The fish, as they say, rots from the head first. And Donald J. Trump is the head of the executive branch. It’s not that the U.S. government isn’t beset by innumerable problems and systemic dysfunction. But in the here and now, Donald Trump is the problem. The president is the dysfunction.
And so, in the midst of the fevered speculation about the meaning and implications of what is happening in the capital of one of the greatest and most powerful nations in the history of the world, let’s not lose focus. Yes, it has been an amazing week of news: the firing of FBI director James Comey; the revelation of Trump’s one-on-one meeting with him two months before; the reports of sensitive intelligence being shared by the president in his meeting with the Russian foreign minister; the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel; the questions about what everyone from the president on down knew about Michael Flynn’s work for Turkey and when they knew it; and the constant speculation about a major shakeup of the White House staff. But at the center of all this news is one cause, one newsmaker: Donald Trump.
