Jeffrey Epstein was right about Donald Trump.
Shortly after Trump first became president in 2017, Epstein wrote to a friend, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers: “I have met some very bad people… none as bad as Trump, not one decent cell in his body… so, yes, dangerous.”
Two days after this email was released to the public by the House Oversight Committee on November 12, Trump demonstrated this indecency when, aboard Air Force One, he attacked Bloomberg reporter Catherine Lucey for asking him a question about Epstein. “Quiet, Piggy!” he hissed at her, while thrusting a menacing finger in her direction, an outburst so inappropriate and repugnant that it shocked a global audience already all-too-accustomed to Trump’s previous expressions of vile (“grab ‘em by the p—y”) misogyny (“blood coming out of her wherever”).
But Trump was only getting started.
On Tuesday, Trump welcomed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to his gold-plated throne room in the White House, as part of two days of high profile activities in Washington. When ABC News’ Mary Bruce asked Trump about Salman’s responsibility for the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, the president publicly insulted her, too. And then, he went further. “You’re mentioning somebody that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman you’re talking about. Whether you like him, or didn’t like him, things happen,” Trump said. “But (the Crown Prince) knew nothing about it and we can leave it at that.”
Rather than defending a U.S. resident brutally hacked to death by thugs, Trump chose—in a moment that was as revealing as it was revolting—to attack the man who was murdered, protect the alleged murderer and, as he has done before, accept the word of an autocrat over the findings of the U.S. intelligence community.
Yet again, Trump is demonstrating that as long as he is president, any pretext that U.S. policy is grounded in morality, fundamental values or the law is out the window. The “things happen” ease with which he rationalizes actions and events that would be objectionable or even intolerable to any ethical leader may be characterized as the one overarching precept of his presidency–what we might call the ‘Trump Doctrine.’
It resonates chillingly with the serial murders on the high seas of alleged drug traffickers, the rendition of alleged illegal immigrants to foreign prisons without the benefit of due process, the brutalization and incarceration of others here in the streets of American cities, and with the rampant corruption that is a brazen hallmark of this administration.
Shockingly, Trump’s reveal of his worst self got more repulsive still on Thursday when he publicly called for his political enemies to be put to death. He did so in response to a political ad in which an array of officials, all of whom had served the country in the military or the intelligence community, urged members of the military to respect their oaths and reject illegal orders. Many would call this respecting the Constitution. Trump called it seditious behavior.
Admittedly, it was not the first time Trump has suggested his enemies deserve the death penalty. But in the context of this week and the manifestation of an ever-darker version of Trump as his political fortunes fade, the despicable demand could only be seen as closer to where the president’s heart would be if he had one.
The sources of pressure that have driven Trump to this behavior were manifold. His epic defeat on the Epstein files issue was part of it. Defections within his party are part of it. The faltering economy is part of it. Atrocious poll results on everything from how even Republicans view his handling of the economy and immigration (they’re not happy at all) to how Democrats might do in midterm elections next November are also part of it.
Being increasingly seen as a lame duck is yet another aspect of it. Getting visibly older, less energetic, less coherent, more brittle and prone to snap in public are also elements of what has made the president’s behavior this week so deeply uncomfortable.
“Quiet, Piggy!” and “Things happen” are a distillation of Trump to his very essence. One manifests his vileness and contempt for women. The latter reflects his dangerous immorality. The calls for violence against his opponents taken in conjunction with the actions of this administration so far ought to be seen however, as much worse than mere gross behavior or intemperate expressions.
Facing a year ahead that could be his toughest in office—and the first in which he is no longer seen as an irresistible force in American politics, Trump may feel compelled to further and more aggressively act out his own menacing autocrat fantasies.
We have all seen the damage those fantasies have done thus far. With warnings like this past week suggesting that greater danger lies ahead, we need to brace for worse to come. And those in the Congress, the courts, throughout the government and across society who are in a position to help contain the worst impulses of the man that the worst person in the world actually thought was even worse than him, will need to prepare to so and do so with unwavering resolve.
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