuted at the state level making his (false) ability to pardon himself untenable. At that point, impeachment would be the least of his worries.
1
James--Happily, the money laundering stuff will go down in New York state's southern district. There will be no escaping that. Let's hope he takes his entire crime family with him.
5
If the polls say that people have "a slight negative overall shift" on the investigation, I wish the poll would break this down. Does this include everyone that thinks it's a "witch hunt", or does this also include those who think that the Mueller investigation is not moving fast enough to stop Trump (if the evidence warrants it)? How much of each are included in this number?
This is similar when support for Obamacare went down a few years ago. A good percentage of people liked it less, not because of the cost or coverage, but because it didn't do enough for people. Any poll that does not have a proper breakdown of options should be ignored.
2
"And yet, I don’t have a full picture of what is causing it."
The answer is: illegitimacy. The common thread of the subject's life is a fear of not being perceived as legitimate.
-Michael
2
If Trump we’re innocent he would be demanding that the investigation go on to clear him. He’s gotten himself into a situation he cannot get out of with a lawsuit.
2
Trump's latest defense of Putin sounds more ragged, more incoherent than usual. "President Putin is KGB and this and that. You know what? Putin's fine. He's fine. We're all fine. We're people," he declared at his Montana rally.
No, Putin is not fine, neither is Trump. I cannot fathom how those helping Trump demonize the Mueller investigation can sleep at night or look their children in the eye.
This goes beyond a partisan political fight to a genuine good vs. evil struggle. By shamelessly smearing a decent man, a member of their own party, investigating a legitimate foreign attack on our country, Trump and his enablers are forging an even deeper pact with the darkest forces.
7
So is Trump going to meet alone with Putin to receive more instructions? If he were not in Putin’s thrall he would never meet alone with him. No longer a need for secret “back channel.” Trump has an open secret channel.
And the anti breast feeding pro infant formula crazy US actions were designed by Russia to make Russia look good and the US look bad.
All of Trump’s actions attacking our allies are just following Putin’s instructions.
2
Has any president in recent history been using
"attack is the best defense " as a main strategy when speaking publicly?
Why?
2
Trump claimed that his lawyer Cohen was loyal and would not flip. If there was no there then there would be no flip to flip. What a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.
4
instead of "share your thoughts", it should be "spare your thoughts". Until all investigations are concluded we should trust our chosen government to do its job including oversight.
I await Mueller's conclusions.
1
Then they should shut up and let the investigators do their job.
Trump will burn this country to the ground and sacrifice as many lives as necessary to save himself. This current chaos will be seen as halcyon days as survivors look back from the near future.
5
" ... their fight against Special Counsel Robert Mueller is more political than it is legal ... Trump’s plan is to forcefully challenge Mueller in the arena he knows best — not the courtroom but the media ... " Law School 101: If the facts are on your side, pound on the facts. If the law is on your side, pound on the law. If neither is on your side, pound on the table. Mr. Trump and company have already worn out a lot of tables, even before Mr. Mueller presents his findings based on facts and law.
1
It's all about campaigning for the 2018 midterms and 2020 general election. It riles his base, who will believe or at least support whatever he says in a circle-the-wagons mentality vis a vis the Democrats. They don't like everything about him, but he is being attacked so viciously by the Democrats and others that it motivates his base to vote in an us vs. them mentality. At the same time, his anti-illegal immigrant strategy is to bait the Democrats into appearing to be the open borders party, not only to further rile his base but to disaffect as many independents as possible from supporting the Democrats. I think it's working; the Democrats are playing right into his hands. Democrats will not retake the House in 2018, and his attacks on Mueller will be sufficient for the Republicans to reject impeachment almost regardless of what Mueller presents in his final report.
3
Trump's daily actions are all so transparent. Whom does he think he's fooling?
Hyperbole to anything that can make him look good.
Screaming "fake news" at anything that makes him look bad.
Believing that anything out of his mouth will be taken for truth.
Not believing that facts or fact checking exists.
Saying he "fixed" problems he created.
Trying to fool us, the American public, as if we had the attention span of the average dog by doing things that say "look over here" instead of at things that are problematic, i.e. the Mueller investigation, separating children from their mothers, specious economic policies, etc.
We have a president whose mental and emotional development ended when he was in high school and acts accordingly.
4
Joe--Let's see how the election goes, before we argue that our attention span is longer than a dog's. I'm not so sure.
1
Trump's cesspool is rising daily. Pruitt's departure only delays the understanding of the horrific environmental policy of his reign. As American's come to understand that the separation of children from families at the border was mainly a way to transfer taxpayer dollars to Republican donor private prisons, the stench will begin to register.
As Trump continues to surrender to Putin's interests in N. Korea, Syria, and Europe, even a few in his base may start to understand the damage Trump wreaks.
2
Charles, your entire argument (other than your apparently powerful olfactory ability to discern fear) rests on the premise that the Democrats will not pursue impeachment unless it is warranted, which is an utterly risible proposition. The Left was calling for impeachment even before Trump took office. The archives of the Times opinion pages are littered with the debris or liberal journalists declaring Trump guilty, refusing to wait for the outcome of the Mueller investigation. I would bet money right now that if the Democrats win the house, they will pursue impeachment. Period. Full stop. We could discuss all of the variations of potential outcomes of the Mueller investigation, which will probably end with some equivocation, but ultimately the outcome does not matter in terms of whether impeachment will be pursued. A Democratic House will pursue impeachment. A Republican House will not pursue impeachment, unless there really is a smoking gun out there showing Trump conspiring with Putin to win the election--and any rational person knows by now that that scenario is a left-wing fairy tale. Everything you have described in terms of Trump's defense strategy is exactly what any rational person--guilty or not--would be doing in his position. This very column confirms the wisdom of Trump's strategy, in that it fail to add a scintilla of relevant evidence, relying entirely on the insinuation that Trump's defending himself is evidence of his guilt.
2
David Frum said it best:
With Trump there are many secrets, but no mysteries
4
The opening sentences of this piece read like the columnist's attempt to play "if you build it they will come." If Charles Blow keeps harping on the possibility that Trump just must be impeachable and guilty, maybe, eventually, he will be?
Or maybe not. So in the meantime, it's a waste of ink. No one will know what the investigation yields until we are given the results. It might be wise to save the gotcha energy until then. Because every day, many other things are happening under this administration that we ought to be paying more attention to, especially if some of them will be indelible or very costly and difficult to reverse.
2
From 5 stages of grief, "The five stages, denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance are a part of the framework that makes up our learning to live with the one we lost."
To Mr. Blows credit, he seems to have passed through his "hate" and is now bargaining. I hope he gets passed step five, before the mid terms.
We have a lame duck, weak and compromised head of state leading our nation.
DJT knows it, putin knows it and so does most of the modern, literate world.
DJT could cripple and ultimately end this investigation in a matter of days, if not hours- if he was innocent!
He could arrange a meeting with the special counsel and tell the truth.
Investigation over!
Done!
He moves on!
The nation moves on!
The world moves on!
But DJT can’t do any of that. That kind of justice and moral clarity is reserved only for the innocent.
What is in store for DJT is much different and much worse.
Vote in November.
7
Trump is losing the corporate wing of the Republican base (what took so long?) as his isolationism and de-globalization are starting to become realities. Plus the corporate guys got their tax cuts and deregulation already, so the GOP no longer has leverage with the donors. Trump is costing the GOP their donor base right now. The GOP is now stuck with having to choose between the money part of their base, or the voter part. The GOP is in a nightmare scenario, because there is nothing they can do to control Trump, and survive. I believe that secretly many in the GOP are hoping like crazy that the Mueller report is horrific in its claims against Trump.
2
In case you missed this. Marcy Wheeler, journalist and longtime national security blogger discloses that she gave up one of her sources to Robert Mueller. Just further confirmation that "we all" have no idea what Mueller's Team has, is uncovering and will find and piece together.
https://www.emptywheel.net/2018/07/03/putting-a-face-mine-to-the-risks-p...
1
Imagine contestants from the Apprentice turning out its judge! This is what makes Mr. Blow's argument even more cogent, that the "deal-maker" will have his biggest deal go down in flames. Seen in this light, all his seemingly mindless tactics make perfect sense, from starting a trade war (and) on the wrong industries (I'm ticking it to China [and] saving your auto, steel, etc. jobs!) to his sudden about face on Korea (I saved the world!) to his not-so-middleclass tax cuts (I keep my promises with another great deal!).
If only his supporters could see this.
2
While I agree that Mueller will not file any indictments against Trump directly, he may very well file a bunch of indictments of others in Trump's campaign and immediate circle, including his children, that will implicate Trump. Mueller has used court filings to communicate his team's progress and I suspect that will be the vehicle by which he informs the public of his findings.
4
I'm surprised there has been no discussion of the possibility of Mueller's investigation resulting in a civil judicial forfeiture action against Trump's assets. Given the evidence he rebuilt his fortune since his near-bankruptcy through money laundering and financing supplied by Russian/Ukrainian organized crime, it would seem Mueller could issue an indictment against Trump's assets while not indicting Trump himself. And that could be the basis for a negotiated deal involving a plea bargain from Trump and his possible resignation, rather than lose his fortune.
6
This is definitely one of your best columns. Your tweet yesterday about his followers unwilling to admit how foolish they were in supporting him also was on point. Reading your columns is one of the reasons for my NYTimes digital subscription.
5
Giuliani responded in part: “ ... So, our jury is the American — as it should be — is the American people.”
Yes, Rudy, you are correct. And the jury of American people elected Hillary by a majority of almost 3 million votes. However, your pal Trump just benefited from technicality called electoral college ... an antiquated system whose utility has long been eroded.
6
Good article, up until the comment that none of Trump's known actions present solid grounds for impeachment. In my view, that's not the question. In my view *the aggregate* of his actions certainly do present *sufficient* grounds for impeachment. Furthermore, the Republicans have polarized and politicized every part of government to the extent that anything other than an all-out political assault, including impeachment, may prove insufficient to effectively balance the Republican party's assault on the Republic.
4
I can't believe that you of all people Mr. Blow fear impeachment. There is practically nothing in that package of pathologies masquerading as a president that isn't impeachable. Racism is impeachable by the way. And if his racism isn't enough what we know about his, his family's and his campaign's treasonous colluding with Russia certainly is. Maxine Waters speaks for me and she should speak for you too Charles.
1
Public opinion is an interesting metric. Opinions are not facts. A number of Americans still think HRC was running a child sex ring out of a pizza restaurant. Most Americans want to know what happened, who did what and why, and if we are still being targeted by Russians.
Some proportion of Americans think that impeachment means automatic removal. It's a wasted exercise unless the required sixty-seven votes in the Senate are there for removing Trump. Bill Clinton was impeached and stayed in office for the remainder of his term.
Does Trump understand these rules? He is persistently ignorant of so many facts. Surely Rudy will tell him.
3
Desperate times call for desperate measures. We see on a daily basis trumps disregard for the law. One can only imagine what he has done behind closed doors.
6
"So, our jury is the American — as it should be — is the American people," said Mr. Giuliani. If so, then he and especially Mr. Trump are engaged in some serious jury tampering.
10
He's guilty as sin, it's as plain as day. As an independently minded American voter I hope, when the Mueller investigation shares it's conclusions, that he is impeached, removed from office and then criminally prosecuted as a private citizen for treason against our nation. Further, he's cronies and henchmen should be criminally prosecuted to the fullest extent possible.
10
Thanks for your comment! Agree completely! And I believe this will come to pass.
1
At what point does the question become not whether to impeach or not impeach, but how long can we allow a president to hold office who may be posing a clear and present danger to the US itself? That means all of us. The fact is that Trump is fearful of the investigation, as Mr. Blow states. One would think that the President of the United States would want to know the facts about what happened in 2016. But no, the president has tried to sabotage the investigation from the start. That, coupled with his public fondness for Putin, Xi, and Jong Un, belies that something more is going on. Why be so blatantly antagonistic toward NATO? Why malign Trudeau and Canada? Why scrap important military exercises in South Korea? Why slap punitive tariffs on our allies? For the last year the responsible media have been on this, including of course, the Times. The lies about the investigation keep coming from the president himself. He becomes more popular, not less, according to polls I’ve seen on CNN. Trump is abusing his charge as officer of our government by using the propaganda techniques he does. If I were cynical, I might see a conspiracy among the authoritarians just mentioned and Trump to surrender our representative democracy to some kind of dictatorship. That, to me, makes more sense as to causation than almost anything else I’ve heard in the last year and a half under this charade of an administration.
8
Fear is a powerful motivator for humans, and Trump is no exception. But fear isn't necessarily a logical thing. With all of Trump's lies and disregard for the norms of democracy, I don't think Trump fears impeachment that much. In his mind, I'd bet that an impeachment would only increase the value of his "brand" because it satisfies his insatiable need for attention. His Kryptonite - his greatest fear - is a lack of adoring followers. Trump would rather gamble away our democracy and put us through an impeachment than give up attention.
10
Synchronous cognition, RN. What does it say about America's current predicament when two of us, each triangulating from a different continent on to Trump's kryptonite vulnerability - his addiction to his followers' celebrity-based adulation of his fake wealth. Try "follow the money".
"Yet Trump contends that there’s no there there. If not, why is he acting like there is?"
Because it's there. Trump is the consummate liar - lying is, and always been, chief among his skill set. He has consistently turned to deception whenever it's convenient and/or "prudent" in his mind to do so, and if caught in a lie, he simply lies harder, better, with more enthusiasm. If attacked, he attacks harder - he has admitted to this strategy - and he clearly feels attacked now, as he should.
Where a normal person, with at least a modicum of guilt, might modify the lie he finds himself caught in, Trump reacts as a pathological liar can be expected to - by attacking the person, or group of people, who have found him out. He has thus prepared his base to rise up against the evidence when it is presented, and this will work for him temporarily. You see his defenders, paid and unpaid, using his language in their attacks against the press, the investigation, and the Mueller team.
I continue to hope that when the full body of evidence is revealed, there won't be enough Giuliani's on the Trump legal team to publicly defend him.
3
Giuliani said yesterday that Cohen should not be pardoned. Will that tip the scales towards Cohen cooperating? We have already seen a repositioning with principled statements coming from Cohen about his loyalty to his family and his country, and his moral opposition to the separation of families grounded in his own family's terrible Holocaust experiences.
Will Cohen be the linchpin that brings down the corrupt and compromised Trump organization?
Trump's world is one of satellites revolving around his sun. Once these satellites change orbits - whether because he casts them off or they detach - they pretty much cease to exist for Trump.
That is a growing category of people who were close to the campaign and to Trump's past. Manafort is in jail; Flynn's hearing is pending; and all the other indictments and charges are out there.
Trump is not rational, nor does he care about anyone else with the possible exception of Ivanka. But he is sensitive to changing currents. No matter how his cult followers cling to his persona and believe his every word, Trump must know that it won't take much more to topple him.
Michael Cohen may be the Trump fixer after all.
5
I agree with you. Cohen, is waking up to the fact that he has been in bed with the devil!
1
Yet Trump contends that there’s no there there. If not, why is he acting like there is?
Because he knows what Russia knows (what they have on him)...and what Mueller's investigator's likely know -- the extent to which Russia has the goods on him.
When it all comes due, once Mueller's findings are released (and I'm still predicting that Rosenstein will bend DoJ rules and "allow" Mueller to indict Trump), I predict that Trump's 'solid 30-40 percent base' will collapse like a house of cards that receive a hearty exhalation of fresh air.
5
I'm with you except for the base collapsing. They are True Believers.
Facts don't matter, only faith. For all intents and purposes, Trump has become the evangelical Christians' new savior.
2
I am not so sure- his base has ignored facts and their own interests so far - why would they change?
2
Why should they?
Trump's fear is in and of itself yet another reason that we should be worried. A fearful Trump is likely to be even more reckless, erratic, untethered, and impulsive.
7
Everything is always about Trump in the mind of Trump, assuming he has one. His spontaneous reactions more often resemble those of the lower invertebrates. It is possible that his criminality extends only to such vulgar things as campaign finance, money laundering and dubious real estate transactions with the Russian mob -- but investigating even this is in his mind lèse majesté. The Donald is not an ordinary citizen; he is above the rules and the law. What is disgusting in this is not that Trump is Trump, but that the GOP --once the party of Lincoln and Eisenhower -- is now the party of such spineless wonders as Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan. A GOP truly serious about either conservatism or the Constitution would have commenced impeachment proceedings with the President's actions on the tariff and family separation, which were outrageous violations of international law. They also show a lack of human decency towards the vulnerable and a sadistic love of bullying the weak. The GOP is wallowing in evil with its libertine leader while it pounds on the Bible; SAD.
19
Irrefutable PROOF of collusion by Trump himself below: Trump tower meeting June 9, 2016. On the evening of June 7, candidate Trump gave a speech in which he teased an upcoming speech. “I am going to give a major speech on probably Monday of next week, and we’re going to be discussing all of the things that have taken place with the Clintons,” Trump tells the audience after winning several primaries. “I think you’re going to find it very informative and very, very interesting.”
5
Circumstantial. That’s not how the law works.
And yes, I also want the crook gone.
Daniel, you are mistaken. Both direct and circumstantial evidence are acceptable types of evidence
to prove or disprove the elements of a charge, including intent and
mental state and acts necessary to a conviction, and neither is
necessarily more reliable than the other. Neither is entitled to any
greater weight than the other. The above is copied and pasted from the jury instruction read to juries at trial after the submission of the evidence. Trump colluded with the Russians. The evidence is clear and almost 2 years later has not been refuted.
What if our president is PROVEN to have colluded with a foreign power to win the office and the GOP STILL refuses to do anything about it? That's the likeliest path to civil war that I can see.
Please register and vote this November.
6
Trump lied to us when he wrote that his son was meeting with a Russian lawyer to talk about adoptions.
This lie is an impeachable offense. His incompetence, excessive vacations, tariffs and the rest of what we know are not sufficient to be considered impeachable.
Lies about his involvement with Russia are sufficient. Why the Corporate Democrats are telling people not to talk about impeachment is interesting. I don't trust the Democratic party leadership, they are acting rather paternalistic telling people what to thing and say.
Diane, I'm a Democrat, I've not heard anyone in the leadership tell me not to talk about impeachment.
The Mueller Investigation will prove collusion, and I believe Donald won't be impeached, he will RESIGN and then be charged criminally for....treason!
