One of the more twisted dynamics of the Trump presidency has been the disjunction between the tremendous power his position carries and the overwhelming evidence of his utter incompetence. In some ways, since last November, our collective political life has been like some unfilmed Twilight Zone episode in which a toddler has been granted authority over mankind, with all sorts of mayhem ensuing (or was that an actual episode?). But according to the latest reporting from Gabriel Sherman in Vanity Fair, in a piece titled “You Can’t Go Any Lower: Inside the West Wing, Trump is Apoplectic as Allies Fear Impeachment,” White House staff now see impeachment as a concrete possibility; it appears that Robert Mueller’s first indictments have made his threat to the president into a reality for many of them. And while The Hot Screen has previously suggested the near-certainty of Trump firing the special prosecutor, Sherman’s interviews indicate that at least some of the president’s advisors are aware that firing Mueller would carry extreme risks.
Beyond this, he also reports that as staff is taking the existential threat posed by the investigation more seriously, they’re also beginning to act in ways to distance themselves from anything Russia-related, for instance leaving the room if the topic of Russia arises. Signs of a split between the president’s indications that he believes the Mueller investigation is illegitimate, and his staff’s perceptions of their own real legal peril, are a net positive: while some might side with the president in taking desperate measures to stave off the threat, others might be willing to spill the beans on whatever they know in order to avoid further enmeshment in presidential shenanigans. Exhibit A for willingness to blab is Sherman’s article itself, which is sourced from half a dozen White House staffers.
Not for the first time, Trump’s worries and criticisms around Mueller seem to indicate in one go extreme stupidity, obvious guilt, and a lack of concern about Russian meddling in the election that is suggestive of many things, none of them good. The president has apparently, to his own advisers, complained that Clinton has not received the same sort of investigation as himself. Does the man not understand that he’s the president, not Hillary Clinton? That he won the election? It is one thing for the president to tweet attacks about Hillary’s collusion with the Russians, another thing for him to actually believe that Hillary has committed crimes and express this thought to his staff. That he may have convinced himself of his own lies is yet another brand of incompetence — as if we needed any more! As somewhat of a side note, it’s also gratifying to read about how the president is blaming his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, for some of his extremely bad decisions — good to see that nepotism thing backfiring in a big way, and Trump refusing to take responsibility for his own actions, to boot.
Sherman’s reporting on White House deliberations regarding its response to the Mueller investigation backs up the sense that these guys don’t have a master plan — but they also reinforce the degree to which this presidency has placed itself in opposition to the rule of law and to putting the country’s interests ahead of the president’s. This is most obvious in the camp that wants to essentially go to war with Mueller. Intriguingly, and counter to the perception that nearly every GOP member of Congress lives in fear of the Trump-loyal base, unofficial advisor Steve Bannon believes that “establishment Republicans are waiting for a chance to impeach Trump,” according to a Bannon confidante. More persuasively, Bannon sees Trump’s power slipping, and even went so far as to do a quick analysis of which Cabinet members might or might not vote to remove the president from office via the 25th Amendment.
The biggest mistake that progressives and other opponents made in the 2016 election was to underestimate Trump. But now, for the first time, The Hot Screen wonders if there’s actually a danger of overestimating him. The Democrats have been stuck in an odd political zone, where the same party that includes people calling for Trump’s impeachment also includes people like Senator Charles Schumer, who has indicated a willingness to work with the president. If Trump’s own people are worrying about impeachment by Republicans, shouldn’t Democrats be getting more aggressive in their attacks on the president?
