Is the President a liar or bad boss?

The issue is whether Trump tried to direct Comey to stop investigating former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn's ties to Russia.

Who would you believe – a fired FBI director or the man who was elected President of the United States? The answer depends, of course, on which president we are talking about.

Among the many telling details in former FBI director James Comey’s gripping testimony this week, there was this. Comey had just two conversations with Barack Obama in three years and felt no need to document them. But he had no fewer than nine conversations with Donald Trump in four months and knew he had to record the details afterwards.

The most generous impression is that Trump is the archetypal bad boss, asking vaguely threatening questions about whether you even want your job anymore, because plenty of other people do. The kind of boss who misrepresents or even blatantly lies. As Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday, ‘‘I was honestly concerned he might lie about the nature of our meeting’’.

‘‘I can definitely say the President is not a liar, and I think it’s frankly insulting that question would be asked,’’ Trump spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters after the hearing.

Comey’s calm demeanour and the release in advance of his written statement belie the seriousness of what has been alleged. Phillip Allen Lacovara, a former counsel to Watergate prosecutors, argued in the Washington Post that there is sufficient evidence for an obstruction of justice case against Trump.

The issue is whether Trump tried to direct Comey to stop investigating former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn’s ties to Russia. Trump allegedly said, ’’I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go. He is a good guy.’’ Was that a direction? Comey thought so.

Comey’s statement also described an ominous dinner scene that will appear in future plays or movies about the House of Cards-like days of the Trump administration. The President said he expected loyalty. Comey could only offer honesty. There are vast difference between the two approaches to leadership. Comey’s loyalty is to the Constitution and the independent FBI whereas Trump seeks the same unquestioning loyalty he receives from members of his family.

Trump backers excuse these actions as the inexperience or naivete of someone new to politics. House Speaker Paul Ryan argues that Trump was not versed in the ‘‘long-running protocols’’ that determine relationships between the White House, the FBI and the Justice Department. But if inexperience or incompetence is the best the Republicans can offer, because it is preferable to intentional criminality or corruption, then US politics is in a bad state.

The hearing shows how far US politics has drifted from normality in a short time. We are seeing things that would have been unthinkable in 2016. The risk is that every fresh piece of news about Trump’s erratic behaviour becomes accepted or normalised.

The bottom line to all this is a reality that was agreed upon at the Senate Intelligence Committee, one that is already so commonplace it was barely mentioned in news reports. It was a piece of scene-setting by the former director of the FBI.

‘‘The Russians interfered in our election during 2016,’’ Comey said. ‘‘That happened. That’s about as unfake as you can possibly get.’’

Philip Matthews is a senior reporter with Fairfax Media in Christchurch.