Yes, he said (and tweeted) things that the past president would never say publicly. Yes, it operates without a blueprint or any plan, choosing to replace it. Yes, he takes credit for everything and blames it for anything. Yes, he has overturned the relationships made over decades with friends – and enemies – throughout the world.
But there is so much that can be said about Trump’s radicalism that it all cancels out on its own.
(This reminds me of an Simpsons episode where ancient tycoon Monty Burns decided to get physical. A series of tests were carried out. And the doctor told Burns that he was “the sickest person in the entire United States. You have everything.” “Mr. Burns is healthy “Why? Because all the illnesses in his body jammed when they tried to attack his body.” We call it ‘Three Stooges Syndrome,’ “the doctor told Mr. Burns.
Watch here.)
But, once in a while, someone can break through the chaos – and nail down what makes Trump so unusual as president. Over the weekend, Steve Schmidt, who ran the John McCain campaign for president in 2008, was the person in an interview on MSNBC.
This is his analysis of Trump,
which ran almost exactly two minutes (and special screams for
CNN’s Allison Gordon for transcription!):
“Donald Trump has become the worst president this country has ever had. And I’m not saying that hyperbole. It is true. But he is an influential president. And he has brought this country in three years to a place of weakness that is just unimaginable if you contemplate where we are today from the day Barack Obama left office, and there were many of us on that day who were very skeptical and very worried about what would become president Trump, but this was a moment of unparalleled national humiliation, weakness.
“When you listen to the President, this is an afterthought of an idiot. An idiot. And I do not use those words to call calls. I use them because they are the right words from English to describe his behavior. His actions. His actions. We have never seen a level of disability, a level of disability that is so shocking every day by anyone in the history of a country that has been charged with substantial responsibility.
“It’s amazing that this guy is the president of the United States. That guy, that con artist, from New York City. A lot of bankruptcies, failed businesses, a reality show, which he branded as something he never did. A successful businessman. Well, he is the current President of the United States, and the person who said he would make the country great again And he brought death, suffering and economic collapse on a truly epic scale, and let’s be clear, this doesn’t happen in every country in the world. This place, our place, our home, our country, the United States, we are the epicenter, we are the place where you are most likely to die of this disease, we are the ones with the most economic damage, and we are because of fools sitting in the office. Oval behind the Determined Table. “
As I said: This is brutal. But it’s also a clear assessment of what Trump is doing at the office – from the coronavirus to the protest over the brutality and backs of the police – for Republicans and the country.
Now, Schmidt is without question the leading voice in the “Never Trump” movement.
He is the founder of the Lincoln Project, an effort aimed at defeating Trump in November.
But Schmidt is also a Republican for life. He worked for the 2000 presidential campaign Lamar Alexander. He works on Capitol Hill for the Republicans. He serves as the communications director of the GOP House campaign group. He helped pastor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, to the governor of California. He manages the McCain campaign.
This is not someone who has an on-again, off-again relationship with the Republicans. Schmidt has been a partisan fighter for most of his professional life. He has been a Republican far longer than Donald Trump.
So, even though it might be easy for Trump loyalists to ignore Schmidt’s criticism of the President, it’s not that simple. Yes, Schmidt is someone who does not hide his hatred of Trump. But that does not mean that everything he said about the President above is wrong. Or should be ignored.