TRUMP UNABLE TO DROP THE “RUSSIA ISSUE”

…Adam Schiff- Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee

Over and over, Chairman Schiff used the statement, “You might think it’s okay, but I don’t.”

Trump is such an idiot as a novice politician.  Instead of taking a winning position to the statements from the AG, William Barr’s positive comments on the Robert Mueller’s Report, and then moving on to those issues about which his supporters are truly concerned, he has to keep bringing up the Russia scandal.

Yes, instead of those issues such as health care, prescription drug prices, education, child care, infrastructure, income inequality and economics, Trump just attacks Adam Schiff (D-CA), Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee that is still investigating Trump.

And now, Trump has convinced all of the Republicans on Schiff’s Committee to join Trump’s campaign by signing a letter asking Schiff to step down. This was a big mistake, because it allowed Schiff the opportunity to recount, item by item on national TV, the connections between the president, his campaign, and Russia.

No one ever expected for Trump to be gracious, but instead of declaring victory and moving on after Barr’s favorable summary of Mueller’s findings, this has now frozen public opinion where it was before this latest positive news for Trump. This is not good for Trump or the GOP.

After the attorney general issued his positive letter for Trump, Trump just had to escalate his long-running war against the Representative Chairman, Schiff.

Schiff then used the Republican committee members’ unanimous position to tie all of them into an across-the-board apology for Trump.  Over and over, Schiff used the statement of “You might think it’s okay” to suggest that the GOP was totally indifferent to a ‘long list of Trump’s Russia-linked transgressions as he concluded’, “But I don’t think it’s okay. I think it’s immoral. I think it’s unethical. I think it’s unpatriotic, and yes, I think it’s corrupt.”  And all of these statements that showed the Trump campaign’s links to Russia were recorded for all the networks to play over and over again and again on national TV.

Schiff’s profile, along with the reach of these disgusting denunciations, was further enhanced that evening when Trump unleashed a vicious and profane attack at Shiff in Trump’s campaign-style broadcasted rally in Grand Rapids, Mich.  As usual, Trump had to criticized Schiff’s appearance as a person, and we all know that appearance is everything to Trump.  At the rally, Trump also falsely claimed “complete vindication” on the “collusion delusion.”

This was of course totally false, as Barr’s pro-Trump account of the Mueller’s report went out of his way to say that his report “does not exonerate” Trump on “obstruction of justice”.

But the real problem for Trump is his inability to let go of the Russia controversy.  He has virtually kicked away that opportunity.  The GOP could have exploited Barr’s letter to reset the public conversation, until Trump destroyed that opportunity.

Now Trump has caused another negative issue by his stopping any aid to three key countries in Central America. This has increased the caravans of people from those countries for coming to the US border.  That increase now has Trump saying that he is going to completely close the southern border to everything, including the daily billions of dollars in trade with Mexico.

As an example of what that closing would do, in a six-day closing of one border station in California last year, it cost that border town many millions of dollars in local business, just over just those six days.

Trump might actually be realizing that the Barr letter has not had the cleansing effect he had hoped for.  The president’s ridiculous statements for closing down the US-Mexico border and for ending any assistance to those three Central American countries, this was reinforced Sunday by his acting Chief of Staff, Mick Mulvaney, on ABC’s “This Week.”  As we know well, Trump always cries wolf about the border when he needs to distract the audience away from him personally.  But this time, it was solely about appealing to his core supporters, not reaching out beyond them.  To keep the issue alive, Trump just could not resist sending out tweets critical of Adam Schiff and “the phony and fraudulent investigation.”

While Trump continues down this path, the Democratic candidates who are competing with Trump to be the US president, they are paying far more attention to those issues that resonate in Iowa, New Hampshire and the industrial Midwest.  This is other than what had transpired in Moscow or St. Petersburg back in 2016.

Trump’s biggest problem may be his inability to do the same.

Copyright G. Ater 2019