We must not impeach Trump, for we will get Pence. He is more lethal than Trump. He has poise and control in ways Trump does not. If you did not work or live in Indian, you have not seen the other face of Pence. His narrow focus on freedoms and education is lethal. He will be very hard to dislodge. We will have to live with this ego balloon till we can dislodge him.
American drove the British out; surely we can try mightily to dislodge this president the next time we vote. I call on all to come forth and vote this misogynistic president from the halls of power. Surely we can do more next time.
3
If Democrats can take control of the House of Representatives in November, their best course of action will be to keep committee investigations going and expose every Trump administration outrage they can. Do their best to foil his goofy plans for the nation, and the replace him with a Democrat in 2020. Stop talking about impeachment. That will backfire.
5
I believe the Democrats won't impeach, they will wait for Mueller to conclude his investigation and then Donald will ....resign! Then he can be charged criminally for treason.
He should be afraid. Cohen's talking. And Mueller has all the files, recordings, bank info, you name it. Mueller has questioned everyone in Trump's circle except his immediate family. That tells you something.
3
Trump never colluded with the Russians. However, he has done a lot of business with them, and probably a lot of that business isn't even borderline illegal, it's probably straight-up criminal. He knows it, and he knows Putin knows it, which is why he is so obsequious to Vlad. Putin never even has to put a threat into words, he just has to let Trump know that he's got something on him and so Trump lives with that sword of Damocles over his head. AND, it's a safe bet that much of whatever Putin has on Trump would be revealed in his tax returns, which is why we can't see those. Of course, Putin may also be taking the old school route and be holding back videos of Trump with hookers or something equally devastating. Remember this: Trump never expected to win, never thought any of this would come under scrutiny. And THAT is the source of his fear.
2
Donald Trump should be fearful.
Not of the Mueller investigation but our Constitution. Art 2. Sec 4:
The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
“Bribery is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or other person in charge of a public or legal duty”
Unlike the emoluments proscription, the crime of Bribery is not based on accepting a gift or honor from a foreign country, rather it is the receipt of any item of value that influences the actions of one charged with a public duty — which for the office of President it is to advance the interests of the United States of America.
None of the occupants of this position have combined the duties of the Presidency with being the chief executive and principle owner of a global profit making enterprise, where performance of presidential duties can result in accrual of personal fortune.
Occurrences before taking office are not impeachable, but the accrual of wealth of The Trump Organization presents numerous conflicts of interest, that any single example being proven, is a specific stated Constitutional reason for his removal from office.
We're going off the rails on a crazy train, and that's not just quoting classic rock.
There are no brakes because of a deaf and blind Republican Congress. And a doomed Supreme Court.
Republicans long since traded their own security for whatever ruination Trump shall ultimately bring.
We see it in foreign relations with our closest allies versus his fixation on ruthless dictators.
Wake up Republicans: Trump is making sure America will *never* be great again.
3
donnie use to be a confident conman, now not so much. he use to walk around confident that no one could see his nakedness and most people just shrugged and wrote it off to just being donnie. But now his confidence is wearing thin, he`s afraid, afraid people of integrity will be able to out his nakedness. People who have visions build things, a chair, a house, a car or a scientifc concept. donnie has built an illusion and now he`s afraid that his illusion built with smoke and mirrors is losing it`s smoke and he will only be left with the mirror. A mirror that is now capable of revealing a true image. Every time he looks in the mirror he see`s more of his own reality and it scares him. he thinks that soon everyone will be able to see his true soul. When your identity is your Brand and you sell it who do you sell it to? Answer, the highest bidder! And who is the highest bidder? Putin or the Devil? Doesn`t matter. he knows when he is revealed and has lost his usefulness one of them will call in the IOU`s
1
“I believe that Trump is conducting himself as only a guilty man would”
This is almost like saying “I believe that the moon is round,” or “I believe that a dog has four legs.”
Trump is the guiltiest-acting “innocent” man around. Only a guilty man is warned by his lawyers to beware a “perjury trap”.
3
Bankrupt Donald laundered a huge amount of Russian money and he got Russian help to win the Presidency and he got big loans and his immediate family was directly helped to get loans and business favors. He expects more Russian help in the 2020 election and he expects to build additional hotels with Russian laundered money. Why is he scared? If he does not give up NATO and stop sanctions, Putin will kill him at some point. Nerve agent or whatever. Donald sells the soul and security of the USA or he is toast.
1
Dishonest Donald lost the popular vote and still can't get over it.
3
Of course he smells like fear.
He’s soon off to England to wrap his gift of NATO up for Putin- his next stop.
If it’s not clear that he is most likely bringing gifts to Putin to facilitate his next, made in Russia , loan disbursement, then clear has lost its meaning.
Ok, there’s a small chance that he’s doing it appease Putin’s threat to disclose embarrassing and illegal shenanigans or payments. We don’t know for sure.
It is clear, however, to all who will open their eyes and look, that it’s one or the other.
You’d be afraid too...chaos and media manipulation work great for him, until they don’t. Until that time we must remain clear eyed to Trumps Russian designed and constructed Real estate loans exchanged for sanction relief, Crimea, Ukraine, and EU/ NATO dismemberment quid pro quos .
1
While it's true that only Mueller knows what he has, which probably includes the president's taxes, clearly a document he never wants to come out and likely won't in this context, there are other people involved who know exactly how much collusion there was and possibly continues at the highest level, Trump and others in his cabal.
Listening to Guilliani, a painful experience if you know anything about him as he seems addled beyond repair, and Trump, ditto, squared, you would think that big meanies, Mueller and Rosenstein are being particularly harsh over "nothing". What I think having been exposed to Trump for decades and familiar with his biographies, is that these two lifelong Republican, public servants are genuinely disgusted by what Mueller has discovered.
When you add everything above together, and include the president's arm flapping, crazed tweets and ludicrous campaign rallies for ... himself and yes, I am in complete agreement with Mr. Blow. While Trump's media savvy might be sparing him for the moment, his flop sweat is creating an expanding stain.
4
Again, we talk and talk and talk about this mentally ill, morally defective man, and each new depradation is treated as if it were finally a true revelation of how damaging and destructive he is - oh, my.
The man needs to be removed from the White House, now. Not after years of legal investigation that plods along a path that is not related to the extraordinary needs of right now. Impeachment? Good luck with that.
Republicans who look away, and officials who implement the madness need to be shamed and shunned. Civility is a nicety of another time.
And the NYT needs to put it on the front page above the fold in bold type: Remove This Man from the White House.
5
This is a call to action. The two main points -- that Trump conducts himself as a guilty man, and that his team is systematically discrediting the Mueller investigation to undercut political momentum for impeachment -- suggest a way to push back. Now is the time to reframe the the debate to focus on the misdeeds of Traitor Trump. A traitor to our Constitution, to our values, to family, to our nation. There is already a strong case to be made, and Mueller's results will, more likely than not, affirm that Traitor Trump must go.
1
It’s almost a matter of what isn’t Trump guilty of.
Mr. Blows instincts are identical my own and I also believe Donald Trump knows he is a traitor to the United States and that his financial dealings involve money laundering and tax evasion, all serious crimes for a serious criminal.
President or not president, I don’t recall there ever being a public figure that has ever been associated with so many crimes and criminal activity. Just reading his name makes me feel dirty.
How his administration bears the smell, I can only imagine. It’s simply appalling.
3
Felipe
NYC
Thank you Mr. Blow, yet again, for another astute analysis of the subject and the falsity 45 relies on and relishes. I can only hope that his repetitive verbosity does not grind down the facts and corrode the truth. He is arrogantly out to devastate everything because of his elevated powerful position, the question I ask myself is, will we in our humanity, as a country and the world recover from the evil malignancy of this chieftain.
3
Mr. Blow, I think your nose deceives you.
Trump is just swinging wildly and ruthlessly at his enemies, as is his custom. He knows that the DC establishment aren't used to playing that game, and he can exhaust them with the relentlessness of his attacks.
Trump voters don't care that he is "corrupt." In fact they kind of like it. It means he doesn't play by the same old rules.
If you want to beat Trump, convince voters that you will do a better job than he does of smashing the establishment.
2
Its not just that the presidents supporters both in congress and among his voters dont 'believe' that the trump colluded with Russia; its that they could care less. If it were to be proven beyond any doubt ( say a video and recording of trump being blackmailed by putin and giving putin what he wants - no I dont that that exists) they would still support him. Just turn a few pages in todays NYT's and read about the support Pruitt has in OK. The day Pruitt resigned the people on Fox talked about the toxic environment of DC and how it ruins a 'good' man. Pruitt was absolved in their minds of all agency and the same will be for their leader.
We live with a cult in the Matrix!
1
This all goes back to the tax returns. If you have nothing to hide Mr. Trump--show the returns! That would have a lot more power then having scary partisan hacks like Giuliani blabbing like a gossipy schoolgirl. Otherwise, I hope that Mueller has enough evidence to send you to prison where you won't be able to wreak any more havoc on our democracy.
2
Mueller has the every tax return DJT has filed since kindergarten.
trump is not a deep thinker. He is in a position he can never adequately fill. A figurehead for the ugly part of America. He knows that his fate is coming for him, and as we saw in that incomprehensible rant he delivered last week at one of his repulsive rallies, he's losing control of his thought process.
4
One irony of all this is that Trump is no more a Republican than I am. He belongs to the TOP (Trump Opportunist Party). If he'd thought he could have beaten Crooked Hillary, he would have run as a Democrat. Instead, he peeked inside the GOP clown car, saw the same bunch of losers, dopes, and zeroes we all saw, and said to himself, "I can beat all of that crowd." So now we have (predicted) the demise of the GOP, the conservative movement, and the American Way of Life, all because of a political calculation that was shrewdly without conviction. To think that he was almost our dumpster fire, instead of theirs! The mind boggles and gives thanks for shoddy GOP presidential hopefuls. Pence will be worse, since he is more disciplined than Trump. He lacks Trump's chaotic, sadistic genius, but his patient smugness scares me just as much, if not more. You see the animus in Trump, perverted as it is. Pence just seems like a zombie.
1
At this point the Republican Party is on it's last gasp. They are now the party of Rot, and the Mercer/Bannon, Sessions/Miller gang are happily moving Trump's mouth.
It only looks like Mitch's mouth is moving. Once the courts are packed and the next tax break for the 1% passes, he'll be good to go.
I'm trying to keep the long game in mind here. Maybe Trump is a change agent, but to Fascism? Authoritarianism? And the financial havoc he's reeking is only hitting those of us who can't afford him!
1
Most people in Trump's position, in which the legal net is closing in on wrongdoings, try their best to lay low: to keep out of the public eye. Not Narcissist Trump. He regularly turns his fear (and guilt) into charades of self-adoration in which he can bask in the applause of captive audiences of adoring [ignorant] supporters.
If anyone may wonder why this demented president holds so many rallies, it is precisely to ensure that the adrenalin flow stays ahead of the growing depression.
4
Robert Mueller just won't go away. Immune from pit bull attacks by Giuliana and indifferent to polling (why is this important, anyway?), he likely is nearing a conclusion. It should rattle the White House.
I regularly read the Steele Dossier and have highlighted the items that have been corroborated (according to mainstream news reports) by Mueller. It is an astonishing document, a roadmap of treason and the paths taken by traitors.
Trump will hone his pardoning power and foreseeably use it at the 11th hour. This will spare members of his family and an array of cronies. As his defenders become uncomfortable, they'll peel off and stop returning calls from the Oval Office.
Will Vladimer leak out snippets of the 2013 rumble at the Ritz starring Trump and Russian prostitutes? A man who would poison others in England wouldn't hesitate for a moment if it suits him.
1
What you smell is Trump's ignorance. His life's strategy has always been to make so much noise, pound the desk, mock the opponent, inflame sentiment that the interested parties become so distracted they forget to discuss the difficult issues.
Impeachment is just another diversion from Trump's real fear of revealing how little he knows or cares about any subject other than himself.
He should be more than impeached. He should be de-legitimazed as president and the title taken away from him and his portrait turned to the wall.
2
Yes Charles. The panic is clear for all to see. He goes about his days "playing president" talking only to friendly crowds, and he must spend his nights in a cold sweat waiting for the next shoe to drop... perhaps Michael Cohen flipping to protect himself and his family or perhaps he thinks of Michael Flynn whose sentencing was once again delayed as he continues to cooperate with Mueller's team. Or maybe it was all those seized files including audio recordings taken from his former personal attorney. Or maybe all the shady financial transactions with even shadier characters that leave paper trails a mile wide. Or perhaps it's the kompromat that Putin has on him that keeps him on a very short leash. He knows he's guilty and there is no way to buy his way out of this one. I want to see him punished and humiliated, but I doubt that he will be impeached. And besides Pence would be an even worse nightmare. Let's just neuter him for the remainder of his term, then put him in the rear view, preferably in an orange jumpsuit. The history books will not be kind to this moment in our national life.
2
Clinton was at the peak of popularity when he was impeached, therefore, I don't believe that Trump's lies on social media will convince anyone of his innocence. There is too much evidence against him in the public domain, including his crimes committed BEFORE he was elected. He has made a mockery of the courts for years and his reputation has preceded him throughout his presidency. Never forget that he repeatedly raped a 13-year old girl and that the overwhelming evidence against him resides in the public domain if your follow this link. He paid her off ten days before the election to silence her. https://www.scribd.com/doc/316341058/Donald-Trump-Jeffrey-Epstein-Rape-L...
1
Unfortunately, it won't matter should the results of Mueller's investigation prove that Trump is as guilty as he is behaving. The Republicans won't do anything for fear of Trump's base, the Democrats will continue to sit perched on their high road, fighting nothing, while they continue to wait for an implosion of Trump that will never come, and Trump's base will believe only what their racist misogynist and Fox News tells them. What I don't understand is how the minority of people who voted for and continue to support Trump have become the voice of the majority for both political parties.
1
Why everyone keeps on dwelling on Trump?
For a change, let us ask community leaders helping the poor Whites as to what advice they would give to the POTUS for removing unbearable hardships faced by the poor--Black, Brown, White etc
We live in strange (and dangerous) times.
Dangerous not just because GOP officials have lost their minds but because millions of American citizens have too.
What should be scary is this mass descent into psychosis that is gripping our nation. Where this ends, no one knows.
But if the Democrats do not take the House in November, we will likely join the long list of nations which descended into national tragedy, with all the bloodshed and ruined lives that go with it.
2
I imagine that a man like Donald Trump, who has defrauded himself so frequently throughout his life, and bullied half the world to his will, that there are even more shameful secrets that gnaw at his thin-skinned conscience than just the Russia investigation: apres moi le deluge, means something entirely different to a criminal like him--he will be buried by the deluge he has built in a lifetime of swindling and manipulating people, places and things.
You can impeach Trump, you can prosecute Trump, ypu can convict him of Treason and you can lock him up for 15 years! Then what? There are 62 million Americans who still believe that Donald Trump is the only man that can "Fix it". They believe that he is doing a fantastic job of solving all the problems, from North Korea to Trade Deficit with China, from Immigration to NAFTA. There are members of Congress that bend backwards and forwards and sideways in knots that even a pretzel can not in order to justify or worse still legitimize his stupid utterings! This Nation has a "BIG" problem: a powerful and most destructive enemy within. An enemy that can not be destroyed and defeated by Aircraft Carriers ot Stealth Bombers,nor can they be "prosecuted" by Drone operations. An enemy who has been growing in numbers and effectiveness in the kind of warfare that it wages against America. An enemy that abuses and misuses the very Constitution upon which this Nation is founded. Just as the Jihadists are said to have a very narrow interpretation of their Holy Scripture, so does this enemy of the Constitution. An enemy who has Agents at every level of the Government, both Federal & States, who are capable of promoting and protecting its objectives. In short, this is the ultimate enemy.
2
DT micromanages from his throne and to think he is ignorant is ludicrous. He is the mastermind behind everything and he will be "hunted down" and held accountable in our system of justice. Ousted, impeached, or debilitated, he will take the GOP with him!
1
Whether Trump ever receives temporal punishment or not, he is washed up, to history. Prescient people knew it during Caligula’s time and they know it now.
3
The premise of this article is written from fear, fear that Trump will win again. Fear that you Mr. blow and the NYTimes, along with the rest of the media have lost their hold on setting the narrative. Fear that people can look around, without your guidance and see that unemployment is at record lows, the stock market is at record highs and realize that no matter how bad you say it is, they are doing well. Keep up the hate, it will reassure Trump's re-election.
4
The stock market is no longer at record highs since Trump started his trade wars...
More alarming than Trump's fear or even his constant gaslighting is the notion that his base buys it, or would mulliganize any of Trump's transgressions just to keep their blatantly lying bigot in power.
Trump successfully twists public opinion by his dogged 'dragon energy' persistence in vilifying people he's afraid of, & it's working sickeningly well.
From his absurd racist screeds, to 'lock her up' to 'Pocahontas' to trashing as corrupt anyone investigating him, & his base is eager to be unleashed in their own fear & hatred.
Trump's viciously protective of his obsequious family, up to & including a second civil war to protect his smug son.
Expect the Trump-Country gun-fetishists to organize militias in defense of their Don.
A whole neoconfederate redstate Bundy-style armed insurrection.
Trump's pardon-pen's gonna be mighty busy when the smoke clears.
2
He's not smart enough to be afraid. His entire life, Money has smoothed ALL his troubles, almost all self inflicted. With " the best people " surrounding him and feeding his colossal ego, he truly believes he can ride out the storm. If not, you can bet the entire Family has several boatloads of Cash stashed in Russia. Bon Voyage. SOON.
3
Your headline is two words too long.
"Trump Reeks" gets the job done more efficiently.
7
You Betcha The constant spew of lies and his
greatest hits, evince total panic. He knows
what is at the end of the rainbow and it ain't no
pot of gold.
Gov. Cuomo can end his presidency. all he has to
do is authorize criminal prosecution by AG Underwood.
