On Friday, Trump walked back from his earlier push to declassify sensitive documents related to the Russia probe. That’s the right move — those documents are classified for good reason. Hopefully the reversal signals that Trump, nearly two years into his presidency, is learning something about how to be presidential.
In a pair of morning tweets, Trump explained, “I met with the DOJ concerning the declassification of various UNREDACTED documents. They agreed to release them but stated that so doing may have a perceived negative impact on the Russia probe. Also, key Allies’ called to ask no to release.”
The president added, “In the end I can always declassify if it proves necessary.”
Specifically, the tweets referenced Trump’s Monday order that documents related the Russia investigation be released. Those documents included pages of a federal warrant for surveillance on one of his former advisers, Carter Page, as well as the interviews conducted by the FBI that were used to obtain that warrant. Additionally, Trump wanted to release transcripts of text messages sent by former FBI Director James Comey, the former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, DOJ official Bruce Ohr, and from FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page that included negative remarks about Trump.
Trump’s tweets on Friday are a rare example of the president going back on a forceful announcement and actually taking the advice of both allies and government officials. That’s great. Perhaps the man in the oval office will learn from this incident to reach out to those around him before he fires off a frustrated tweet with a presidential order. Cooperation and considered action, rather than impulse, should be the hallmarks of American leadership.
[Trey Gowdy: No game changers in Trump’s declassified docs, but John Brennan will be very embarrassed]
More importantly, Trump would also be wise to take in the lesson that as president, actions have far-reaching consequences. The release of the documents, even if it might lend support to his claims, could undermine the larger goals of U.S. national security as well as relationships with our allies abroad in sensitive areas like intelligence gathering. When you’re president, it’s not just about you.
Finally, although Trump has essentially claimed invincibility when it comes to American support, he would do well to heed warnings from his advisers that public opinion on the Russia probe, among other things, really does matter. Not understanding how damaging a single move or tweet could be to the Republican Party, as candidates face a tough election in November, or personally, will likely come back to bite the president.
Trump should learn from these mistakes and avoid the need for similar Twitter reversals that catch Republicans, citizens and our allies abroad off guard. Unfortunately, fully learning those lessons still seem to be a long way off.
