Trump’s political situation as a Star Wars crawl. Idea by @barry_osborne, words by @costareports and @PhilipRucker https://t.co/BoLtSI0Dg7 https://t.co/Udv9rJ78qp
— Brendan Nyhan (@BrendanNyhan) December 9, 2018
To continue tonight’s theme…
Quite the paragraph. https://t.co/dTss3URVbM pic.twitter.com/FGI3rQiE3R
— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) December 9, 2018
A growing number of Republicans fear that a battery of new revelations in the far-reaching Russia investigation has dramatically heightened the legal and political danger to Donald Trump’s presidency — and threatens to consume the rest of the party, as well.
President Trump added to the tumult Saturday by announcing the abrupt exit of his chief of staff, John F. Kelly, whom he sees as lacking the political judgment and finesse to steer the White House through the treacherous months to come.
Trump remains headstrong in his belief that he can outsmart adversaries and weather any threats, according to advisers. In the Russia probe, he continues to roar denials, dubiously proclaiming that the latest allegations of wrongdoing by his former associates “totally clear” him.
But anxiety is spiking among Republican allies, who complain that Trump and the White House have no real plan for dealing with the Russia crisis while confronting a host of other troubles at home and abroad…
The White House is adopting what one official termed a “shrugged shoulders” strategy for the Mueller findings, calculating that most GOP base voters will believe whatever the president tells them to believe.
But some allies fret that the president’s coalition could crack apart under the growing pressure. Stephen K. Bannon, the former Trump strategist who helped him navigate the most arduous phase of his 2016 campaign, predicted 2019 would be a year of “siege warfare” and cast the president’s inner circle as naively optimistic and unsophisticated.
“The Democrats are going to weaponize the Mueller report and the president needs a team that can go to the mattresses,” Bannon said. “The president can’t trust the GOP to be there when it counts . . . They don’t feel any sense of duty or responsibility to stand with Trump.”…
REPUBS IN DISARRAY!
He’s your very special chosen leader, my GOP dudes. You own him, and he owns you.
Even (especially) the marketing failures.
Jar Jar Kushner
— GrandstandFan (@GrandstandFan) December 9, 2018
Except without real diversity
— Cath (@41CatQ) December 9, 2018
Late Night Trump Movies: Recycled SF/Fantasy GenrePost + Comments (31)