Follow the money
Many of us don't want Trump impeached, after all in the wings is the slicker Mike Pence who is Trump's Nancy Reagan, gazing adoringly at him. Racism, bullying, mocking, encouraging violence, do not seem to be a problem for Pence. Nor does he seem to have a problem with grift and dishonesty that is rampant in this White House. After all overturn Roe but ignore children who are already here and separate them from their parents because you are "tough". One of our favorite pastimes is trying to put the clues together to see how this comes out. But Mueller is tight lipped and Trump rarely tells the truth and "Mr Good at Everything" is not even a good liar. In the meantime, we need to elect people who will hold this administration accountable. If Putin and Kim are good and Trudeau and McCain are bad, something is fishy. Impeachment will not get rid of slick, accepting of it all,Pence. VOTE
1
The truth will out, eventually. Trump will be locked-up.
1
During the election Trump claimed he could not release his taxes because he was being audited. First of all that is untrue. You can still release your taxes even if you're being audited. Second of all just how long does an audit take? His audit has gone on longer then the Mueller investigation.
I don't know if he colluded, I don't know if the Steele report is factual but there is something in those taxes. Democrats should be relentless about their release. But then the Democrats have no leadership so I only expect the silence we are getting.
3
The Con Don is fearful for one obvious reason.
Socially Conscious Women are stepping up to take one-half the power in OUR United States of America. Women of every color. Women of every race. Progressive, independent women who want to preserve/restore true democracy in OUR United States of America.
Socially Conscious Women are leading the charge with the Women's March, #MeToo, Black Lives Matter, protecting affordable health care, the immigration debacle, Free Choice for Women, protecting OUR environment and every other social movement.
Socially Conscious Women will not go back to the sexist, greedy, socially unconscious 5th/15th centuries or the 1950s.
Not now. Not ever.
Yes, The Con Don and his Robber Baron brethren should be VERY afraid. Their demented Good Old Boys'/radical religion cabal will soon be on the HIStory pile of bad ideas.
6
Yes, since the day of this president's election, I too live with intense fear--for our country and our world. But where, I keep wondering, is the outrage? To quote the lines from a song in the Broadway musical 1776, in which a messenger reads General Washington's appeal, "Is anybody there? Does anybody care? Does anybody see what I see?"
5
The summit with Russia - which defies US principles and law - will mostly deal with one issue, defense against collusion.
The Trump Tower meeting had at its core the issue of sanctions. The Russians kept their end of the deal to interfere in the US elections to benefit Trump. The second part of the deal hasn't been kept by Trump - the removal of sanctions against Russia. It's a classic example of an agreement of a quid pro quo. If Trump comes back and removes the sanctions, which were approved by Congress, it would be the final act of collusion between Trump and Putin.
Has anyone questioned what part the Israeli spy played in helping Russia interfere in our elections? I hope Mueller has questioned him under oath and will subpoena him for the grand jury.
2
Yes. Trump reeks. Fear is what he deserves. And what I fear, is his fear. What more evil will his increasing fear bring on our heads?
7
Trump is despicable and so are his mouth pieces. There are no basic morals or ethics they lie to the nation and create a cult of followers. There is no compassion, intelligence or basic sense of decency in the entire cabal.
I am embittered by so many of his actions. The next president will need to restore his destruction with little time to address a future that will benefit all citizens, improve infrastructure, healthcare, educational system.
There is a perverse. irony to his show of compassion for the soccer team in Thailand, a baby in England he offered to fly at his expense to the US for medical treatment and the carelessness he shows to millions of US citizens. School shootings, 4,000 people died in Puerto Rico, tax those who can least afford it, instability for those in DACA, and the cruel debacle he created for asylum seekers and he has no conscience for anyone's suffering they will carry to their grave.
It is beyond comprehension he could separate parents and children with no plan for them to reunite. That is unabashed evil. Every person who was subject to that cruelty should be given green cards although if I were them I would have to weigh the violence of my home country as opposed to the trauma experienced here.
Why are those who know he's a loose cannon, his sham with Kim Jong Um going along with his meeting Putin? That's shear craziness.
He is nothing but an vacant opportunist and a traitor.
13
They aren't talking because them have nothing to talk about.
1
You cannot impeach someone, anyone, because you don't like them. Not now, not ever. We have laws and they must be adhered to long after Trump. When we bend the laws to suit our needs of the moment, you lose the country. Period. To suggest that Congress, regardless of what party is in the majority, should impeach Trump just because they should, is nonsense. If Mr. Blow cannot wait for evidence and an indictment, he is more than a hypocrite.
3
Responding to “Ma”
I agree with your premise that thoughtful and just implementation of the rule of law must prevail, especially in matters involving the impeachment of a president. However, Mr. Blow does not call for impeachment based on animus toward this despicable president. Mr. Blow Clearly states “damning findings,” unearthed by Mr. Mueller would create grounds for impeachment. Therefore, your assertions are groundless.
2
Donald Trump is fighting for his ego, wealth, and ultimately his freedom. This is dangerous because the man is a bald-faced liar and will likely do anything, including sacrificing American ideals and even lives, to protect himself.
6
The Republican Party abandoned any pretense of patriotism and concern for the American People and the American Republic 50 years ago when it adopted, with alacrity, the old Democratic Party's racism/bigotry. The only thing new about Trump is that he's honest (well, nearly) about it. Sad as it is to watch, the despicable behavior of Republican leadership is completely consistent. What is surprising is that they are actually willing to hook up with America's enemies to, in effect, turn America over to Putin. That's new. And, of course, it is treason of the highest order.
1
"Do they believe that Democrats would take the politically disastrous step of moving to impeach Trump even if Mueller fully exonerated him?
I don’t believe so. I believe that Trump is conducting himself as only a guilty man would, one who has a very real and well-founded fear that he is in imminent jeopardy."
-------
Brilliant! This should be repeated over and over, as the Republicans would if the roles were reversed.
1
Mr Trump only has to fear the consequences of his own actions. Let's presume he is totally innocent of any crime for now (however unlikely that may be). If there were crimes committed such as money laundering, violation of the emolument clause, undeclared campaign contributions, collusion with foreign powers, conspiracy, etc, etc. then I just hope Mr Mueller can get hold of sufficient evidence. We all need to be patient for this investigation to be completed. The more thorough the better. I do not think that the special counsel can be fired anymore. That would be on the same level as Najib in Malaysia firing his AG – he did it but that did not serve him for very long and the U.S , for now at least, is still a democracy!
Another thought, should Mr Trump be impeached for whatever reason and therefore, hypothetically of course, cease to be a useful asset for certain foreign powers, I have no doubt that some very embarrassing golden shower tapes would suddenly and quasi miraculously find their way to the media…
We should all psychologically prepare ourselves for Trump getting off all legal and constitutional hooks, that the Mueller investigation won’t bring indictments, that if Cohen does turn on him, it will be over small stuff and so on. Trump’s critics, like his ghost writer for “The Art of the Deal,” Tony Schwartz, and Charles Blow, have spent far too much time condemning Trump for his real flaws—lying, racism, sexism, narcissism, even insanity—and in the process have lost sight of what a cagey, smart, tough and resilient opponent Trump really is. I find it amazing that Trump is still President, but there he was last week, in Great Falls, Montana, standing tall and animated, in all his pathetic demagogic lying deceiving glory, looking to me that he really isn’t afraid of anything, especially not his critics.
4
A guilt ridden person’s sweat smells different. He may drive himself deeper into insanity the longer it is that he can’t finally confess — and who knows - one day, he will say the “wrong” thing at the “right” time and we will be ending this nightmare.
3
If Trump reeks of fear, then what does the Republican party smell like? Whatever the outcome of the Mueller investigation, it is the stench of this party of enablers that will last for generations to come.
4
By taking a private meeting with Putin, with no witnesses, our so-called president is stupidly walking into a trap. It is easy to imagine that either the room where they will be meeting or Putin himself will be wired. Putin will easily extract even more compromising dirt. This will invariably help Putin in his goal to get the sanctions removed so that the money he has laundered in the US will be returned to him and his oligarchs. How can this private meeting be prevented? There must be a way or else our intelligence agencies should make sure they are a fly on the wall!
4
Trump doesn't just reek of fear (I can smell it all the way in Canada), it's driving him crazy (or CRAZIER). Watch his latest 'rally' or hatemeeting and you'll see a man who's becoming unhinged. It's possible that he suffering early stages of Alzheimer's, which runs in his family, but I think Donald Trump's chickens are coming home to roost. That's why he can't sleep at night.
I don't think Trump is afraid of being impeached. He doesn't know enough about American history or how government works to comprehend how serious impeachment really is. His former golf buddy (and fellow Jeffery Epstein pal) survived, so Trump probably thinks it's no big deal.
45 is afraid of the TRUTH. He's afraid that the world will finally hear what a lot of us know anyway. The world will find out that he ISN'T a billionaire. He's built his empire on deception, borrowed money and bankruptcy laws. The world will see that his family is breaking laws on a daily basis trying to make enough money to survive the post-Presidency. And the world will finally learn that Putin didn't have to pay a cent to get Trump to do what he wanted. Putin's got a file on Trump that is airtight.
America will survive Trump although it will never be the same. But Trump knows that he won't. And I can't wait for the moment the deplorables realize that they've been taken for the suckers and rubes they really are.
8
Down in the Antipodes, since he came on the scene, we're inclined to be dumb struck watching Trump getting away with being his usual derisive, offensive, economical with the truth, as he wallows in the adulation of his base, base being the operative word. I have reasoned with friends that as he thunders his banal rhetoric, on a stage naturally, that no matter his ubiquitous lawyer doing the rounds to deflect and sow more doubt or the "alternate" WH newsroom stacking lies and constant innuendo, the fact remains Trump's bravado, as it intensifies, gaining more traction, has been nothing but a front for his fear of what he knows is in the offing. Like darts hitting their target, Cohen's most recent comments apropos his loyalty only intensifies his fears and paranoia.
1
Bullies rant and rave their innocents, but in the end, they fold. I expect Trump to follow in those hollowed footsteps. Our biggest hurdle in the long run is not Trump, but that he was elected, not by popular vote, but by the electoral college. This is and will be a black mark in our credibility to rise above and be the world leader expected of us.
We will survive Trump, either by popular vote or impeachment. But in the end, his bellicose behavior and fraudulent actions will haunt us.
1
American democracy is in terminal decline, with Donald Trump, as the final breath, of this once great system. He won the election by a series of flukes and a large number of lies, Trump is not only a disgrace to America, he is in fact a disgrace to humanity.
2
Obviously Trump is acting like a guilty man. To the public eye he is clearly guilty of collusion and obstructing justice. His current behavior is exactly the latter. Giuliani is simply putting obstructions in the way of the process and may himself be guilty of obstruction. His senility is beginning to show.
1
He's always "girding for the fight." What those reasonable folks among us must understand is that he's cowardly in the end, and his "girding" is only so much bluster. Ignore this puffery.
1
Donald Trump's presidency is a complete con. The great negotiator is nothing but an angry man lashing out against whoever he deems the enemy of the day. Unfortunately, his latest daily enemy, in addition to the press, has been Mr Muller and his investigation.
But his rantings are really nothing but a distraction. Meanwhile we are NOT paying attention to the destruction and incompetence of his administration. For example, this weekend it became clear that North Korea is not going to denuclearize, that we have entered into a trade war against China, that HHS will be unable to unite separed immigrant children with parents as they were unskillfully unprepared, that Trump's government officials , e.g. Pruitt, can have their hand on the till as long as they play nice with the boss and corrupted staff on the side....
All those crazy tweets last week.... just a distraction...
America, wake up... !
6
Trump is awful; Trump TV is even more awful.
Trump wouldn't be president nor have the influence he does if it were not for the 40% of Americans who are his supporters. Some 90% of Republicans are his supporters, and as pointed out here "[Republicans] now give Mueller a 17 percent approval rating, down from 29 percent in March."
And how do these Tump supporters come to believe in their alternate reality? They shun established news sources as "mainstream media" and they turn to Trump's tweets, assorted extreme sources like Breitbart and Infowars, but especially they turn to Fox News to reinforce their alternate reality view.
So remember this: Fox News is indeed the most watched TV on TV, and so it is Trump's most effective pusher of an alternate fact universe. And who owns Fox? And makes boatloads of money off Fox? And is totally indifferent to the cultural havoc created by the Fox propaganda network?
Rupert Murdoch.
It's not Robert Mueller who controls Trump's future, it's Rupert Murdoch.
9
Nobody is arguing anymore that Trump is innocent. The only question is whether there is incontestable proof of wrongdoing, beyond the established fact that many of Trump's operatives reached out to Russia as it was meddling in our election.
Trump certainly acts like a person under the control of Putin. Also don't forget his many business links to the Russian mob, which were at best at the margin of legality.
Trump's life experience has been that he can escape from the long arm of the law by leaving no or faint enough traces to allow him a certain level of deniability. In the few instances where he got caught (e.g., Trump University) he would settle out of court to avoid conviction, or he would buy the silence of potential accusers.
What he fears is that Mueller may be able to produce compelling evidence that will hold up in court. His defamation campaign is his last line of defense. Since most of his believers will vote, this strategy may work - unless the rest of America wakes up and votes in huge numbers.
6
The real fear should be on the left. Trump (with plenty of help from the Democrats themselves) is masterfully moving the Democratic party further to the left. We know they can't win from the extreme left (ie. abolish ICE, embrace Socialism).
1
I don’t see the fear. I see a man increasingly drunk with power doing many destructive and stupid things just because he can. His favorite destructive activities bring harm to other human beings. He’s newly holding back millions of healthcare payments, is keeping thousands of children incarcerated, a one year old had to appear in court - solo. In what kind of country does that happen? Trump’s America.
8
Bill Maher said it best when he called Trump "a malignant narcissist." Trump is not afraid of impeachment. His fear is being found out by his base that he is a con man. That's why he tweets ad nauseum. Lies and deflection are all he has. He will meet his reckoning. And I think he knows it.
6
I think you're right. Trump has the shifty eyes of the conman who is always looking for an escape route for when the inevitable moment comes that he'll be hounded out of the neighborhood... Reputable American lenders hounde him out of their "neighborhood" before, so he cozied up to the Russian, and probably Italian, mobs.
Democrats moving to impeach Trump, no matter what he did, is a win-win for Republicans. Trump, the Republicans and their army of Russian and US trolls (some paid, some hypnotized by their own self-righteous glee) will deny everything and turn it around by saying something like "I'm the rubber you're the glue whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you" (this has been a winning strategy for them so far). Then, if Trump does get impeached, we get President Pence--even worse--but whose psychotic claim to know the will of God will win back any Republicans wavering due to Trump's grotesque drooling and "uncivilized" sputtering. So the circus will continue but the band will play more quietly. Is this what we want?
1
It takes months for a media campaign to truly sink-in. According to market research, you need to expose a viewer around eight to twelve times before a marketing message resonates. Results will vary slightly depending on the demographic. If you go over twelve, the viewer becomes brand fatigued. Too few and the brand never sticks. Trump and team are just laying out an ad campaign. That's all.
They don't know what Mueller knows. They don't know when Mueller might conclude his report. Based on the periodic impeachment threats directed at Rosenstein, they're desperate to know both. In the mean time, this is the best they can do: A tediously redundant smear campaign. The good news is they aren't convincing anyone who doesn't already want to be convinced.
The funny part will be when Mueller actually releases the report. What if the report is politically favorable to Trump? You'll see an abrupt 180 for Trump's propaganda team. Again, no one will believe Trump's nonsense unless they want to. I become afraid the moment the majority of Americans start taking Trump seriously.
2
Question: If there's no there there, why is he acting like there is?
Answer:
"The guilty are afraid. Simple!"
"Thou dost protest too much!"
1
"Nobody is going to consider impeachment if public opinion has concluded this is an unfair investigation, and that’s why public opinion is so important.”
More hypocrisy - public opinion (i.e. the popular vote) was for Hillary, public opinion is for gun control, public opinion is for not separating children from parents, public opinion is for Obamacare, etc. So, Mr. Guliani, if public opinion is so influential, why is Trump acting like it doesn't exist. I agree with many comments that Mr. T knows he's guilty, his children are guilty and his advisors are guilty and he's trying to hide behind every con in the book. Shame - sad.
2
Release the tax returns!
5
Doesn't look like he's afraid at all actually, that's the democrats own fear blowing back in their faces.
We're about to solidify the Supreme Court today, so to all of you democrats.....be afraid of that!
1
Trump's victory was the political impeachment of the status quo, which has the establishment in fear, and like in the fable of the Tar Baby on the fence, has the media covered in his mess.
2
Nothing says "I'm guilty" like running from a cop. At least that's what a conservative would say.
8
To modify a bit, the famous saying from the 1994 movie "Forrest Gump": guilty is as guilty does.
5
He is guilty of many crimes. Whether any of them are impeachable is the question. Sadly, he may live out his first (and we hope only) term. Much damage has been done and decades of damage to the rights of 70% of the US population and 100% of the lives of the planet have been diminished by this absurd presidency. Charles keep writing and I, for one, hope I'll be reading your first article about a former fake 45's life in prison!
11
Why is Trump meeting one on one with Putin? What are they plotting now in return for what bribes? We should all be very afraid.
8
Let's get this straight. Trump is guilty of collusion. He borrowed millions, billions, whatever from Russia, now they own him. He is a traitor to our country and needs to be impeached. It's that simple.
8
A 12% dip for Republican approval of Mueller is a big dip that needs to be countered.. Media needs to continually report the Russian interference in the 2016 election. This President needs to be named & shamed for his lies & disparagement of a legitimate investigation. What does he fear? His history of money laundering for Russians for a start.
5
It will all come out in the wash. Everything.
3
Mr. Blow, you have hit the nail on the head! It's so obvious that he's terrified of the Russians. Those deaths in Britain, especially the last one are a warning to trump and his family. He will go bananas at the NATO meeting, trying to destabilize the treaty and satisfy Putin. I hope that Robert Mueller is surrounded by intense security, because who knows what some crazed "MAGAhead" might try.
6
I've said this before but will say it again: Trump acts like a nervous teenager who insists he hasn't been smoking / drinking / using drugs, but then asks you not to look in his dresser drawer or under his bed. Any President not guilty of any offenses would let the investigators do their job so that the matter could be resolved once and for all, and his reputation vindicated. Trump just digs the hole deeper every time he tweets.
7
Trump fears humiliation is any context.
4
I believe that Mueller has found deeper roots to Russian campaign conspiracy than simply Trump's entourage. And, in doing so, they have also become aware of myriad financial dealings that are serious violations of national and international law as well.
