Why we should impeach and remove President Trump

Robert Samuelson

No one has worked more aggressively to trigger impeachment than the president. You may remember that, during the campaign, then-candidate Donald Trump suggested that, should he win, he might become one of the most “boring” presidents in history. There was in this curious pledge — which, as we now know, has been broken along with many other campaign promises — at least the slim possibility that Trump would recognize the crucial difference between running for office and running the country.

Imagine, if you will, the consequences if Trump had embraced this pivotal distinction. He need not have jettisoned many of his policy preferences. He could have still favored lower taxes, fewer regulations, tighter immigration controls, tougher trade policies against China and more pressure on our NATO allies to raise military spending. He might even have gently chided the Federal Reserve to loosen credit. Agree or disagree, these views are not wildly outside the political mainstream.

What mattered was tone — the ability to debate issues without impugning the character of his opponents. To be sure, partisan debate is full of exaggerations and simplicities. Still, it usually respects some bounds of truth and civility. Following this traditional path, Trump might have boosted his popularity, especially given the strong economy inherited from President Barack Obama. Even fierce critics might have conceded that, in practice, the “boring” Trump wasn’t so bad.

But that is not the path Trump chose. In many ways, President Trump has been more gratuitously offensive than candidate Trump. He is a proven liar, saying what he thinks his audiences want to hear. Glenn Kessler and The Post’s other Fact Checkers have counted more than 13,000 lies and deceptions.

Worse, Trump appeals to his supporters’ basest human instincts. He regularly uses immigration to stir racial and ethnic tensions.
He insults almost anyone who criticizes him. Trump fired Rex Tillerson, his first secretary of state, and later called him “dumb as a rock.” He has had four national security advisers, because he can’t hold advisers whom he ignores.

Most of his policies are collapsing. He has made no progress in limiting North Korea’s nuclear arsenal. His withdrawal from the nuclear arms agreement with Tehran seems to have emboldened the Iranians to a more violent role in the Middle East. Watching this, many Israelis wonder whether the United States would come to their aid if they were attacked by Iran or one of its proxies, according to news reports. His trade negotiations with China have fallen short, despite high tariffs imposed by both countries.

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