Fact, not partisan opinion: Trump danger is here and now
President says he is above the law, battles with Canada, and more
It’s time. We’ve spent so much time yelling at each other. Now we need to come together before it’s too late.
Look what’s happened in just the last few weeks.
- We learned that Donald Trump’s lawyers have submitted a letter to Special Counsel Robert Mueller stating the president can end any investigation and pardon his way out of his legal troubles.
- We are in a trade war with Canada. Canada! And our relations with European Union allies, in particular Germany, are crumbling, too.
- A Chinese state-owned bank gave the Trump Organization a $500 million loan for an Indonesian real estate project. Suddenly, Chinese telecommunications company ZTE, which engaged in business with North Korea and Iran despite sanctions, got a Twitter boost from Trump in an effort to save its jobs. And Ivanka Trump received seven more Chinese trademarks — for items such as books, housewares, and cushions — which are not believed related to ZTE yet still are a sign that currying favor with the president’s family is viewed by foreign nations as a way to gain favorable treatment.
Look closely. There’s no partisan politics in anything I’ve listed. This is danger in the here and now.
Regardless of your views on the Mueller investigation, Trump’s argument that he is the law is alarming. His legal team, in seeking to swat away a potential subpoena, argues that a president cannot obstruct justice because the Constitution empowers him to, “if he wished, terminate the inquiry, or even exercise his power to pardon.” Trump tweeted today that he believes he can pardon himself, though says he won’t because he doesn’t need to.
This is all directly in line with the argument put forth by Richard Nixon — “Well, when the president does it, that means it is not illegal” — that we thought died in the 1970s with Watergate. It was at that point that norms were established to prevent the Justice Department from being undermined by or used as a political weapon of the president. If Trump’s heretofore untested legal argument prevails — removal through the impeachment process is a nonfactor in this political climate — Trump’s power is virtually limitless.
As far as China, it’s true that nothing is proven as far as any trading of favors. But he has violated the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause all the same. It was put in place not only to prevent a president from taking gifts or payments and falling under the sway of a foreign power, but to prevent even the appearance of a conflict. Democrats have demanded an investigation, yet that is a dead end with Republicans in the majority. Trump has tested what he can get away with and encountered no real push-back. It’s his golden ticket.
Think about it. Any opportunity to line his pockets, any sell-off of foreign policy chips, is suddenly in play. And if he crosses a legal line, there’s always that “Get Out of Jail” free card via the arguments to Mueller, if upheld in court. It seems like he’d literally have to shoot someone on Fifth Avenue to get impeached.
Meanwhile, the tête-à-tête with Canada and the EU is not only beyond belief but causing potentially irreversible damage. We actually have a slight trade surplus with Canada, but still Trump imposed tariffs on aluminum and steel, justifying it as in our national security interest. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau retaliated with $1.3 billion in tariffs of his own.
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland nailed it when she told CNN on Sunday: “So what you are saying to us, and to all of your NATO allies, is that we somehow represent a national security threat to the United States … Seriously?”
Meanwhile, Trump continues to antagonize Germany by various means. He has reportedly said he wants a complete ban on German luxury cars until there are no Mercedes-Benzes on Fifth Avenue anymore. And his ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, is sending shock waves with his stated desire to upend EU politics, saying he “absolutely” wants to “empower other conservatives throughout Europe.”
America is strong enough to bully its way in the world. But its power has been multiplied through military alliances to counter threats and the ability to issue multilateral financial sanctions.
That’s gone now. Trump’s successor could roll back all of these moves, yet erstwhile allies would be justifiably leery to rely on us again for fear of another Trump down the line.
I plead guilty to launching my share of partisan grenades at Trump supporters in my writings. I did so because I felt I saw such danger ahead, only to relearn Newton’s law of physics that every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
But the Trump danger is here. Now. In fact (and I don’t mean alternative fact).
He is attempting to demolish a pillar of our democracy by stating he is above the law. He is ruining relations with our closest allies. He may well be selling off our nation’s interests for personal gain. And the administration is not even 17 months old.
These are truths, and they are nonpartisan. We live in a time where it is our patriotic duty to scream, holler, protest, do whatever it takes to get our country back. As one nation. As Americans.