The Republican Congress is where the trail has led. Manafort, Sessions, Nunes, Rohrabacher, Flynn, Pruitt, the NRA, Hannity, all these nasty industrialists and corrupt financiers....the thing could go anywhere. And swirl in some Democrats in this massive vortex as well.
This is Mueller's biggest problem. It isn't just Trump who is defending against impeachment to avoid utter wreck and ruin, with his new life in the Big House, it is also large elements of the Republican Congress as well as their International cohorts. This is the largest Counter Intelligence investigation ever and may be the only glue that is really holding NATO together, but perhaps threatening it too.
Where to draw the line is Mueller biggest and most dangerous problem. This whole state of affairs is extraordinarily hairy because it is the largest treasonous motherload ever known to Man. Is what I believe will be eventually shown.
I'd guess Tillerson is helping Mueller a lot....to wrap up my morning's guessing.
6
Imagine being Trump. He knows most people in government and media despise him and want him jailed. He knows of many specific illegal things he has done, but has no idea what Cohen may have done in his name. He can't trust anyone who has anything on him, because they have no personal loyalty. They are opportunists, they will all flip if they can. Clearly there are White House staffers who consider it their duty to expose his many displays of ignorance and mendacity, and there must be dozens of would-be Michael Avenattis out there who want that big notch on their gunstock. 17 of the smartest prosecutor in America are after him, and by this time they no doubt have his taxes. He isn't just scared, he is preparing to cop a plea: I will quit if you don't indict me when I am out. As far as impeachment goes, it hardly matters whether an impeachment vote is sent to the Senate. In the process of debating it in the House, every illegal, slimy and embarrassing thing Mueller digs up will be on full display. Whether it goes to the Senate of not, his goose will be cooked. He will be on the street and indictable 1/21/19 unless he cops a plea. That is why he will be gone by November. Staying until re-election time means dying in jail.
5
I just watch the movie Mark Felt (about the FBI man who was Deep Throat) It was eerie how much Watergate and the Russia investigation are alike. The same lies from the White House, the same pressures, the same cover-ups, the same panic from people in power. Oh, yes, trump definitely has something to hide
6
If we win the House they don't have to move to impeach. Let's just start with subpoenaing his tax returns. Then we can into violations of the emolument clause. It is fertile and stinking ground and they can publicize all of it.
2
If Ronald Reagan knew what the Republican Party had become he would never stop throwing up.
1
If I remember correctly Reagan was the first president in my lifetime to commit treason. I would call working behind the back of the American president, to have the hostages held until after the election because you would offer them a better deal giving them arms, is Treason 101.
1
He doth protest too much, methinks. I'm re-arranging quotes but you get the idea. Yes, Charles Blow. While I'm here I would like to add that I love your passion and I love your rightful and well researched anger. Keep it up. I love reading your articles, it keeps my own anger glowing and productive.
4
We are at a crossroads. It is now completely exposed the we are ruled by oligarchs, powerful men with unlimited resources to sway public opinion to their ends. The Republicans are their shills, and probably some Democrats.
They rule the world. How do we defang them and diminish their sway on us? There is the great question.
Trump and his party are the protectors of a canibalistic form of Capitalism that is gradually devouring the majority of the world population.
If there is a shift and Democrats somehow threaten to take control of both houses, we are in for a very ugly power struggle by the dark forces, the real rulers of the world. The Republicans will unleash the dogs of war. They are ruthless.
4
Public Opinion on Trump and Corruption? It's hard to not see EVIL in Trump's latest Shenanigan on bullying third world countries and breast feeding mothers! But leave it to our Evangelicals who are so pro-choice and anti birth control to criticize breast feeding and promote corporate profits! I hope all of 50 states have at least 50 billboard in each state showing a nursing mother w a banner about Trump's condemnation of breastfeeding.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/08/health/world-health-breastfeeding-ecu...
2
Why do I feel lately that we are just one step away from something like a civil war?
4
The Democrats need to focus all their energy and attention on moving forward after Trump's Reign of Terror is over, whether that be in 2020 or in 2024. Take a page out of the Republican playbook and plan for the long-term, without the dirty, dark money, the Machiavellian tactics, the blatant lies and propaganda and the destruction of democratic norms. Any plan for impeachment is a total waste of time and will only create more support for Trump, which will secure his second term. An impeachment trial would go nowhere because Republicans are in total control and Trump knows it.
Trump undermines every democratic institution, creates constant chaos, and he is a master media manipulator. Blow is giving Trump way too much credit. Trump acts completely on impulse according to whatever he just heard on Fox News. It doesn't matter what Mueller's findings are. His base could care less now that they have a lock on the Supreme Court for generations. That will be Trump's legacy and he knows that also.
Trump has been a despicable and corrupt man his entire life and he has gotten away with it, and he will continue to get away with it. It is not fear we smell - it is the stench of a need to have all attention on the man with the orange face, American's version of a sun-king. Trump fears only one thing - that one day he will be wandering around his Versailles-like apartment with the golden toilet, tweeting away and no one is listening. The sounds of silence. That scares him to death.
6
If Trump is inocent of any wrong-doing he would ignore any probe into any wrongdoing and concentrate on governing the country . So the fact that he keeps on harping his innocence , he is showing his guilt!
3
He is acting scared in part because he is afraid that there is some "there" there. He's afraid that Mueller and his group have found incriminating evidence against him. This would lead to the end of his dream game - playing president of the United States of America.
The main reason, however, that he's acting scared is because he IS scared, just as the coward inside of him told him to become a draft dodger during the Vietnam war period. He's certain that he'll be shown to be the craven coward he has always been.
1
Trump claims everyday that the investigation is nothing but a witch hunt. David Nunes, the ambitious morally bankrupt Congressman did the bidding for Trump and the intel committee under his chairmanship supported Trump’s delusion. It is interesting that Senate intel committee under Republican leadership concluded otherwise confirming that Vladimir the thug helped Trump to win the election. Of course, the twitter “king” and chief of fake news didn’t make any comment on the senate committee conclusion. Trump behaves exactly what is done by a guilty person by mentioning “witch hunt” to create a delusion among his followers daily. His fascination with Vladimir and hatred for our allies are self evident. His mission is to detroy our long standing strong relationship with our allies and partner with Vladimir the thug. Of course, Vladimir is very happy and he could never dream of having Trump in the White House as his partner to destroy democracy of the free world.
Perhaps Trump is afraid of impeachment, but to believe that is to assume that he has a fear of consequence and as a man who has filed Chapter 11 Bankruptcy six times and who has often failed to pay for services rendered and who has not only forsaken decades long alliances between the US and its allies but has treated those allies with rude and demeaning behavior, it's not clear that he has much fear of any consequence. He is impetuous and that fact of him seems born of an ironclad belief that he is not just the smartest man in the room, but in all rooms throughout all history.
3
The Mueller investigation has one mystery to solve. What has Putin got on Trump? Every other issue pales in comparison.
The next SCOTUS confirmation should take place only AFTER the Mueller report is final. Because everyone knows that if/when an indictment occurs, it will go to the Supreme Court. When does any citizen anywhere get to chose their own judge?
2
President Trump fears the discovery of a meeting that will be held with Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia with a Russian at an undisclosed location with the Russian interpreter as the only witness. Also, the outcome of Special Counsel Mueller investigation about the Russians meddling in our elections that helped Trump get elected and Trumps collusion with Russia. Most likely, Trump will be asking Putin 's help to again meddle in the midterm elections to prevent Democrats to take some posture in Congress so he can continue being the sovereign authority. In turn, President Putin will ask to drop the military aid the United States is giving to Ukraine so he can take over the country and to soften the sanctions imposed to Russia.
President Trump continue having rallies to lie to his audience; to have no fear about his friendship with Russia. There is something murky going on between President Trump, members of his Cabinet, the Republicans and Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia that could intentionally damage our democracy because “money is the root of all evil.”
1
The republicans know he's guilty and that's why they are circling the wagons and desperately trying to undermine the investigation. They have sold out their souls and their country.
2
Republicans are the party of fear, and I am not just talking about fear of impeachment. They fear everything. They fear people who do not look like them, they fear faiths or lack of faith that is different from theirs (which I would argue they clearly demonstrate that they have no faith whatsoever), they fear women, and they fear running out of money regardless of how much they have stolen. Republicans want guns because they are afraid of losing a fair fight. That is metaphorical as well as literal. And by embracing guns out of fear, they show their complete lack of faith in their gods. It is a display of utter madness.
So, yes, Republicans are afraid that the criminal they have supported all this time will be impeached, whether that fear is founded or not. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that Democrats will show the backbone to carry impeachment--or more appropriately, conviction--through, even though that is what this country needs right now to tamp down the current atmosphere of hate. Instead I suspect the Democratic Party will keep trying to win over the clueless Trump supporters and burn down their own house in the process. I hope I am wrong.
Perhaps I'm alone on the left in thinking that impeachment of Trump would not be a good idea. Pence is just as bad, imho, and keeping Trump as the face of the Republican Party can only be a good thing in turning good people against it.
The solution to the long national nightmare we're living in day to day is to elect Democrats to both the House and Senate, in numbers sufficient to override DJT's vetoes, and to investigate the heck out of him, as the GOP did to sink Hillary.
Yes, we've lost the Supreme Court for decades, but let that be a lesson to us that we need to register our voters, educate our voters, motivate our voters, turn out our voters, and VOTE. At every level from school board to POTUS.
1
The big questions now that all citizens should be asking is...
Why in the world would Trump send a few hand partisan chosen Senators from the APPROPRIATIONS committee to Russia without any transparency for the intent of the meeting or reports on what transpired?
Why in the world would Trump have a private non transparent meeting with Putin one on one? Goal? Agenda?
This all when every intelligence committee in US and EU and even the Senate intelligence committee has confirmed that Russia has meddled in the US election/aka/attacked the US in favor of Trump and is intent on doing it again?
1
Trump knows what he's done, and that explains his fear.
He knows what'll happen to him if the rest of us find out.
2
Blow and the Times are playing the GOP/Trump adminiastration's game, and by their rules, when they repeat alleged numbers of believers or non believers, as if the justice system anywhere was a popularity contest.
In the Nixon administration, while the GOP played hardball defense-ridiculing all and every allegation against the president, but I cannot recall any news service holding daily readings and quotes of numbers or percentages produced by god only knows who.
But by imitating the GOP and providing some kind of number system -the number of true believers versus those not willing to suspend belief-the media plays the entire set of issues according to the GOP's rule book.
If our courts and justice all worked by popularity alone, no one would hire lawyers. The rich and powerful would hire advertising and image consultants.
The Times would serve everyone and every thing better if it wouldn't throw numbers of supporters around as if they meant something.
This is how the Democrats managed to elect Trump in the first place in 2016.
The Democratic Party really doesn't want to get rid of Trump, they just want to talk about it, ad infinitum. He's the best fund raiser they've ever had and, in case you've missed it, fundraising is what the Democratic Party is all about.
The president has already convinced his base that anything said by Muller or any ‘liberal/elitist’ news source is fake and not to be trusted. This is a classic rich and powerful man covering his tracks plot, which any movie or television series would exploit to the hilt. This is what happens when the uneducated elect a man with no moral compass other than his own self glorification.
While I agree that Donald Trump is probably the worst president in U.S. history and is should be impeached, I am fearful that his successor would be worse. The vice president is to the right of Attila the Hun in his beliefs and, thanks to his more rational demeanor and more subdued manner of speech than Trump, could probably get away with an even more egregious form of governance. As the saying goes, "beware of what you wish for."
2
The real question is how will the American people react when Mueller presents us with overwhelming evidence that the trump family and his campaign engaged in espionage as an avenue not to the WH but to wealth? Will they be appalled, outraged, and driven by patriotism to not just throw him out of office, but to make an example of him and his criminal co-conspirators with life sentences in prison?
Although Mueller hasn't been on this for very long, it appears with the expansions of his investigation, his hiring of additional prosecutors and the number of people already indicted and plead out that he's pulled the thread of a vast conspiracy. There's a reason they are not yet ready to sentence Gen. Flynn. Is that reason because he's providing them with so many leads and connections to treason that they want to be sure they have the problem pulled out root and branch?
I believe that when Mueller makes his report the country will be shocked at the depth and scope of criminality he's uncovered just in the trump family. My fervent hope is that he's able to scoop up those who helped bankroll this overthrow of our government. Namely the Mercers and Erik Prince.
2
One small correction: if there is one thing that characterizes Trump it is a complete lack of fear, anxiety, or any of its analogs (for example, shame, guilt, or remorse).
Trump fears only lose of money.
He figures he can pardon himself of any crimes.
His presidency has greatly benefited his family financially (from China, Saudi Arabia, Russia).
Now that's a crime.
1
We know more than that Mr. Blow. We know that Bernie was infiltrated by Russians and Republicans. We know that they had a large hand in turning progressives against Hillary, Schumer, Pelosi, and democrats in general. Bernie is more at fault for the Trump presidency and the Supreme Court in the hands of Republicans for the next 30 years. Yet we never hear Bernie say anything about him being infiltrated by Republicans and Russians. We never hear progressive live up to the fact that they gave the presidency to Trump. All they do is attack democrats. Progressives are a Russian and republican dream come true.
2
How do "we" know these things?
We know because it was reported.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-fake-news-russia_us_5...
Bernie was made aware of it but he said nothing because it benefited his campaign. He risked the entire welfare of the America on his candidacy.
1
Trump exudes guilt, most likely tied to his finances, which will have entailed state-level crimes, from which there is no option of a federal pardon.
He shows neither deep nor sustained interest in functioning effectively as president, so is the goal of the bluster and blather about the special counsel investigation to create a "shiny object" to rally the base in a long-shot attempt to stay in office until 2025? and thereby at least defer state prosecution in an attempt to run out the clock? He will turn age 79 in 2025. If convicted after leaving office, the appeals process could keep him free and wealthy well into his 80s.
1
I believe impeachment is the least of it. Trump likely fears that whatever fortune he has left will be extinguished by the weight of damning evidence against him. Trump seems to consider material wealth the only measure of a man.
2
Jared Kushner, Rodger Stone, and Don Junior have not been indited, although, strongly implicated in this investigation. Just like Watergate there will most likely be a group indictment handed down with Donald Trump named as an unindicted co- conspirator just like Nixon and then the party will really get started.
Impeachment, even if they found Trump guilty of massive crimes for decades, is not likely. And perhaps not the best outcome for democrats.
A better solution is for a weakened Trump to limp into the 2020 election cycle becoming ever more unhinged to appeal to his shrinking base.
Such a scenario could lead to dems taking back the White house and both houses of Congress. This, I think, is the optimal scenario for those who want to see our country put this dark chapter behind us.
1
DJT needs to be locked up and put away. Somehow he must be silenced until the end of his days. If impeached or not reelected he will be an insufferable public presence, sowing the exact same dissension, chaos, and tweetstorms that he is sowing today. He has been using a hateful megaphone for decades and will continue to wield it whether or not he is president. And the media will continue to amplify his voice as it always has.
1
Trump has more than Mueller to fear. The North Koreans are backing away because Kim never intended to give up his nukes. The truth of this administration's cruelty and incompetence of those behind his immigration policy cannot be hidden. The real economic damage of Trump's trade war with China and Europe is about to hit the homeland. Our former allies in NATO will not accept his abuse any further, and his cozy bromance with Putin is looking increasingly suspicious. This is winning?
1
Trump certainly does reek a foul smell. Fear of what though?
Knowing the "man" as we do, Trump's only concerns in life have centered on his image and his money. Therefore, it could be argued that Trump is fearful that his image will be damaged and that HIS money is 'damaged'.
On the issue of his image it most likely has to do with his insistence on his being the greatest, smartest businessman ever in the history of the world. Would we find out that he is just a lying fraudster who cheated to get where he is today?
As for his money, his other first love, how would that be 'damaged'? Is he afraid that his ill gotten gains would be taken from him? Not being allowed access to all the supposed money laundered on behalf of the Russian oligarchs? That he would have to pay taxes previously hidden by his accountants in all sorts of nefarious LLC's?
So many possibilities for the source of his fear but all are based upon his image and or his money. The two things in the world to which Trump remains steadfastly loyal.
Like the author, Mr. Blow, the seeming majority of the comments appear from an alternate reality.
Its good to have a strong fantasy life, it helps the troubled and delusional and depressives amongst us deal with issues that are unpleasant and unpalatable.
I suspect in the next seven or so years there will continue to be much phantasm pertaining to the demise of the President.
1
Impeachment will not rid us of this corrupt administration. If successful, it would replace one corrupt man with another, and a theocrat at that.
The only way forward as a nation is for the special prosecutor to issue indictments. And not for lying to prosecutors. That's fine as far as it goes, but we need to see indictments for conspiracy with Russia and/or foreign nationals working for Russia. We need to see securities fraud when these crooks trade based on insider information. We need to see indictments for money laundering going back decades. We need to see tax fraud. We need to see payoffs for abortions.
And we need to see all this from the entire Trump family. Dates. Payments. Amounts. Records.
2
When you start living your life by successfully telling lies, then having to lie about the lies, then lie about everything, the fear is that the lies unravel.
The President demonstrates nearly daily that he is at the point in his life where all he can do is tell lies. He knows this and fears they catch up with him.
1
Donald Trump is fearful not just of reality, but of contrived reality, or "fake news." Since Trump himself has had great success with lies, he fears others will lie as well. In his world, the truth itself is a lie, and the only issue is who wins. And since Trump's opponents are legion, he's in a constant battle, not for truth, but for power. The man who is the enemy of everyone has everyone for an enemy.
1
Any way you slice it, Trump is expendable.
The reality is this: Trump got into the White House because Chris Kobach, and Interstate Crosscheck illegally "caged" or purged millions of Democrats, mostly of color, from the voter rolls.
Very little is being done to stop it and it will happen again.
Democrats are focused on the wrong thing. Plan on another four years of Trump, or another Republican coup d'état.
http://www.gregpalast.com/election-stolen-heres/
1
It is absolute insanity and dereliction of duty to America to let a President who is under investigation of collusion and obstruction of justice pick a SCOTUS judge who almost certainly will have to weigh in on Constitutional questions on his own fate. And you know Trump is going to push this to a constitutional crisis. Republicans had NO PROBLEM with a SCOTUS vacancy for a YEAR when it suited their purposes.... so they can hold off now until Trump is cleared for the good of the nation. THIS IS PURE POLITICAL CORRUPTION!
