As evidence mounts that President Trump may have abused the powers of his office, an astounding majority or plurality of the country — depending on which poll you consult — wants him not just impeached but removed from office. Three years in, the 24-hour circus in the West Wing has worn thin with the people, and if 2018 was any indication, the flip of the suburbs will spell doom for a president who won 2016 on the back of 80,000 voters in three Rust Belt states.
But yesterday may have demonstrated how Trump, for all his shortcomings, might yet secure his re-election.
“He was a sick and depraved man. And now he’s gone. Baghdadi was vicious and violent, and he died in a vicious and violent way, as a coward, running and crying,” Trump announced victoriously, especially as he noted that Baghdadi spent his last moments using children as a human shield before blowing himself up. “He died like a dog. He died like a coward. The world is now a much safer place.”
After taking hits from all sides for his abrupt withdrawal from Syria, the president still managed to pull off a miracle with the righteous destruction of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi. President Obama’s successful slaying of Osama bin Laden earned emphatic plaudits across the country, regardless of political affiliation. Even if Trump’s critics wish to go on cursing his other foreign policy missteps, they cannot remain intellectually honest without acknowledging the Baghdadi raid’s success.
Instead, the “Swamp” spent 12 hours beclowning themselves. At one point, the Washington Post opinion section featured three different headlines about how Baghdadi’s death was actually somehow bad for America and even good for ISIS — you won’t be surprised to know that two of them were by Jen Rubin and Max Boot.
The rest of America, including those disdainful of Trump, felt a surge of satisfaction, a viscerally gleeful response to a viscerally gleeful description of this terrorist facing his ignominious end. And yet:
.@MichaelJMorell says he was “bothered” by @realdonaldtrump ‘s vivid detail about the killing of al-Baghdadi during his White House announcement. pic.twitter.com/Jn6roKUQ3X
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) October 27, 2019
When bin Laden was killed, we were careful to be clear that he had been given a proper Muslim burial. Not because we gave a damn about him but because it was important for our relationships in the region and safety of our military and diplomats.
— Dana Shell Smith (@AmbDana) October 27, 2019
Baghdadi is responsible for the slaughter of American journalists, and the very operation that took him out is named after a national hero, Kayla Mueller, who spent months surviving as his sex slave. While the rest of country hopes Baghdadi rots in Hell, the morons who’ve hijacked legitimate journalistic institutions decided to, well:
They had it right the first time.
The Washington Post changed the headline on its Al-Baghdadi obituary from “Islamic State’s terrorist-in-Chief” to “austere religious scholar at helm of Islamic State.” pic.twitter.com/cs243EVz7W
— Yashar Ali ? (@yashar) October 27, 2019
Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi transformed himself from a little-known teacher of Koranic recitation into the self-proclaimed ruler of an entity that covered swaths of Syria and Iraq https://t.co/CNI5XBsoai
— Bloomberg Politics (@bpolitics) October 27, 2019
Then when the fine citizens of D.C., more than 9 out of 10 of who voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016, headed to Game 5 of the World Series, they couldn’t help but boo a mostly inconspicuous Trump on perhaps the one day he deserves at least a veneer of respect.
President Trump was booed loudly by the fans at Nats Park when he was shown on the big screen.
Then came a loud chant: “Lock him up.” @wusa9 pic.twitter.com/LBbgSAHd6k— Adam Longo (@adamlongoTV) October 28, 2019
If Trump truly did attempt to put his own personal interests over that of the people he was elected to serve in the alleged quid pro quo with Ukraine, he deserves to be impeached and removed from office. But that cannot and will not happen, regardless of whatever evidence comes out if Republican support for the president remains consolidated.
Unabashedly partisan displays on what should be a day of national unity are not going to convince people on impeachment, even if it is completely merited. Richard Nixon resigned in disgrace and still got his own presidential library. The core of the country still expects that no matter how corrupt a president is, there still remains a veneer of respect for the Oval Office itself, and that includes celebrating wins overseas that benefit all Americans and putting aside political beef for a single day of celebration.
Trump’s polling poorly in head-to-head matchups with all of the 2020 front-runners, and despite his historical and fundraising advantages, his odds for re-election should frighten his supporters. If the Swamp — a generally lazy term, but one exemplified by the cadre of politicos, journalists, and D.C. residents yesterday — continues to dig in on dividing the country on issues that ought to galvanize us, they may just continue to splinter the electoral map to secure his victory in 2020.
