Former Bush II adviser Alan J. Steinberg wrote recently of Trump, “the self-professed supreme dealmaker will use his presidency as a bargaining chip with federal and state authorities in 2019, agreeing to leave office in exchange for the relevant authorities not pursuing criminal charges against him, his children or the Trump Organization.”
And like… maybe?
Impeachment is probably a non-starter. The Democrat-controlled House could hold a hearing and impeach Trump, but then the Senate has to vote to convict on the impeachment as well. Twenty Republicans would have to break with the party to manage a conviction and toss Trump out of the White House, and that seems pretty damned unlikely at the moment.
Trump, his kids, and his businesses are neck deep in serious legal troubles, so there might be leverage for an immunity deal in return for a resignation. I’m couldn’t say how possible or likely such a deal would be, since I know nearly nothing about that kind of legal wrangling.
But here’s what I do know: Trump is deeply mentally diseased. He’s probably a malignant narcissist and/or sociopath. His sense of self is deeply tied to his own mythology, that of the “winner,” the “great dealmaker,” the guy who never loses. So I’m not entirely sure that Trump is capable of recognizing that he’s in trouble he can’t get out of and striking a deal like that. It would subvert his own sense of self to a pretty gross degree.
I also don’t think he gives that much of a damn about his kids. I mean, he doesn’t act like he does.
I lean towards thinking that Steinberg’s opinion piece is just wishful thinking.
Also, an immunity deal? Hell no. Trump should go to prison. America needs Trump to go to prison. America needs to put this criminal president in jail for a good, long time. We need to show ourselves and the world that presidents are not above the law, that there are consequences for evil actions, even for the powerful.
The Trump administration has committed evils that are, as far as I can see, unprecedented in modern times. Step one in correcting those evils and making up for them is making sure that those who ordered those actions are called to account.
Anything less than that is just a declaration that we intend to allow more of the same.
Photo credit: Donald Trump, by Gage Skidmore (source and licensing).
Notes & Thoughts 