Politics is rarely edifying, much less elegant. And the mayhem over President Trump’s comments after meeting with Vladimir Putin and the response of his adversaries is an example of just how bad politics can get.
The argument brought all three of Trump’s rules for political survival into play. Rule one is when you’re right, you fight. Rule two is controversy elevates message. Rule three is never apologize. Trump stuck to his rules in Helsinki, where he and Putin met.
Democrats and their leftist allies are less organized. On a big issue like U.S.-Russia relations, they like to spin conspiracies involving the president. They’ve also adopted disruption as a tactic. They used it in the House interrogation of disgraced FBI official Peter Strzok, a Trump hater. Democrats shouted “point of order” ad nauseam, then blamed Republicans for the commotion. It worked.
But it’s different when Trump is personally engaged. He always thinks he’s right. So he fights. He’s difficult to disrupt. He dominates the debate because it’s about him. When the disagreement became confused last week, it was a signal Trump was surviving.
It was during a 45-minute press conference, with Putin looking on from a few feet away, that Trump touched off the uproar. Did he do it intentionally? He must have. When you decline to defend the U.S. intelligence community’s finding that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential campaign, it’s not a casual lapse. He appeared to be more impressed with Putin’s “extremely strong and powerful” denial.
So far as I know, this was the first time a president has taken Russia’s side over his own country’s. It was a historic moment. Trump also suggested that recent American presidents were responsible for bad relations with Russia. This wasn’t a new thought. But saying it in public and in Putin’s presence, that was momentous.
It created an anti-Trump furor. Democrats went ballistic. John Brennan, CIA director in the Obama administration, said Trump’s words were “treasonous.” House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said Trump was hiding something. Her Senate counterpart, Chuck Schumer, said Putin may have damaging information about Trump. Another critic said Russia might have secretly bailed out Trump when he faced bankruptcy and now held sway over him. But Democrats offered no facts. They insinuated Trump was being blackmailed. They were guessing.
Trump’s friend Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, advised the president “to clarify his statements . . . on our intelligence system and Putin.” Trump had made “the most serious mistake of his presidency and [it] must be corrected—immediately.”
This was good advice, and Trump took it. He got behind his intelligence operatives who exposed Russian meddling. He said he’d misspoken when he said Putin had no reason to meddle. He meant the opposite. Did anyone buy these flips? I doubt it. But he didn’t say, “I apologize.” That would have shown weakness, which Trump dreads.
And he changed his tune on how he dealt with Putin in their meeting. He had told Putin, “we can’t have this,” Trump said on CBS Evening News. “We’re not going to have it, and that’s the way it’s going to be.” He hadn’t mentioned tough talk in his earlier remarks about the one-on-one session.
Democrats didn’t believe him. They demanded Trump’s State Department interpreter be questioned about what the president had said in private. Chances the interpreter will be free to talk are slim to none. Democrats are stymied, for now.
Trump’s flips worked. Confusion had set in. And the president seemed intent on creating more of it. He contradicted himself. Perhaps causing confusion should be rule four.
Democrats haven’t given up on bringing Trump down. They have unearned faith in Robert Mueller. Despite his benign title of special counsel, they’re sure he’s a prosecutor whose job is to get Trump. But if Mueller is about to do that, he’s disguised it well.
Though Trump survived, he’s not triumphant. There’s one word that ought to terrify Trump. It’s “midterm.” What’s tied Democrats in knots is Republican control of Congress. Democrats don’t have subpoena power. They can’t schedule hearings. They can only scream, yell, and imagine scenarios of how Trump became Putin’s tool.
But what if Democrats win the House this fall? There’s probably a better than 50-50 chance they will. Trump may have escaped in the Russia fight, but he didn’t improve GOP prospects in November—far from it. Those who say he did are dreaming.
Imagine who would be subpoenaed by a Democratic House, starting with Trump’s interpreter in Helsinki. There’s a big field to choose from: Every official who’s left the Trump White House from Reince Priebus on down; campaign advisers; business associates, including those involved in deals with Russians; private citizens he’s consulted; Steve Bannon. And no telling who might come forward voluntarily.
The second half of Trump’s term would be a nightmare for the president and Republicans. The news would consist of one story—Trump’s peril. Reporters would be in high heaven. Queasy GOP members of Congress, perhaps only a few, would cut and run.
My advice for Trump is simple. Get rid of rule three and start apologizing to those you’ve abused. It’s good for the soul. It’s good politics. It’s not weakness. It’s what leaders do.