2
Thank you. I can smell the fear all the way out to the Koʻolau Range. I thought I was the only one and I'm very pleased to know that I am not.
1
“Nobody is going to consider impeachment if public opinion has concluded this is an unfair investigation, and that’s why public opinion is so important.”
Giuliani sums up the Trump defense: Forget the truth, forget the facts, believe only the lies we tell you.
And that is the message of Donald Trump who is the second greatest disgrace in American history and the most serious threat to national security since Pearl Harbor.
As to smelling Donald Trump..., all I can say is the smell is strong, it is nauseating, it is gut wrenching.
He's afraid that he's about to be found out to be the fraud and criminal he always has been. Bullies are always spineless cowards filled with fear. Like Trump. He belongs in a cell next to Madoff--or worse. I think he's a traitor, too. And a tax evader. Money launderer. Not to mention his sexual assaults against countless women. He has a lot to be afraid of. Maybe his time is about up.
1
Trump is a Russian stooge and the evidence is as plain as the bars that hold Manafort prisioner. Russians know a mark when they see one and Trump was a visible future stooge if ever they saw one. The fact that he could ever be president is what shocked them beyond their wildest dreams. No one thought Americans were that stupid. Now they know that a large segment of America is gullible, and or so greedy, they will stop at nothing for a few more bucks. The Republican Party is now an arm of the Putin Republic. He knows them well. Impeach!
2
As long as we have columnists like Charles Blow, there is still hope....
1
It is a shame that so many people believe what they want to believe. It's more gullibility than stupidity asTrump takes advantage of one of the chief moral weaknesses of the American people.
2
One can indeed smell the fear, panic, and anxiety in Trump and his merry band these days. Anyone with the least bit of intelligence and common sense knows how increasingly desperate this deluded group is becoming each day. Since they fear the very worst when Mueller "finally" releases his exhaustive report over a year in the making; there seems little doubt it will be Totally Damning in it`s conclusion that Donald J. Trump is GUILTY of betraying American the people from Day One of his twisted campaign to become President of the U.S. no matter what it took. This is the ONLY conclusion that matches his desperate attempts to throw one smoke screen after another at Mueller. As the Good Book says," You shall know the Truth; and the Truth shall set you FREE!" I pray the American people will soon know the Truth and be set free from this lunacy.
When Trump goes down, and go down he will, Democrats need to make clear to the American public that the GOP knowingly and willingly hitched their wagon to the Trump train and were enablers of Trump, whether intentionally or as usefully ignorant idiots.
Of course, I expect the GOP to walk off the cliff with Trump. They did so with George W Bush in 2006 and 2008.
Perhaps he's afraid that once he appoints a conservative judge to the Supreme Court and having already pushed through the tax breaks promised to his financial supporters, his job is done, which means that they have no further use for him and will step back from the support they've given him thus far.
Trump said he didn't need to ask god for forgiveness, but he knows he is stretching the law, is breaking it, is finding the loopholes is cheating on his wives, is lusting after more power than his office has a right to have. He knows these things, and he lies every chance he has to bloat himself up like a Cane Toad, infesting the land. He doesn't care about you if you aren't praising him for something, if you say no donnie you can't have another scoop of ice cream, he'll put you on the list of people to talk bad about. He knows he is lying to get his schemes ahead. He will will lie about almost anything that makes him feel better, and makes you look less than he is. So he is acting like he has his hands in the cookie jar and is walking around bashing the cookie jar against the walls, because he refuses to let go of the pile of cookies inside, both hands stuck in there as it were. Smart kids pour the cookies out into another bowl and never put their hands inside.
If by September Trump is starting to declare that the midterms are rigged, you can see that as a tell that he expects to lose and is getting his base ready for the bad news.
Donald Trump is a coward.
Isn't that obvious ???
?
4
It certainly is. If nothing else, at the G7 where he agreed to sign the communique, got on his plane, and then released a statement saying he wouldn't sign.
2
What a silly and wishful thinking article.
Donald Trump is a character disorder. The only emotions and values he has are self-preservation. His only "fear" is getting caught. Not getting caught from doing something immoral or illegal, but from impeding his agendas.
To Donald Trump there is no moral or immoral. There is no legal or illegal. He has told us he can give himself immunity. In his mind he is omnipotent with the power to make disturbing people or events to simply go away.
Are we heading to a constitutional crisis? I hope so as there is nothing else that's going to stop this man.
5
I detest the policies and character of Trump*, yet I do not want him impeached. First, when your enemy is committing suicide, don't interrupt him. Second, banishing Trump* is only beneficial if the person-in-waiting is better overall. Pence is a shameless, theocratic corporatist - scarcely an improvement.
4
To have fear of the consequences of one's actions, one must first have guilt.
Trump feels no guilt because he doesn't think he has done anything wrong. He thinks entirely in binary: you're either a winner of a loser. Anything is permissible in becoming a winner including - especially - forgoing all ethics and morals: only losers have scruples.
His entire life, Trump has never been forced to accept responsibility for any of his actions or misdeeds. Why does anyone truly think he will now?
He hits out out of anger not fear. He's angry that people don't give him the respect he thinks he deserves.
As for Dems: they are too focused on the investigation and this obsession will blow up in their faces. I really do not see anything coming out of the investigation that will directly link Trump to any real wrong-doing. Most of the people around him may be indicted but I doubt the Russians were dumb enough to directly involve Trump himself. And Trump himself is canny enough not to be directly involved. He has had decades of experience getting away with dealing with shady criminals. He knows how to get his hands grubby but not dirty enough to be indicted.
The investigation will stain Trump but there won't be enough direct dirt to indict or impeach him. This lack of direct evidence will be sufficient enough for his supporters, including those in Congress, to claim it was all just a witch hunt. It will be Iran-Contra all over again.
1
He's just angry. He's gotten away with a lot in the past and when he did get caught, insults, lies and lawyers (and cash) made the troubles go away. He may get away with it again but for now, Mueller continues to act like a professional and Donald knows that when he sees it. Why doesn't Trump have a childish, hateful name for Mueller? Because his instincts tell him Mueller is above the fray.
2
Trump may believe he's winning in the court of public opinion (in the minds of his voters, at least) by constantly and loudly proclaiming his innocence, but any competent attorney would remind him of the first rule of defendants: SHUT UP. There's a reason why the Miranda Warning states, "Anything you say CAN and WILL be used against you in a court of law." Every tweet, every e-mail, every campaign rally speech, and every action Trump takes is being recorded and logged as EVIDENCE for a possible impeachment process or even a federal indictment. The more Trump runs his mouth, the more rope he's handing Mueller to string him up. Trump's mouth got him elected. I hope his mouth gets him removed from office. #NotMyPresident #RESIST #ImpeachTrumpNOW
2
Perhaps the source of his fear is that he knows his intentions and does not want them to be exposed. His malice is leaking out in his appointees, his co-opting of the willing Republican leadership and legislators, and in his own words. How others can stand with a man who is that vicious is beyond my ken. But, like many narcissists, he thinks he can yell loud enough that you won't figure out what he plans to do, all the while exposing himself and his plans, by his actions. He reminds me of what is written in spy novels about the Russians finding and making good use of "useful idiots."
1
When did about 18% of the population, a deeply delusional death cult of racists, come to define what is and isn't public opinion? Perhaps I give the American people too much credit but it seems entirely a canard of the 18% that most Americans do not understand that there is a traitor in the Oval Office whose crime of treason is eclipsed only by his criminal corruption in service to his own avarice.
3
The investigation will finish even if the Republicans and this president do everything in their power to try and stop it or falsely discredit it. When it's done, and if it shows criminal or treasonous activity on the part of the president, then we the people will have to hope that prosecution will follow since nobody is above the law. Who in our history is considered the worst of the worst when it comes to selling our country out?
The Rosenbergs? Noshir Gowadia? Chi Mak? Ana Montes? or how about Robert Philip Hanssen who spied for Russian and Soviet intelligence services against the United States for over 20 years? If this president has been working for or with the Russians what will his fate be? Time will tell...and It's looking like it's just about time. Buckle up Buckeroos.
3
I agree that we should not be focused on impeachment. Agent Orange has performed so many criminal acts, we should be focused on indictment. Where to begin? Money laundering (payoffs to porn stars, dodgy cash flows from Russia, etc., ), obstruction of justice (DOJ, Guiliani's latest admission over the weekend that he's interviewed "all" the witnesses in Mueller's investigation), emolument clauses, etc, etc.
Ditto for enablers like Nunes et al.
6
The story in New York is that President Trump colluded with corrupt politicans (Shelly Silver, Joe Bruno), Mafia kingpins (Gotti, Gravano) FBI Agents (Fox, Kallstrom) and NYPD Chiefs (Kelly, Bratton) when he was involved in NYC real estate. The Russians were very low on his radar. Stay tuned..
4
Trump has stoked fear of not just the immigrants, illegal or legal but all non-white foreigners. No one in the Media - prit or broadcast has so farbothered to report murder of 26 year pld Indian Graduate studen in Kansas City.last weekend. No, he did not look like a Mislim or Hispaic or Black. Whee is the Governor of Kansas? Isn't he ashamed?
1
I dunno Mr. Blow. Trump is too stupid, arrogant and venal to be very afraid. He is relying on these self same qualities in McConnell et al in the house and senate to cover him. Unfortunately, it will likely work, at least in the near term. Best thing to do is get out the blue vote in November. Also you should cut back on writing about how much you hate Trump, instead write about who you like and why.
4
I am fascinated, not for the first time, by Charles Blow's ability to read Mr Trump's mind. I wonder, can I read Mr Blow's mind? Let me try.
I can smell Charles Blow's fear from here. His panic. His anxiety. After more than a year of unhinged, increasingly shrill vituperations against Mr Trump, Mr Blow is scared to death all his efforts will come to naught.
He is afraid that Democratic control of the U.S. House of Representatives, so close he can taste it, will slip through his fingers in this year's mid-term elections.
He is afraid the Supreme Court will be lost to the Left for a generation.
He is afraid the Mueller Investigation will fail in the only thing that matters to him, incriminating the President.
Above all, Charles Blow is scared to death Donald Trump will be re-elected in 2020.
There! How does my mind reading ability compare to Mr Blow's? Not bad, eh?
6
Again, using words and actions to evaluate intent is nothing new. If, for example, you got into legal trouble, your words and actions would be us used judicially to evaluate your (criminal) intent. It appears Mr. Blow is doing just that as he is assessing why and to what degree Trump is afraid.
1
Most clever...
I don't believe Trump personally colluded with Russia. He's not smart enough. He has been duped, which is actually worse. By Kim now too. What a weak man, Trump.
3
Why indeed? A bona fide political opponent needs to stand up, speak clearly and logically and forcefully about not only the idiot Trump's many crimes and misdemeanors , but also articulate what the oppositions stands for and will do if more Democrats and Independents are elected. Who will stick their neck out? Elizabeth Warren so far.
1
Charles Blow, you are one of the people in the media helping me keep a slender grasp on my sanity. Thank you for piping up, time after time, and describing this nightmare from the standpoint of a reliable narrator. It can't be easy.
3
We must remember that a scared rat is very dangerous.
1
Mr. Blow, I only hope your analysis is accurate. During the approximately 535 days Trump has "occupied" the White House there have been countless articles by legal and political experts predicting his speedy demise. None of which have panned out. I've become skeptical there is not much that will change till the chance to oust him in 2020. I agree, much of the time he acts like a man who is guilty, has something to hide. But in truth his behavior is so erratic, unpredictable and dangerously unhinged that it's confounding trying to sleuth any meaningful patterns. Perhaps Mueller will indeed produce such damning evidence that even the GOP will have to get on board. In the meantime I feel the best strategy is to focus on grabbing more Democratic seats in 2018 plus continuing legal challenges from individual cites and states. R.E.S.I.S.T.
1
Trump is fearful but it may not mean that he thinks he is guilty. It may simply indicate the depth of his paranoia. Despite his lies, bluster, and apparent stupidity, he does know that most Republican primary voters did not vote for him and that he lost the popular vote. He feels a need to keep the base, a minority of the country, jazzed up and vocal.
3
Trump has "45" embroidered into his golf caps. How much of a braggart and narcissist to you need to be to do something like that?
1
What's even more problematic is the way the Media allows so much air time to Giuliani so he can fan the fires to discredit the Mueller investigation. It seems that across the spectrum, Sunday talk shows (and daily on Fox News!) latch on to Giuliana's spray of lies, distraction, and doubt. The Media shouldn't grant so much uncontrolled lying and fear mongering while such an important process.
All of us should remember that the purpose of the Mueller investigation is to understand how/why the Russians came to influence the Presidential election. We all expect it to be thorough and credible; and if the President (and /or his campaign) is found to be complicit or disruptive, he should be brought to justice.
This is a serious investigation that has farther reaching implications beyond the blemishing of Donald Trump's so-so vulnerable ego. This is about the invasion of the United States by a foreign entity, NOT just another episode of The Apprentice. People trying to discredit this investigation to save Donald Trump do it at their own peril...AND the Nation's.
8
The issue of the outdated Electoral College, which any thinking person can see when someone receives 3 million less votes, and still wins, is not representative of a democracy. The constitutional requirements must evolve and the requirements to run for president must be updated. Total financial disclosures are a start. We cannot repeat the clown shows of the last two primaries for republican candidates. Like many jobs in and out of the public sector, competency, experience, and character requirements must be demonstrated. What and whose purpose this serves when the highest office of the land are exempt from these basic requirements.
8
The "choices" Trump offers:
1. Do it my way or I'll ruin you.
2. Do it my way and I will ruin you.
Trump's MO, long before he ran for president has been to approach life as if he was unimpeachable. That no one could impeach his lies. That he would never be shamed for his pathological, in your face lying. That he could always twist the truth and the law to his favor or buy his way out of trouble. And always project his moral and ethical flaws on to others.
It is troubling that we now need to ponder just how much his corruption has seethed into the body politic. And to wonder why everyone is not calling for impeachment. Why would we sink to the default of Trump's "choices"?
Why would Trump have run for president knowing that he would put the nation into such a quandary? And to know that he would cause such great division. And then to use that division to save himself from ruin.
"I alone". The Trump way to ruin. I don't think he fears it at all. It was his plan to instill fear in us. Trump is loving this fight. And he will fight to the end, to ruin.
6
Trump says that "the only Collusion is with the Dems". The record shows that Trump or his minions met with Russians countless time during the campaign and there is not the least scintilla of evidence that Hillary Clinton or her staff conducted any such meetings. Trump is not even a good liar and it is totally incredulous that such a person would wind up as president of the United States.
6
Trump afraid? He’s energized by every challenge that comes his way. Haven’t you folks figured that out yet?
3
Charles, Tonight at 9:00 Trump will name the next Supreme Court Judge.
She or he will be approved.
If there was any proof of collusion, Mueller would have come forward by now to stop the nomination.
The press and Liberals know this.
So do you.
5
How is the middle class under constant attack by the media. I’m sick and tired of hearing how unfair, bias, the press is, yet you neglect to attach one shred of proof with regards to your statement the middle class is under constant attack by the media.
1
Mr. Blow is a great writer and commenter; but I am afraid this is pure wishful thinking. Mueller has nothing on Trump of any substance. Trump has covered his tracks much too well. I promise. The President’s only problem is not Russia, but Harley Davidson. If jobs move away due to his trade war, he will be in serious trouble, for the first time. As long as the economy holds, the Presidency of Donald Trump is assured. By writing negative articles on him, the Times continues to play right into his hand.
2
No collusion! No collusion! No collusion! We've heard it a thousand times.
Guess what? There didn't need to be any collusion during or before the election of 2016 for Trump to be guilty of selling out the country.
Consider the James Comey and other intelligence officials briefed the Trumpsters after the election on the active, intrusive and confirmed actions of the Russians. Comey says in his book they asked no questions, as if they weren't interested at all in the naked power grab tried by Russia. No questions? Maybe they didn't want to know or already knew enough.
Consider, too, this: If Russia somehow managed to manipulate the voting results in Trump's favor, the only collusion could be inactivity, after the election. If Trump knew they were trying to tilt the results and they succeeded, then just standing by, silent, would be an act of treason. Praising Putin and then comparing, as he did, America's human rights record to Putin murdering political opponents would be muddy icing on the dirty cake.
What does Russia have on Trump? The oligarchs of Russia spent hundreds of millions of dollars, dirty money, buying Trump condos and co-op apartments. What if Trump knows they also put him in the White House?
Democrats, meanwhile, would be stupid to try to impeach Trump lacking undeniable evidence. Trump would know that such evidence of Russian success in stealing the election would very likely never be known conclusively, so his battle is to undermine what will come out.
3
Everything Trump says or does is to feed his own ego. He belittles everyone and everything and can't be wrong. In truth, he is incoherent and delusional. His front is all about convincing others how great he is but his success is really not there of which the world now knows. And this I believe has him tied to Russia, owing Russia money. His campaign connections are obvious. As other politicians resign for scandals, it is a shame Trump can't be held accountable too when the truth is finally presented. He is full of hot air and I cannot fathom listening to him. This entire White House needs to go!
1
OK--let's play out this fantasy impeachment that Charles Blow and so many bloggers are so certain is going to happen. What do we do with a president that has been impeached and convicted? The founders weren't too clear on how the impeached and convicted president was to be punished for committing high crimes and misdemeanors. The only thing that will happen is that ex-president Trump moves out of the White House and incoming President Mike Pence moves into the White House. That's hardly a reason to declare a national jubilee complete with dancing and rejoicing.
He would be indicted for crimes once out of office. Stay tuned.
1
The Tell Tale Tweets.
1
The only thing I want to know is, why is it taking so long. Every day this president does something to dismantle this country. Yesterday, it was to threaten Ecuador if they forwarded a position that breast milk was better for babies than formula. We are bombarded daily with his stinky cabinet, that uses US government coffers like a personal piggy bank. We are fighting wars, arming up, detaining children and shredding what little is left of the safety net and still this president is being 'investigated'. How long does it have to go on? Does he get another Supreme Court pick? Will we soon be drilling for oil on the White House lawn? Do we stand by while he spends taxpayer money for his own and his families personal gain? How long Mr. Mueller?
