Trump Is Self-Destructing

I. Statement today from 43.

II. Article today by Mike Mullen, Seventeenth chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

It sickened me yesterday to see security personnel—including members of the National Guard—forcibly and violently clear a path through Lafayette Square to accommodate the president's visit outside St. John's Church. I have to date been reticent to speak out on issues surrounding President Trump's leadership, but we are at an inflection point, and the events of the past few weeks have made it impossible to remain silent.

Whatever Trump's goal in conducting his visit, he laid bare his disdain for the rights of peaceful protest in this country, gave succor to the leaders of other countries who take comfort in our domestic strife, and risked further politicizing the men and women of our armed forces.

There was little good in the stunt.
...
We must, as citizens, address head-on the issue of police brutality and sustained injustices against the African American community. We must, as citizens, support and defend the right—indeed, the solemn obligation—to peacefully assemble and to be heard. These are not mutually exclusive pursuits.

And neither of these pursuits will be made easier or safer by an overly aggressive use of our military, active duty or National Guard. The United States has a long and, to be fair, sometimes troubled history of using the armed forces to enforce domestic laws. The issue for us today is not whether this authority exists, but whether it will be wisely administered.

I remain confident in the professionalism of our men and women in uniform. They will serve with skill and with compassion. They will obey lawful orders. But I am less confident in the soundness of the orders they will be given by this commander in chief, and I am not convinced that the conditions on our streets, as bad as they are, have risen to the level that justifies a heavy reliance on military troops. Certainly, we have not crossed the threshold that would make it appropriate to invoke the provisions of the Insurrection Act.

Furthermore, I am deeply worried that as they execute their orders, the members of our military will be co-opted for political purposes.

Even in the midst of the carnage we are witnessing, we must endeavor to see American cities and towns as our homes and our neighborhoods. They are not “battle spaces” to be dominated, and must never become so.

We must ensure that African Americans—indeed, all Americans—are given the same rights under the Constitution, the same justice under the law, and the same consideration we give to members of our own family. Our fellow citizens are not the enemy, and must never become so.

Too many foreign and domestic policy choices have become militarized; too many military missions have become politicized.

This is not the time for stunts. This is the time for leadership.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/06/american-cities-are-not-battlespaces/612553/

III.

Trump says he’s yanking RNC from North Carolina over potential coronavirus restrictions.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-says-he-s-yanking-rnc-north-carolina-over-potential-n1222866

There were six swing states and one swing CD in the election. Trump was losing five of the states. North Carolina was the only state he had a lead in, a historically stable but minuscule 1% lead. Trump could not win reelection holding only North Carolina and now he is going to lose that. And with North Carolina other pink states, Georgia, Utah, Ohio, are going to bleach toss-up gray, perhaps even pale blue.

I text messaged all day today with the Unfortunate Second Ex-Mrs. Harris to whom I owe all of these little birdies. I texted her this morning that last night's perp-walk and bible stunt were going to play badly, that Trump's political instincts had failed him catastrophically last night and that Joe Biden's biggest obstacle now was Russia. We exchanged over something that has been on both of our minds in the past: that Trump, who is even now seeking to discredit the election, will not accept the result. Will he, she thought out loud, invoke martial law and postpone the election if he sees clearly that he is going to lose? I wrote back that my concern went one step further. That Trump would simply refuse to leave the White House. She: "Not if Biden wins 'decisively.'" Well, me: Biden would have to win all six swing states and probably Ohio, currently pink, maybe Utah and/or Georgia for the result to be "decisive." And at the time, this afternoon, I didn't see that happening. But now, with this cataract of bad news for Trump, that is no longer implausible 

I had a final thought that I sent to her. If the election nationally (Biden +5.5) and in the swing states (Biden -1 to +6.5) remains as close as that, Russia can easily influence the result enough to give it again to Trump. But, the Russians are not complete fools, they have never been good at covering their traces, and the risk of certain exposure is to great for them to try to upend a "decisive" Biden victory. In the latter case, I speculated, the Russians would abandon Trump. I concluded that particular text message by saying that we may be able to divine a harbinger of November 3 by what the Russians to in the next several weeks, say through August. If in September the race is still as close as it was yesterday, the Russians will go full steam ahead. But if, as I now predict, Trump continues to hemorrage support and is, say -8 to Biden nationally and if all of the six swings states are Biden+ and if Georgia and Utah and Ohio are pale blue, Russia will pull the plug.

The last twenty-four hours have been the most politically disastrous for Trump of his presidency. That is saying a lot. He has made repeated, drastic errors. In twenty-four hours he has exhibited stunningly poor political judgment, has orchestrated publicity stunts that have loudly backfired on him. His political instincts have failed him. I think back to the golf outing in Virginia, and how Trump looked, so alone, depressed. Most of all I think with dread of the words of my savant son, "He's scared and he's an idiot and he doesn't know what to do. A scared idiot is a dangerous man." This is an "inflection point" for the American military. Admiral Mullin's "worry" about troops obeying or disobeying lawful or unlawful orders from their commander in chief, is a profound worry to all Americans.

If Trump "politicizes" the military then the Trump Death will rise exponentially, for it will include then the murder of a democracy and its replacement with a military junta. The transformation of the Great Republic into a Banana Republic will be complete.