Each A.M. these days, I awake to the latest news stories that don't make Donald Trump look good. In the last twenty-four hours, we've had new evidence that a pardon was dangled before Michael Cohen to maybe get him to clam up, sentencing for Paul Manafort, new indictments of Paul Manafort, misquoting of the judge in the Manafort case who didn't actually say there was no proof of Russian collusion, and doubts about the sworn testimony of former acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, plus we're still learning more about this "Mar-a-Lago massage parlor mogul" who was allegedly selling access to Trump and his aides.
That last matter all alone would have some raising the specter of impeachment for any other president…but with Trump, it's like "Add it to the pile." And I'm probably leaving a couple of things out or there's been a new one since I checked the news ten minutes ago.
This constant drip of accusations and revelations can't be pleasing anyone. If you dislike Trump, it's more evidence of his criminal (or sometimes, just plain stupid) doings, coupled with the frustration that they don't seem to be moving him towards the exit doors, at least not yet. If you like Trump, it's one more thing — followed by one more thing and one more thing and one more thing — that's hard to defend. And you've probably figured out by now that this is never going to stop. Every single day this man is in office, and even after he leaves, there's going to be at least one more of these.
My friends who like Trump seem to like him mainly because he isn't Hillary Clinton or someone with her policies. I don't get that they really think he's a good man, an honest man, a brilliant businessguy, a great negotiator — any of those — though they might tell a pollster otherwise. None of them think he's read one of those Bibles he keeps signing as if he were its author. None of them think he's read it or cares about any principle taught in its pages. They just like the direction in which he seems to be steering the country and deep down wish there was someone at the wheel who didn't make so many gaffes, didn't say so many things that are provably false, hadn't talked about grabbing women and moving on them like a bitch, etc.
For the time though, we're all just stuck with him. In that sense, I guess he's bringing us together. It's mainly to fight but at least we're together.