Is it fear? He has bullied the entire Republican Congress into being quiet about each outrage. Most Republicans accept him. Fox endlessly promotes propaganda about him, and many Americans watch nothing else.
I think he believes he is ok, and believes he can "pardon" himself if all else fails.
1
He is definitely acting guilty and he must've done some whopping bad things to merit this bizarre behavior - like a rampaging elephant (the kind Don Jr. likes to shoot). Every weekend when I get to read your column, Mr. Blow, I thank God for your insights.
1
The most destructive, irredeemable, disgusting thing about Trump - and by extension Giuliani, McConnell and all the other sycophants who wrap themselves up in the American flag is that while doing so they are deploying every possible weapon in their arsenal to undermine every value the flag and those who serve it represent. Jim Jordan is the most recent example - rather than owning up to what is most probably the fact that he knew what was going on and, like so many others, buried his head in the sand - he'd rather say it's a deep state witch hunt from career civil servants out to bring Trump down. It would be laughable if so many Trump supporters didn't believe it - and turn on the people who spend their lives in thankless, underpaid civil servant jobs out of duty and love of country. But - easier to blame the "deep state" than say - I should have spoke up, I didn't. I'm so terribly sorry. Trump does the same on a daily basis and the media has been way too tolerant of it - and even inadvertently legitimized it by giving liars like Giuliani, Huckabee Sanders, Kellyanne Conway, etc unfettered screen time to spew their demonstrable falsehoods. This deliberate and malignant destruction of the credibility of our institutions (which most definitely had their flaws and biases - in favor of conservatives, not against!) is what I fear this country will never recover from - regardless of whether Trump is impeached.
4
The man reeks of ego, thuggery and greed.
Great qualities if you are interested in creating a villian for a comic book, movie or pro wrestling, not so much for the leader of this country.
1
It doesn't matterror if we take the house, we can't impeach him and remove him from office. Even if we take the senate, we will not get 67 seats. That's what it takes to remove him. The only way to stop him is by taking control of the house and hopefully the senate, that way we can check him. I think he will sign bills put before him by Democrats. He has no core beliefs, he only cares about winning. His numbers will go up if he does that and might get him reelected.
1
Trump fears public humiliation more than anything else. It will eventually destroy him.
2
The barrage of unhinged, ridiculous and debased tweets emanating from trump, now, daily, clearly point to a man riddled with guilt. Maneuvering, obfuscating, distracting, projecting blame on others are some of the desperate methods used by trump to keep his base in line. There will always be a segment of our electorate who is enthralled with a con man and braggart, no matter the harm that he is causing them. Focus on truth, the rule of law and the integrity of Robert Mueller’s findings will hopefully see this man removed from office in the not too distant future.
1
Credulity, so we can believe words like, CIA analysts present compelling evidence that Iraq has WMD. Slam Dunk, Mr President. Credulity to believe that Trump is not a serious candidate who could actually win. Why, he doesn’t have nearly enough of the right friends in New York to do that! It’s inconceivable! Credulity to believe that weak Russia is the primary threat to our freedom, not the far more powerful, and equally if not more antagonistic and criminal, Chinese regime. Okay, Charles.
Hell is often thought of as a place in the afterlife.
Trump has achieved his while still on earth.
2
Only question is, what is he so scared of? Exposure as a scam artist? I don't think so. This sorry excuse for a president has no sense of shame. Exposure as a liar. No, he lies as he breathes and actually confesses to lying at times without a hint of embarrassment. Exposure as a traitor in the pay of Russia? Perhaps. Putin certainly has a hold on him, whether it's unpaid loans, videos taken in Moscow hotel rooms or something more damning.
2
"The only people who know what has been discovered in the Russian election meddling probe are Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his team,"
There's also the man supervising Mueller. Maybe that explains the little smile Rosenstein sometimes showed when the Republicans were snapping at his ankles.
1
Sex tapes, money, or both, it’s obvious Putin has something so damning on Trump that he’ll do anything to keep it hidden.
In the short term, Democratic control of the Senate is the only hope.
Getting out the Democratic vote should be the only priority between now and the election.
3
Perhaps Donald Trump is railing against impeachment to distract you. He's good at creating distractions.
Even if it's unintentional on Trump's part, impeachment is a distraction. Impeachment, if needed, will take care of itself through the established process. Before that could happen, we need to take control of Congress away from the corporate mafia that calls itself Republican. That is the real threat.
Without Democratic control of the House and the Senate, the Republican plunder of our economy and erosion of our government continue and accelerate like the wildfires and mudslides out West.
The trillion-dollar tax cut for executives and stockholders is only the most visible part of the organized looting of our economy. When the final accounting is done there will probably be trillions more sucked away into the insatiable maw of corporate interests.
Our focus now must be on the November elections, and allow no distractions!
1
Public opinion? This whole investigation is about the lawfullness, or lack of, engaged in by the Trump campaign and the potential collusion of said campaign with a hostile foreign power. Because it deals with the question of legality, public opinion should have no place in its outcome. But this is America in the age of the internet and "fake news". I say, in this case "public opinion be damned".
1
The story here is the Republican Party.
Trump remains extremely popular within the party while Mueller, a Republican with unimpeachable credentials has an approval rating of 17 percent. The leadership of this party has no courage, no conviction and no principles. Having created Trump through years of disingenuous politics, they are content to get what they can while they can, the country be damned.
3
The GOP's "principles" have for too long been in bed with the likes of Goldwater's extremism, Reagan's disrespect for the American government, Gingrich's hypocrisy, Palin's "no-facts, no-problem" campaign style, and McConnell's willingness to destroy American norms and values to win. And now, here we are.
1
Unfortunately, it’s just as likely Trump is motivated by confidence his strategy is working. His ego is fed by the constant coverage he does generate—even if that coverage is documenting ethical and moral debasement of our country. As he moves more and more into “campaign” mode, his comfort zone, he’s less and less likely to exercise caution. Most recently, his often-threatened attack on the ACA by withholding insurance company payments.
3
Charles needs to brush up on the constitution. You need 2/3 of the senate to convict. Therefore, Trump is sleeping very soundly. No impeachment. Not even close.
5
Before it ever got to that point, it wouldn't matter. Goldwater told Nixon to resign because he no longer had any support. If the evidence is damning enough to get this House to impeach, it would already be all over. Clinton's impeachment was a political stunt. This one will never be such.
1
Uh, YOU need to brush up on the definition of "impeachment." To wit: "Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body formally levels charges against a high official of government. Impeachment does not necessarily mean removal from office; it is only a formal statement of charges, akin to an indictment in criminal law, and is thus only the first step towards removal. Once an individual is impeached, he or she must then face the possibility of conviction via legislative vote, which then entails the removal of the individual from office."
Now, would 2/3 of the Senate convict this reprehensible ape? Well, we'll see.
Doesn't mean he won't be impeached in the House. Don't think he'll be re-elected if he's an impeached president, even if the Senate fails to convict him.
1
Trump believes, really believes, that he can win in the end by bending the world to his will. He will overwhelm all institutions, principles, and values, and replacement them with himself. He doesn't stand for anything but himself. This he truly believes because in his estimation he is smarter and stronger than the rest of us.
3
But he is not really the "stable genius" he imagines himself to be. He is unable to keep his mouth shut, as is his "lawyer" Giuliani.
It is key to remember that when polls suggest Republicans support Trump at high levels, or are against the FBI and the Special Prosecutor, millions abandoned the Republican Party as they can’t stomach Trump.
Trump has more support from a shrinking party, which explains why he has never been popular to the majority, nor did he win a majority of votes.
Trump can’t find competent people to fill positions in his cabinet, as what was once a great honor has become radioactive.
Distinguished leaders and notable individuals do not appear at the White House, and sports team decline invitations en masse. They would not sully themselves in such company.
Trump speaks through Twitter because accounts are mostly fake - trolls and bots - just how Putin elected him.
With Fox state television, staged political rallies and a Potemkin army of Twits he spreads disinformation to the gullible and the willfully blind.
Giuliani can’t speak to his innocence, he must kiss his ring and treat him like the king he believes himself to be.
5
I'm a high school teacher. About 10 years ago a girl accused me of inappropriate contact with her. I was completely innocent. The state started an investigation. By Charles Blow's reckoning I shouldn't have been worried. I was innocent.
Are you kidding me? I was VERY worried. I was worried that the state would produce the wrong result and find me guilty.
I agree that Trump is taking a very aggressive approach that seems to indicate that he has something to hide. But this if-he's-innocent-he-has-nothing-to-worry-about thing is dumb.
7
Did you lie and deny having any dealings with the young girl even after your first lies about contact with her were exposed?
Very creative for a Russian bot I must say. Let's see how fast the theme of this comment makes it into the virtual ether sphere of false equivalency and what aboutism.
trump probably sings to Putin's tune because he knows that the tapes held by Putin make Access Hollywood look like a Sunday school picnic. We might get to see them once trump is no longer useful.
4
This sentence makes no sense "...they would know that impeachment would be out of the question as a matter of fact and law. "
Impeachment is available as a legal and factual option. The standard is "high crimes and misdemeanors", which as the R's have already proved means lying about having an adulterous affair. Congress gets to choose what the standard means and only Congress gets to decide about moving forward with impeachment or not.
On the other hand, Trump and Sessions have blown out so many "traditions" and long held FBI processes, I would not be surprised to see Mueller get an indictment of the sitting President. The only real barrier in indicting a sitting President is that he could not be forced to face trial until he was out of office. But that indictment would stand and even SCOTUS could not vacate it as no judicial ruling is involved, it is just an indictment and outside their purview.
The reason I hope for indictment is that Mueller's mandate sends his report to his boss Rosenstein or whomever Trump replaces him with. That person could block Congress and the public from getting the report without an indictment happening. The Grand Jury can decide, if Trump is indicted, to send that report to Congress or release it in whole to the Public.
I just hope Mueller announces his report before the "traditional" silence period running up to the election.
5
Hang the "traditional" silence report. Mueller should announce his findings whenever he is ready.
I don't think Mr. Trump needs to worry about impeachment, at least not for now. Democrats know that they will be facing a much harder battle for 2020 presidential election, if their candidate has to run against Mike Pence. So, they will not push for impeachment of Mr. Trump, no matter what Mueller discovers.
There is, however, an exception. The democrats know quite well that the US public is reluctant to change president when a major war is going on. Thus, if Trump tries to start a war in Middle East, aiming at becoming a "war president", they have no choice but to initiate the impeachment process immediately.
1
I admit to all the biases of a career prosecutor. It has been obvious from the start that Trump and many of his defenders and enablers know or suspect that the facts and the law are not in his favor. While his narcissism may be a factor, the awareness of guilt informs most of what he does. That a guilty man will do almost anything to save himself is not surprising, but that others who suspect his guilt will do almost any damage to their country to protect him is almost unfathomable. For real oversight and to protect the country, Republicans must be defeated in November.
21
True that!
If Trump reeks of fear, he must be wearing some excellent cologne. The fear, the absolute panic, emanating from the inner sanctums of the Democratic Party as the midterms near, is far more obvious than any alleged panic by Trump.
If Trump and his team are even half as smart they appear to be (his support among Republicans hovers around 90%), they know absolutely that he will not be removed from office by impeachment in the House and subsequent conviction in the Senate. Pragmatic Democrats understand this as well.
The Mueller investigation and any conclusions it reaches or indictments it hands down, are the only real cause for dismay in the Trump camp. And Trump does stand on thin ice as the noose tightens around his immediate circle including his children. The thin ice might break and Trump might be removed from office through the impeachment process but only if he does the unthinkable: fires Mueller in a fit of rage or pardons those indicted and/or convicted for traitorous acts of collusion with the Russians before and during the presidential campaign.
I'd take even odds on his firing Mueller and his pardoning those indicted or convicted. I'll take a real longshot gamble on the Democrats winning the House in the midterms and even mentioning impeachment. And the longest odds offered in Las Vegas of Trump's being removed from office before the 2020 elections.
1
The investigation will reveal that Trump's business career is indistinguishable from that of organized crime. He may not be impeached for that. However if treason is discovered and detailed, let the impeachment begin.
11
Trump's constant shouting (and that's what it amounts to) that the Mueller investigation is nothing but a "witch hunt" seems to be a classic case of one that "doth protest too much". There have already been enough actual facts established to debunk that claim. Still, there are enough people out there who seem willing, even eager, to swallow anything Trump dishes out that it could cause a real problem when the time comes, as I believe it will, to move for Trump's indictment or impeachment. If Trump should declare such an action to be an attempted coup against him and call on his supporters to resist things could get very ugly.
6
Trump is rattled and can't buy his way out of the Mueller investigation. A number of staffers said they were guilty and his campaign manager is in jail. Russian entities were indicted.
His twitter page reeks of fear and desperation. There it is, for psychiatric consideration of his mindset. He's literally frantic.
As a compulsive liar, he fears perjuring himself. His lawyers agree with that fact.
Akin to hiding his tax returns, he's absolutely unnerved by lawyer Cohen's legal predicament. Interestingly, feeding Trump's fear is exacerbated by the fact it was the Russian probe that brought on Cohen's serious legal problems. This gets right into the realm of Trump's businesses. That's why you can smell the fear...
9
45's behavior is indicative of a person who has something to feel guilty about. The only people who continue to support him v the Mueller investigation are his ill-informed and uneducated base. And let's not forget what he told Lesley Stahl "I discredit the press so that when you print negative news about me, no one will believe it." Well, that might work for the majority of his ignorant base, but the rest of us with thinking brain cells, aren't having any part of it.
7
Trump is making our democracy sick. He is a thin-skinned narcissist who has a psychopathic right-wing troll as his henchman and immigration policy writer.
I am optimistic enough, and I have enough faith in democracy, and in the ultimate good of the majority of Americans. I think the forces of good will eventually win. But it is going to take decades for us to overcome this stain. We had previously depended on norms and customs to keep our chief executives in check, as well as Congress. Clearly, that isn't enough, and laws need to be passed. One of the first needs to be that any presidential candidate needs to release their tax returns.
11
President Trump doesn't have anything else to do He does everything by his touch and feel, never studies, never studied, ever, stays up as late as he wants, has to watch boring reruns on cable TV, until Fox and Friends comes on, at 7AM. His Twitter twitch finger has a nervous tic, and he regurgitates Fox and Friends to all his followers, with random capitalizations and later redacted spelling mistakes, and well, some of it is incoherent but what do you expect, he is bored.
2
It is not only impeachment and removal from office that our Fake President fears. As a classic bully, the thought of federal imprisonment is even more terrifying to this hollow coward. How could a narcissist of such wide scope possibly cope in a deflating and restrictive, penal environment?
Then there is the financial calamity which awaits him and his family if the Mueller Investigation establishes that there has indeed been traitorous, conspiratorial acts committed in concert with our Russian foes, rendering the Trump Organization and its properties toxic. Evidence of criminal, international money laundering would only worsen an already impossible situation for Don the Con.
Judgement Day is coming for Trump, and as a person he will be totally unprepared psychologically and constitutionally to deal with its disparate personal blows.
5
If Trump is not impeached, those 12 kids in Thailand may be seen as wise trend-setters, rather than as people to be rescued. Caves may become high-priced real estate.....
3
While Trump may fear the embarrassment of impeachment, I suspect he fears the financial ruin of his tenuous "empire" even more. If Mueller's investigation - and various State AGs and Canadian authorities - discovers and verifies the financial crimes Trump and his family have long been suspected of, it would mean asset seizure, forfeiture and most certainly jail. For everyone. So while impeachment would be a huge badge of shame for him, the loss of what he truly holds dear - his oft-mentioned and always inflated "fortune" - is what drives him to lash out like the guilty man he is.
2
"President Donald Trump and his lawyers have made a strategic calculation that their fight against Special Counsel Robert Mueller is more political than it is legal."
What "strategic calculation"? It's the only possible position to take of an innocent man. It's the same conclusion Cater Page has arrived at as to why he was spied upon by the FBI, illegally.
1
He acts that way because he can and if nothing tangible is discovered he would have succeeded in swaying public opinion. People will challenge findings of Special Counsel. If it’s black or white that makes it easy on everyone. If it’s grey as we already know it is public opinion matters. He has already been proven to lie and his team met with foreign adversaries in the hopes of getting dirt on his opponent. Think about it, he would believe Russia if they delivered information but he doesn’t believe our democratic institutions. He also went on national TV and told foreign adversaries to hack into servers to find Clinton’s emails. These actions implicitly condoned behavior that demonstrate collusion. However, it doesn’t appear to be illegal just unethical which is why public opinion matters. So unless he did something illegal his approach while abhorrent to me seems like a great strategy and consistent with his past behavior.
Very little reason seems to remain between Rudy Giuliani's ears, and yet he hit a home run in logic with his pronouncement that the "jury" in Robert Mueller's obstruction/Russia collusion investigation of Donald Trump is "the American people.”
Yes, Donald Trump is afraid. And he should be: given the good odds that Mueller's report will reveal Trump broke the law, and that more than 70% of his "jury" loathes him for his anti-democratic policies.
3
Frankly, I hope he isn't impeached. That would put Mike Pence in the driver's seat, and unlike Trump, he knows what he's doing and how to attain his ultra-conservative goals.
1
"Yet Trump contends that there’s no there there. If not, why is he acting like there is?"
He is acting that way to keep his supporters excited and loyal.
Acting that way does not indicate guilt, only that he is able to annoy liberally oriented opinion writers.
1
Charles, for what, exactly are you going to impeach Trump? Because you don't like him?
I recommend following what's going one in the House of Representatives, with the Inspector General's report on the Clinton investigation and the upcoming review of the alleged FISA abuse, the ethically and morally dubious "spying" on the Trump campaign and the concerted attempt to subvert his government by DOJ / FBI selective leaking. There's going to be some pretty big bombshells come out of those investigations and it's going to shake to the core Americans' belief in their institutions. I would start getting prepared, you might have a lot of defending to do in the future.
Also. Trump's not reeking of fear, he's reeking of anger for what has been done to himself, his family, his campaign and his administration by the American government and by their handmaidens in the mainstream media.
Good luck.
2
Mr. Blow,
"I believe that Trump is conducting himself as only a guilty man would, one who has a very real and well-founded fear that he is in imminent jeopardy."
