Impeach Trump, and do it now
It is not necessary to wait for the Mueller investigation or the Southern District of New York to indict Donald Trump. He should be impeached now.
Back in 1787, delegates to the Constitutional Convention, divided over whether a president should be removed only for criminal behaviour, finally agreed upon the criteria of “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanours.”
“High crimes” means infractions committed while in high office. A “misdemeanour” could be anything that betrayed the public trust or demeaned the presidency.
Today, to be a “leader of the free world,” an American president must be not only a hard worker, honest, and loyal to the Constitution, but also be committed to both national unity and international allies.
From Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama, modern presidents have had one thing in common: they arrived punctually every morning at the White House and got to work. Trump rolls in close to noon and spends a good part of the day watching television and sending out primitive, ungrammatical tweets attacking his perceived enemies.
He golfs twice as much as President Obama, whom he criticized many times for playing too much. He holds endless rallies where he brags about himself while cities foot the bill for security.
He promised that he would quickly reduce the U.S. trade deficit. Instead, he imposed tariffs that have raised the deficit to $891 billion, the highest in history.
He claims to have the best jobgrowth figures ever, though Obama exceeded his numbers 28 times. He said that the stock market was going down before he became president. It actually finished out 2016 with a 13 per cent gain.
He claims to have brought back manufacturing jobs. Under his administration, GM has just closed a fifth auto plant.
He calls the free press, enshrined in the Bill of Rights, “the enemy of the people.” He rejected a bipartisan bill from Congress dealing with border security, then infringed on its authority to allocate funding by declaring a national emergency in an attempt to get money for a massive wall.
He said that U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel could not be impartial because he has Mexican heritage. He labelled black Democratic Congresswoman Maxine Waters as “crazy” and “low-IQ.”
According to one of his 2016 campaign ads, philanthropist George Soros, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, and Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, all of them Jewish, are “those who control the levers of power in Washington.”
He has never apologized for any of these statements.
Without consulting General Joseph Votel, head of Central Command, he decided to withdraw forces from Syria, leaving U.S. allies the Kurds in mortal danger. He has derided NATO and insulted the leaders of other Western democracies, but never Vladimir Putin, the overseer of a hostile power. He professes “love” for North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, who has no intention of denuclearizing or releasing citizens held in concentration camps.
Yet another disturbing trait was showcased at the recent Conservative Political Action Conference. Trump came on stage applauding himself, with the song “God Bless the USA” blasting. He then grabbed and hugged an American flag like it was a beauty-pageant contestant.
His message was clear: I respect no norms.
Within minutes he attacked former political rival Hillary Clinton. “PleeAASE get us the emails” he caterwauled, as people chanted, “Lock her up!”
He called the press “sick.” He attacked the “phoney witch hunt” and the “collusion delusion.”
Referring to Robert Mueller’s team, he complained that “you put the wrong people in a few positions and all of a sudden they’re trying to take you out with bulls--t.” He even falsely claimed that one of Mueller’s investigators once ran the Clinton Foundation.
From cult leaders to the heads of Mexican cartels, bad actors have always played victim. Trump is trying to incite his base to the point that if he loses the election in 2020, they will revolt.
His legal troubles are his alone.
The country’s business should not be interrupted while investigating them. He can face them as a private citizen.
Democrats can impeach him, but the Republican-controlled Senate must support the impeachment. Forcing Republicans to vote will make it clear whether they support Trump or the majority of Americans who want good governance.
Two more years of a demagogue poisoning the national conversation is too long.