If I believed Trump were psychologically "normal" I would agree. But he isn't. Trump is the type of personality that cannot recognize interpersonal boundaries, its all him. If, like me, you generally oppose his policies, you might be seduced into viewing this boundary recognition thing as a conscious choice in favor of evil, like the way some homophobic persons view homosexuality as a choice. But it isn't. Trump just isn't wired up that way, boundary recognition is not in his skill set.
For Trump, this is disabling in his relationships with most people because it creates a weird conundrum: he tends to think people are trying to do to him what he would do to them if the roles were reversed and he had the chance. At least that is how a person who can recognize boundaries might describe the dynamic.
It does not mean he's actually guilty, it is only a demonstration of how his particular psychological thing is self destructive.
POTUS only goal is to protect his wealth. There are no indications he cares to learn about governance nor the historical imperitives of maintain and growing alliances. Nor does he care about championing democracies. The special counsel is an existential threat to his name, family and wealth. His back is at the door. His only hope is to convince his Russian creditors he's trying hard to keep the con.
3
The Democrats are getting desperate. President Trump is having a successful presidency with very high approval ratings and they have found no wrongdoing on the president's part. The Democrats are the ones who are fearful. Their chances of taking back both houses of congress are growing very slim. They are very worried as they should be.
6
Hey, look, a patently false statement in defense of Trump.
His approval ratings are very poor, have improved a few percentage points in the past few months, and are almost entirely delivered by Republicans, not independents or Democrats.
5
Mueller's information will be just one brick of the wall that will come crashing down on Trump as he trashes the economy (trade wars = rising prices for everything), breaks up the western alliance, and reduces America's standing in the world to a bit player by destroying years of carefully negotiated relationships. When the financial worth of the wealthy is reduced below what Trump's tax cut replaces, then word will go out to the Republican senators who matter. Remember that Trump has no friends in the ruling class. He is alone. He will be left holding the bag.
2
No need to wait on planning impeachment of Trump: independent of any findings or charges by Mueller against him, Trump has already violated the Constitution innumerable times. That founding document and his Oath of Office require the president to "faithfully execute the laws," but he is deliberately undermining the ACA, Congressional sanctions on his hero Putin, laws against kidnapping children (from their parents), and the prohibition against accepting emoluments from foreign govt's and their banks. Is this what he fears?
1
Once again we must watch as so many major TV news shows provide Trump free time to put forth his propaganda. Giuliani’s face fills the TV screens as he spews his venom on Robert Mueller in their campaign to delegitimize his investigation. And it’s working. Public opinion shows signs of a shift against the impeccably honest Mueller. Our news organizations are again being manipulated, enabling Trump’s propaganda machine.
4
Healing the scars of fear is at hand --- thanks to The Donald. Though the courage to accept the mirror is lacking.
A recognition of fear, as an emotion manifest, is a sign of mental health. However, the emotion is being scapegoated. Blow's America, much too often, displays the courage of SV-Day rather than D-Day.
Donald Trump forced America to see herself, as the mirror reflects; she blames Trump for her image.
"Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall"
“President Donald Trump and his lawyers have made a strategic calculation that their fight against Special Counsel Robert Mueller is more political than it is legal." The American people cannot be fooled by Trump's media-blitz strategy that manipulates public opinion with fake news, personal attacks, repetitious lies, and the hypocrisy of a President thinking he is above the law. Our president is a master of deflection when it comes to serving justice. Lately all he pretends to care about is the upcoming judicial appointment instead of uncovering the truth of the 2016 election. Hopefully the next Supreme Court Justice will see through his hypocrisy.
3
There may be a lot of “there” there. NY Magazine’s Jonathan Chait has a must read article in the current issue.
2
The only loans he could get even ten years ago were from the Russians. I’m sure trump is money laundering for them, something they very much need. This is not hidden stuff. Admissions by his son, real estate bought and sold on the cheap, remarks recorded and played on Russian television. We already know enough that we would not wish an individual this compromised to be president. The Republicans, through the NRA Russian funding at a minimum, are also compromised. Thus our only hope is that Mueller hands the ball to a Democratic House. Trump should have been too afraid to run for public office never mind the presidency. My guess is that he had to as part of his contract with Putin. Once trump has done enough damage, Putin will throw him away just like trump throws his loyal slobs under the bus.
1
Trump himself has bragged about how many Russians paid a million dollars in cash for apartments in Trump Tower. Perfect set up for money laundering.
1
He is his own audience first. What he says 24/7/365 is what he needs to convince himself of. He is a very insecure person. His base shares his personality disorders.
Sadly, he is an effect, not a cause.
2
Are you more afraid of the peace or the prosperity for 2020?
We've had 3 Afghanistan combat fatalities in 2018 and 11 in Iraq. Both are way, way, way down from Bush/Obama. That might not matter to some NY Times readers but it matters to others.
We are talking with N Korea. Iran is being forced to consider the cost for the terror they spread.
Unemployment is at record lows for all the groups Trump is claimed to hate. People who gave up on work are re-entering the job market. Manufacturing is roaring back.
Wages are finally heading up.
The stock market is up massively compared to the tiny post election dip that Mr Krugman said was likely permanent. Oops.
Fewer people were deported in 2017 than the "Deporter in Chief" deported in 2016. (look it up)
Is it the peace or the prosperity that you fear more in 2020?
4
I think it's a big negative that a crazy and corrupt person is president, backed by a corrupt GOP.
I agree Bonnie. He is an idiot and corrupt.
And doing the country is doing better than Bush/Obama.
Weird.
The simple fact of the matter is that no one knows what type of information Meuler has. No one knows exactly what motivates Trump at any given time. It is already proven that he likes to make a mess just to make it look like he is doing something. To me that is the worst part of all. There are so many important issues to work on and this is what this country has to deal with? This is what the American people want? This is not what has made this country great....ever.
CMB,
Ya' know how Trump apparatchiks are now being challenged in public for their nefarious activities and lies? It's time to move that to the White House.
Whenever a group is summoned to the WH, be it a group of pols, sports teams, medal recipients, or some turkey pardoning session, some person or persons needs to ruin the photo op through a direct and pointed verbal challenge to Trump.
He needs called out to his face. Good people need to stop allowing themselves to be used as props for his political attacks.
So, sports teams and all, just go ahead and attend, but have a short, pointed, response ready, then walk out.
2
Trump entered the 2016 presidential race only to get publicity for his Trump brand. He never thought he would win the race. That's why he kept trash-talking at his rallies. His intent was to get the media to write about his senseless talks. As he has said it himself, "even negative publicity is good publicity".
It worked, and to his own surprise, he became the president. It was now too late for him to turn the clock back. And that's when his worries about his past wrong doings began to kick in.
He started off by firing Comey. Soon he realized how idiotic of him that was. Mueller stepped in and that's when Trump began to get serious about his future as a president who may be impeached.
But impeachment is not a sufficient remedy for Trump's assault on our democracy. He needs to be indicted.
There is nothing in the constitution that says a sitting president can not be indicted.
Mr. Mueller needs to set a precedent by indicting a sitting president so that future criminals will think twice before running for presidency.
And public opinion is no substitute to the application of the rule of law, otherwise we would not have a democracy to live under.
5
Agree that impeachment could have disastrous political backlash, but no one deserves the humiliation more than Trump. However, it seems to me that Trump's continual, brazen lying to the American people, and his alienation of our important allies, are grounds for charges of "unfit" to be President.
What is America to do? I don't see how we can survive much longer under Trump and the malignant GOP Congress.
VOTE!
1
In addition to the truth the Mueller team is uncovering about Trump's malfeasance, we have to consider that the President's panic is fueled by being trapped in the confidence game he's peddling. The best grifters know when to abandon the swindle and get out of town, but the President has nowhere to hide.
2
I am counting the days to election day in November, for this will be the day we anti-Trumpians witness normalcy begin to return to our democratic culture.
All across the U.S. there will be dancing in the streets on that day (Wednesday, November 7). It will be like New Year's Eve come early.
4
I sure hope you're right but I am pessimistic. I never thought Trump had a chance of getting the nomination and then being elected. Yet, here we are.
No matter what happens in November, the mid term elections will be a turning point for this country. Either for the better or the worse. Scary times.
Oh how I hope so!
1
The media is constantly helping Trump's propaganda machine by running endless stories about Trump voters who echo Fox News and the White House. Interviewing people in diners who have confederate flags on their pickups and making that the story about why "ordinary folks support Trump" is just terrible journalism. It normalized the Trump disinformation and lies.
Where are the stories about ordinary voters who are horrified by Trump and his administration? We get Trump criticism in spades from NY Times columnists, but where is the reporting from the street?
There is a reason 90% of Republicans support Trump. Not only do they drink the Fox News Kool-Aid, they hear constantly about Trump supporters (like them) from rural Midwestern states or Southern suburbs who are being hurt by Trump policies, but are still in zombie mode lockstep. You get at most a statement that they wish Trump "wouldn't tweet so much because that gives the liberals an excuse to attack him."
Until we get more balanced reporting on anti-Trump ordinary voters, Trump will win in November and again in 2020.
2
Donald Trump is the same, yesterday and today and forever.
To have a “full picture” of what’s causing his fear and anxiety is to survey the length and breadth of a life—a life where the plot themes recycle, while the characters have a 37% turnover rate. (Today, the part of his money-rollers and launderers is being played by the Party Formerly Known as Republican.)
The end of Trump’s project-runway is always within his view. Does he, at long last, fall off it? Do the rest of us, as well? In the words of our Impresario-in-Chief: “We'll have to wait and see.”
2
Of course, the administration is concerned about impeachment. Since there is no definition of "high crimes and misdemeanors," anything claimed to be such could be the basis for impeachment. From their perspective, then, it is entirely reasonable that Trump and his lackeys believe that Democratic revulsion would prompt impeachment proceedings in a Democratic House even if a bill of impeachment had no chance of success in a Republican Senate.
1
One option for justice will be civil court. Republicans are part of the conspiracy so of course they will not impeach Trump and Pence. However I believe the DNC can win a civil case against Trump and the RNC for billions. When the truth comes out the criminal case will be overwhelming. (It already is overwhelming). 63 million Democratic voters and donors were defrauded and that deserve restitution. Keep your one-term president, it will just cost you $750 billion and ...
2
It's not possible for Mueller or anyone on his team to comment publicly.
What we do need however, are Democratic leaders to start pounding the drums on behalf of the investigation!
Look at the damage that Giuliani is doing every day to the public's perception of the investigation, to stay nothing about Trump.
This is a legitimate investigation into foreign intervention into our electoral process, something that Alexander Hamilton worried about and warned about well over 200 years ago.
Remember, members of the Trump campaign willingly met with Russians to get dirt on Hillary.
They didn't go to the FBI, as the Gore campaign did in 2000 when it came into possession of some the Bush campaign's material.
What did the Trump team do? They weaponized the information.
This investigation is legitimate and needs to run until completion, get out there Democrats, and start beating the drums!
Every time Giuliani in on TV, get on TV to counter what he is saying!
5
"Will Trump Be Meeting With His Counterpart — Or His Handler?" Jonathan Chait (NYMAG) raises the question we are all asking ourselves.
The favor he shows Russia over our staunch allies, his constant criticism of NATO, his desire to forgive Russia for annexing Crimea and for invading Ukraine, his absolutely absurd trade war, etc, etc all seem to support the fact that Trump is subordinate to Putin.
Treason is obvious.
3
Of course Trump is guilty of colluding with Russia. Putin certainly got his money's worth and a President is the cherry.
8
Loose cannon Rudy Giuliani opines that the president doesn’t have to sweat Michael Cohen flipping on him. Unfortunately, Giuliani doesn’t know what Robert Mueller knows and it sounds like Rudy has his fingers crossed and hoping for the best.
What the president wants to keep front and center are the two FBI agents whose texts he claims are proof of a deep state and a biased Bureau out to get him.
The Mueller investigation has continued apace without interruption. The Singapore summit is yesterday's news and even with the pending drama of the Supreme Court pick, Mueller's probe is a never ending drip, drip, drip. This death by a thousand cuts is why the president is sweating. He's waiting for the shoe of justice to drop and he hears those heavy footfalls every single day.
3
If Muller has something, he should let it out before November. 2018 should be a referendum on Trump and graft. I don't care if it gives his supporters a chance to buy into the "deep state wants to eat Trump's pancreas" storyline - they will never leave his side. The remaining reasonable Americans deserve to know what's up.
Andy Cohen, Trump's longtime fixer and lawyer, knows Trump's playbook imminently. Recently Cohen told ABC's G. Stephanopoulos he doesn't think the Mueller investigation is a witch hunt. That public break by Cohen with his former bossman has Trump raging like a madman. Trump is so desperate now that his only recourse is to send pardon winks to all potential flippers floating around NYC and DC. Manafort, and possibly Cohen and others are facing years in the can. The world and American public are stunned of the mockery being made of the office of the presidency and the democracy.
2
The majority of the people. I grew up with had breast feeding. We are all in our late 80-90's. Take it or leave it.
An't going to hurt.
1
trump must be impeached. He disrespects the First Amendment. That is not tolerable in any President. trump must be impeached because he refuses to be president to the entire country. trump must be impeached because he is a national security risk for dismissing allies and aligning with enemies. I believe Russia enabled him to be president, certainly the vote of American citizens was not the reason he won. The majority vote was for Hillary. Mueller has acted as a professional, trump has acted like a child, blaming everyone, but himself for his predicament. Save America, impeach trump.
He ignores the separation of powers and thinks he is a king commanding the justice department.
What about protests of regular Americans? I say wait and see what the report shows as well as what Cohen says and happens to Paul Manafort. Didn’t protests bring Nixon down?
3
Public opinion turned against Nixon, but there was always a small percentage of people who said we must support him because he is our president. The GOP (a different kind of party at that time) came to see him as more an albatross than a useful asset, and pressured him to resign. Nixon was a lot more intelligent than Trump, and saw that the game was over. Plus, the tapes were very influential ("I know where you can get a million dollars" to pay off the burglars to keep quiet etc)
Please stop with impeachment. Mike Pence is a far more dangerous politician than Trump could ever be. Instead, let's make Trump's life as miserable as possible through to the end of his ignominious term.
2
Rudy G is taking the lead in obfuscating and demonizing Mueller, anything to distract from the actual connections between Trump and Russia, as shown by jailing of Manafort, 19 charges, 5 guilty pleas, etc. (He wants to "Shoot the messenger" and hope no one even bothers to look at the evidence.) The only way Trump could avoid charges is by convincing all that he was completely irresponsible and inept when it comes to managing his organizations, knowing nothing about activities of key managers. No one, especially Mueller, is that gullible.
4
I am not as worried about Trump's ultimate term limit; I am more worried about the "deals" he makes, like the one with Kim Jong Un and the one he is undoubtedly about to make with his benefactor, Putin. If he could make that bad a deal with somebody for whom he never had a good word, he will probably give Putin our nuclear codes.
1
My fervent hope is that when the election results came back in November 2016, all those who voted in protest – or who didn’t bother to vote at all – made up their minds right then and there as to what they would do when the next election occurred in November 2018.
According to Gallup (June 1-13, 2018), 27% of voters identify as Republican, 29% as Democrats, and 43% as Independents. According to the NYT (June 23), Trump’s approval rating among Republicans is about 90%, which is only 24% of all voters.
If people still can’t figure things out, particularly those identifying as Independents, after everything Trump has done, then we are simply lost.
If you need some talking points, consider David Leonhardt’s suggestions today: health insurance, taxation, corporate power, and Trump administration corruption.
The good news for Democrats is that pretty much every conceivable issue can be used as a potent argument against Trump and his GOP. Just dig deep into that overstuffed and fetid Republican grab bag of horror and hate – it’s a bottomless pit.
https://news.gallup.com/poll/15370/party-affiliation.aspx
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/23/us/politics/republican-voters-trump.html
1
Trump is such a bore. I wish we could focus on strengthening the sane base in this country and return to building a more perfect union with stable, talented people- young and old- who can articulate a vision for us in the 21st century and provide practical steps to implement the plans.He consumes all the oxygen and leaves his antagonists choking and gasping. This too will pass - will we be ready?
1
If you live in an alternate universe with Mueller as your mother.I think the Presidents time is well consumed with reversing everything the last one did ,and successfully.The Democrats,non agenda ,meaning there is none and any there is in the future will be certainly shot out of the water.They're living in the Clinton cloud of dreams and continue to awaken during this Presidency to reality of which to many experts will exist until 2024.
3
Jonathon Chait from NY Magazine had a very interesting take on this - his hypothesis is that Trump is an asset of Putin's. Before the screaming starts, he outlines the timeline and connects lots of dots.
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/07/trump-putin-russia-collusio...
2
Trump has acted guilty about something since before his election, starting with his refusal to turn over his tax returns. He does indeed reek of fear, and yet a certain core group continues to support him. I am fairly frightened myself at times, fearing that Democrats and independants will not be able to vote in high enough numbers to overcome a corrupt, rigged voting system.
2
If we survive this horrible mess (a big if), and Mueller gets to the bottom of nearly everything with evidence beyond a reasonable doubt, I will treasure the days I spend reading about every detail of how this travesty happened.
2
This type of defense worked for OJ but I hope Americans have gotten smarter in the past 20 years to see through this.
OJ had a better lawyer than Donald does.
1
Early on the thought on the part of many was to avoid impeachment because it would place the hypocritical Christian fundamentalist Pence in the Oval Office.
However, Trump is destroying our strategic alliances with Western Europe and Canada in favor of Russia. Trump is destroying the US economy with a hopeless trade war with China. Trump has played the racist and bigot card again and again. He allowed North Korea to make fools of the US at the expense of our close ties with South Korea. Trump has displayed unbounded inhumanity tearing children from the arms of their mothers.
We know that huge amounts of laundered Russian money passing through the Bank of Cyprus and elsewhere were used to bail Trump out of bankruptcy when no legitimate banks would lend him a nickel. Putin owns Trump, and Russian hackers worked to help the Trump and the Republicans win in 2016. The endless strong ties between Trump and Putin make collusion obvious to any thinking person.
The feckless Republican leadership will fight tooth and nail against impeachment of Trump -they need his racist voter base. But the effort to impeach Trump should proceed. If American voters rise up in their own interests in 2018 and throw the Republicans out of Congressional control, then Trump will indeed be impeachable. He will reek of more than fear.
3
"I can smell Donald Trump’s fear from here. His panic. His anxiety.
And yet, I don’t have a full picture of what is causing it."
I do. Mental illness. I just heard a podcast interview with psychologist John Gartner who described, at length, Trump's malignant narcissism. It's a toxic, quadruple brew of narcissism, paranoia, sociopathy and sadism. Throw in Trump's obvious cognitive decline where he can't put together a coherent sentence, and you have the most dangerous person imaginable, who will only get worse.
You're not smelling Trump's fear, Charles. That's OUR fear. And it won't go away until Trump does.
6
Money laundering. I believe this is the episode where Trump becomes King and he leads his minions over the cliff.
Can only hope.
3
He should be impeached for violating the human rights of asylum seekers and torturing their children. That is more than adequate grounds for impeachment.
4
Everyone knows (especially his supporters) that Donald Trump is a fraud. We all know he is not who he claims to be. I can't paint him with words that haven't already been said or written. Why then do a huge number of people accept him as leader?
I honestly believe that Americans don't know how to be Americans anymore. If they can get ahead by being as fraudulent and a-moral as their leader, then anything goes.
Let's see how it all turns out. I'm betting, not so good.
2
Not sure he even knows what fear is. He is consumed by rage in my opinion. This becomes apparent when all of it is unleashed at his rallies. It's irrational, it's mean, it's untruthful. What he is really doing is releasing the pressure of his rage which is all-consuming.
That is when you see the true essence of him. And it's ugly.
2
Perhaps in the coming months we will see this Proverb realized before our eyes when the Mueller Investigation both publishes its findings and argues before the courts. "The stronghold of the wicked crumbles like clay, but the righteous take lasting root." Proverbs 12.12
1
IT HAS BECOME INCREASINGLY CLEAR, THAT THIS PRESIDENT, HIS CABINET, HIS ACTIONS AND BEHAVIOR WARRANT IMPEACHMENT, AMERICA HAS NOT BEEN SO POORLY GOVERNED, WITH SUCH INCOMPETENCE, AND CORRUPTION.
THIS PRESIDENT MUST BE SIDELINED, VOTE FOR DEMOCRATS
IN NOVEMBER, AND STOP THE DAMAGE,
2
If the investigation is permitted to be finished, I believe that Trump will be found to be guilty of treason.
This is a dark day in America. When half of the population is fed a steady diet of lies, democracy fails.
Democracy depends upon an informed electorate. Our elections have been rigged. Our media has been manipulated to cater to people's deepest fears and insecurities.
We are almost a fallen country. I do not know if we can recover. The investigation still proceeds. The jury - the American people - are sorely tested. Our most sacred governmental institutions and justice system are struggling to deal with the daily mischief. Democratic Party leaders have failed and refuse to resign.
This is a mess.
1
How long must we suffer the debacle of this administration? Until the special council can come forth with indisputable evidence and eye witness accounts of the rot at the top. Just hurry up, already.
3
"Trump's business career is more connected to Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy than we ever knew"
Why is this being so ignored by all concerned on both sides of the isle and the fate of the selection of the next justice?
1
Trump is panicking by the day, but his modus operandi is to exude bravado and lash out at his attackers, even if they're just doing their jobs.
Apparently, no FBI investigation can ever be legitimate because it might include agents registered to the opposite party.
And privately expressed opinions about Trump (which were WIDELY SHARED by members of the Republican party and his primary opponents!) are disqualifying.
The Mueller investigation needs to reach its conclusion without political influence, particularly on the issue of collaboration with the Russians, My dream scenario is an unsealed indictment as Air Force One returns to the Andrews AFB with Trump arrested on the tarmac for high treason.
Stanger things have happened since Trump waltzed down his escalator in Tump Tower.
2
Here's my observation about public opinion, based on a sample of one (a relative who is a Trump supporter): Anything negative published about Hillary Clinton, regardless of how sketchy the source, is true; anything negative that even the mainstream media publishes about Trump is "fake news." I fear that no matter how serious the bombshells the Mueller investigation drops, Trump's base won't care. They haven't been swayed by any of the numerous crooked, unethical, immoral, and just plain nasty things he's already proven to have done.
1
I thought we needed a high crime or misdemeanor to impeach? How about if we get that first ?
1
Tump's has misread the American people. He thinks we're as gullible as a television TV sitcom audience that needs a sign waving stage hand ( like Sarah Sanders) to tell them when to laugh. Trump's playing to his base is all he's got.
So, though frustrating, we just have to wait it out and see what Mueller has Trump so hysterical about. Because only a hysterical person would act they way Trump acts.
4
Trump is not afraid. We progressive folks are afraid, and with good reason. The assumptions of liberal democracy are under attack. We are getting authoritarian oligarchy, the rule of the rich, the very thing that brought Europe to its knees.
Trump is happy as a clam.
Trump has to be involved with serious financial crimes like money laundering or tax evasion. His well-documented inability to get loans stateside because of all the bankruptcies; the opportunities that Russia gave in order to secure obligations with Trump are probable and the timing fits. Trump’s hoarding of his tax information all points in the same direction: overwhelming pandering to everything Russian. It begs to show anything other than what it is: Russia has something on Donald Trump or on his family that would cause his utter ruin, and Trump must use every pathological trick in his dirty pantry to keep it under wraps.
How else can anything be explained? Where are Trumps tax returns?
1
Trump is, fundamentally, a con man. The existential fear of all con men is exposure, or, to put it another way, truth.
Whether it's a Potemkin billionaire lifestyle, shadowy Russian financial connections / obligations, using the office of President for personal enrichment or active collusion with Russian interests in the 2016 campaign, the truth hangs over Donald Trump like a sword of Damocles.
Trump's mulish admirers seem impressed that he doesn't require a great amount of sleep. I think it's more likely that fear of the truth makes him unable to sleep. Trump is a fraud, and he knows it. His greatest fear is that everyone else will come to know it. I anxiously await that result.
2
So the only thing we can do against Trump's criminality is a political impeachment? In Stalinist Russia Stalin was never impeached or found guilty of anything as he controlled the political situation. Now we have Trump who reeks of criminality in almost his every action and statement, but controls the political strings. If this is the way it will be in this country then all we can do is vote to change the political situation, but really the man should be in jail, not lauded as president. Jesus wept.
5
Just sayin that it would make a heck of a lot of sense for Mr Mueller to issue something, like an arrest warrant, prior to King Trump meeting privately with Czar Putin. It serves no-one’s interest for these to to talk between themselves with no witnesses or documentaries. No need to speculate on the topics of their discussions since, realistically, we’ll never know, will we. They’ll be pleased and pumped.
Can a President be arrested for treason? I hope so.
1
Trump knows he’s guilty and he knows Mueller knows it but he assumes, rightly so, that the Senate will not convict him even if the House votes for impeachment.
He is therefore concentrating on the other possibility, that he’ll be indicted and possibly convicted for crimes related to collusion, obstruction or both. If that happens, his case will probably end up at the Supreme Court which he now has the opportunity to fill with a friendly majority that would probably exonerate him.
As for being afraid, it’s hard to figure out Trump’s mental state , especially after spending a life time of deceit, border line criminality and narcissistic behavior that is enough to obscure any sense of reality.
This is not bravery, it’s insanity.
10
If Mueller has Trump's tax records, or eventually gets them, he will most likely discover that Trump has been laundering dirty Russian money for years, though his real estate deals. Michael Cohen's seized records may also point to such crimes. Trump had better hope his hand picked Supreme Court will forbid indictment, and permit self pardon, or else his next residence after the White House may be federal prison.
2
Does anyone with the ability to reason beyond partisan rhetoric seriously believe that Trump is guiltless? Doubtful at best. The real question is guilty of exactly what and to what degree. Trump is without a doubt a bona fide confirmed pathological serial liar with little if any credibility. I will wait for and accept the findings of Mueller, a man of proven credibility, long before and for good reason, to not accept the word of Trump as valid. Who in their right mind would?
2
I smelled a rat the moment Trump encouraged Russia to steal and release Clinton emails, a boast he conveniently made the week after his team met with Russian spies in a classic espionage sting to see what Trump will bite, and they bit hard. The recent effort to scuttle a WHO resolution to encourage breast feeding is more than an appalling display of the oligarchy we've become. The U.S. threatened Ecuador with economic retaliation if they proposed the resolution about breast feeding, and Ecuador along with other small countries were forced into submission. Russia finally proposed the measure, but the U.S. failed to threaten Russia like we did Ecuador, more proof we may have a turncoat in the White House. Trump is a danger to America, and the CIA should bug his private conversation with Putin next week. Americans should thoroughly repudiate and never forget the sycophants who visited Russia on the Fourth of July, leaders of a cause to protect a man determined to unwind alliances every administration held dear since WW II. Resistance to Trump and his sycophants is coming from the bottom up, a political strategy liberals must pursue since the Supreme Court will probably be hostile to liberty and the pursuit of happiness for everyone but the wealthy for at least a generation.
9
Trump deserves to be impeached AND removed from office just for his blatant self-enrichment, which violates the Emoluments Clause. Accepting the help of Russia to win the election is worse (he ASKED the Russians to hack HRC's emails, in public). Once out of office, he should be indicted for tax evasion.
2
So much hand wringing and doubting ones gut!! The classic defense for a guilty person is to get ahead of the accusations justifying innocence or victim of being smeared. Classic giveaway
4
Putin is the puppetmaster here.
Cultivating Trump was child's play for Putin. Trump's insecurity bred narcissism and sexual needs make him an easily manipulated prey. Everyone with experience with NK even if you'd only read a history book predicted this outcome. Putin keeps Trump insecure through Kim.
I'm not saying Putin planned this level of success. He put numerous investments in NK, Trump, and Brexit. The outcome of these investments has proven more successful than probably expect, but Putin has been masterful in interconnecting them.
The backdrop to their relationship, Russia is scared to death of China sitting on its border and needs both the USA and Europe for protection.
Putin has a weak hand to protect Russian with a small population and natural resource-based economy, but like a grandmaster, his chess moves have been very creative. He has Trump creating a trade war that could damage China's stunning economic trajectory and potentially undermine China's social order and with it Xi power.
Putin's backing of Brexit has destabilized the UK and with it the EU. The more we find about the connections between Trump's organization and Brexit supporters we see the moves of Putin.
Putin's investments through the NRA to compromise racist leaning Congressmen is paying countless benefits. Igniting open racism has proven to galvanize their voting support, damage American society and undermine other Republicans support for the Constitution and Rule of Law.
2
And poor Donald imagines that Putin thinks Trump is "brilliant." Trump is so self-focused he can't perceive much of what goes on around him.
1
trump tweets constantly as a sleight of hand so that you won’t notice the evil that he is doing elsewhere.
1
Another fine column by Mr. Blow, but I'm afraid I think Drumpf is impervious to fear as he is to so many ordinary emotions, too sure he's always right. He does reek rage, however, and what worries me is his capacity to whip it up in his supporters, as we see at his rallies. Photos of those people, so filled with hatred and resentment, is worrisome as they are going to vote again in 2018 and 2020. The Democrats are going to going get out the vote as never before to begin to rein in their endless hate orgy. I smell not fear, but hatred, and the specter of fascism rising.
4
Although Trump's daily onslaught of angry, paranoid Twitter rants are clearly an attempt to brainwash his cult followers, I do not believe he is anywhere near as fearful as you say.
If he gets impeached, then his point all along will have been proven. The system was rigged against him and his supporters, just like he'd always said.
And then the sequel to this national nightmare of anger and divisiveness will begin.
1
"I can smell Donald Trump’s fear from here. His panic. His anxiety. And yet, I don’t have a full picture of what is causing it."
I believe Putin is blackmailing Trump into doing his bidding, and that he has more dirt on Trump than treason. And I believe that as Mueller's investigation heats up, there's a very good possibility that Trump will start a nuclear war with North Korea as a diversion.
Congress must divest that man of the nuclear codes ASAP.
3
With apologies to MLK, "I have a dream":
The Democrats win back the House in November — maybe even the Senate. Donald J. Trump is impeached with Mike Pence taking the keys to the Oval Office. But, VP Pence makes former VP Dan Quayle look like an Oxford Fellow and, with his own scandals involving what he always knew about Russian interference in our election system, and kept to himself out of loyalty to Trump, Pence is also impeached. But that would have to happen after Speaker Paul Ryan retires next January.
So, with a Democrat-controlled House (and Senate?), the next in line to move into the White House would be the Speaker of the House — a Democrat. Now THAT would be a Miracle on Pennsylvania Avenue!
Sure, this is just a dream. But, when you think about it, this Nightmare in America has to end sometime before a Republican-chosen autocrat tosses democracy in America into the dustbin of history.
If fear motivates Trump's constant (and tedious) attacks on the Mueller investigation, it strikes me that it's not situationally-motivated by the fear of impeachment, but that it's a deep-seated, buried that leads him to bullying, to spewing hate, to dogmatically pursuing courses of action that reflect his narcissism and need for attention.
It suggest we stop dancing around the hegemony of the Trump maypole and continue rallying more stridently against the people and policies stepping to his tune.
The ninety-percent of Republicans who support Trump and elected representatives who refuse to vote or act against egregious Trump policies are the real actors, and they are dangerous.
3
Trump’s plan all along was to combine forces with Russia as a way for he and Putin to dictate terms to the rest of the world. He has said as much early in the campaign. To trump this is a merger of two powerful forces into one unaccountable force - no more free elections. This is a race against time and the Mueller investigation.
Guilt is not the issue for trump. All that matters to trump is power and control. That is why he must postpone as long as possible the indictment and his base waking up to the reality that trump is a traitor.
3
Consider this - each time someone from the Trump campaign is revealed to have ties with Putin's Russia (Paul Manafort, Carter Page, Rick Gates, Roger Stone [through Wikileaks], and so on and so on) the Trump team yells "witch hunt" and denies that person had anything to do with the campaign (two contradictory lies). That's now how they'd behave if innocent. An innocent person would say, "holy cow! Ties to Russia? That's terrible. Thank you for exposing this. It was a terrible violation of our campaign and we'll work harder to make sure it never happens again - to us or anyone else." That's what an innocent person does. What Trump and his team do is...
2
The list of Trump's impeachable crimes is a long one.
No one has named one.
1
Violating the emolument clauses (i.e., stuffing his pockets while still in office), collusion with a foreign power. Need more?
1
You claim, Charles Blow, that Trump is filled with anxiety, fear and panic about Special Counsel Mueller's Russia Investigation. If you are correct -- and we are confident in your assumption -- may the president be in imminent jeopardy of impeachment. The president's constant tweets about "the Rigged Witch Hunt", the "hoax" of investigating him, and his personal lawyer's rants of "unfair!", and Trump's weekly "M.A.G.A. 2020!" campaign rallies solidify his ignorant, angry base. His rallies for his re-election 2 years from now -- demented long bragging bigoted rants -- frighten us all (except his loyal base which feeds on his angry words). We hear echoes of a strong and bullying leader constantly rallying and brainwashing his people 75 years ago in Pre-WWII Germany.
Special Counsel Mueller hasn't revealed his findings on the Russia Investigation to us. Today Trump is picking a new Justice for the Supreme Court and presenting his choice in a TV show tonight. Tomorrow morning he flies off to the N.A.T.O. Summit in Belgium, to play golf at his exclusive club in Scotland, to meet with Queen Elizabeth II in Windsor, (or fear of anti-Trump protests in London) and then -- the red poison cherry on his sundae -- his Summit with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki a week from today. Mrs.Trump will accompany her husband only to Finland. Let's hope impeachment is probable, not just possible. To impeach or not to impeach is the question. We are the jury.
2
If he is innocent, why not let the investigation play out? Exoneration may not be what Trump wants because a central unifying theme of his campaign and presidency is victim hood. Besides that, there are the people who have already plead and some in jail. Trump's actions do indeed reek of the fear of the guilty. In any event, we lose because of the bull in a china shop that Trump is.
2
Trump is acting this way because he always acts this way. He has always been unethical, and knows it. So, he attacks, insults, and accuses his opponents as a means of deflection. The truly sad part is his followers, and there are plenty of them, will follow him and the rest of the country over the cliff.
3
Why wouldn't the president prepare himself for an impeachment fight? You have leading members of the Democratic Party screaming for it. It would be foolish not too, since people have been railroaded by gov't investigations for years. If you were honest you would admit this is a sham. This investigation started out lead by someone who we know stated he wanted to "stop" this president, and said this after he helped to let Clinton off the hook. If you were honest you would read the entire IG report on the Clinton investigation and say that how could the Clinton staff "lose" something like 15 electronic devices? How could the wrap up the investigation, before interviewing the subject of the investigation? How was the AG meeting with the subject's husband not collusion, or some offense? How could yada yada yada, there's a million how comes in that IG report, all showing a total dishonesty on the part of the FBI and the DOJ. How could it "NOT" have been a bias investigation? Terrible...
1
I wonder if treason is an impeachable offence?
When you consider how much damage Trump is doing to America's long term alliances and international relationships, not to mention its image in the world... And how much that benefits the Russians... I keep thinking what he is doing is treasonable.
And how else can one describe his Republican enablers in Congress.
1
It's clear from other reporting that Trump has been under Russia's/USSR's thumb since his visit to the USSR in the '80s. He's been promoting their interests since that visit. Putin was in the KGB then and was playing a long game with someone that he thought could eventually work for him, as it appears he has.
2
The Democrats are the ones who are very fearful with President Trump's polling numbers at at an all time high and the success of his policies. They are all quite concerned with the upcoming selection of a Supreme Court justice who will be conservative and will not be pushing their liberal agenda through the courts. They are also afraid of the possibility of some of their progressive decisions voted upon may be reversed. It will probably not happen but still they are afraid it could happen somewhere down the line.
Yes it is the Democrats who should be worried. It is the Republicans who are in the driver's seat right now and they do not like it one bit.
Trump is smart to make this political and not legal. He knows how easily swayed people can be, how media can manipulate the mind. That is where Trump’s genius lay. Over 900 people listened to Jim Jones when he said, “It is time to drink the Kool-Aid.” Millions of Germans listened to the rantings of their Chancellor decades ago and sanctioned or ignored the government’s murder of over 7 million Jews. People are gullible. Trump knows that. And he will probably succeed because of it.
1
For the life of me, I can't find a Sam Ervin or Peter Rodino or Howard Baker in today's arena. How in the world do we get from here to impeachment without such Americans?