Albany Times Union

Trump sullies everything he touches

- The following editorial appeared in the New York Daily News:

A rule of thumb, and twitter thumbs, we’ve learned the hard way these past few years: If Donald Trump is accusing someone of a wrongdoing, he’s probably guilty of it himself. Psychologi­sts call this projection, and it’s one more reason we hope the current projection of Trump losing Nov. 3 comes true.

Yes, the man who rode into office smearing his opponent as “Crooked Hillary ” has been subsequent­ly exposed as a likely chronic tax cheat, an unindicted co-conspirato­r in a campaign finance scheme and someone who almost certainly lied in a federal investigat­ion.

Despite Russian fingerprin­ts all over his 2016 campaign, Trump insists that it’s really the Obama administra­tion guilty of “treason” against him.

The president, who accuses Democrats of cheating by voting by mail (which is how he casts his ballot), openly conspires to make voting harder by sabotaging the post office.

The flip side of projection is perversion — excusing his corrupt character by recasting others’ motives. After Trump was caught playing down the virus in public, he used Great Britain’s inspiratio­nal “Keep Calm and Carry On” attitude to suggest Winston Churchill was being “dishonest” in keeping Brits from panic. Challenged about his praise of Vladimir Putin, an autocrat who kills journalist­s (and other enemies), Trump shrugged and said, “There are a lot of killers. You think we’re so innocent?”

He similarly pushed back against criticism of his reported comments that dead soldiers were “losers” and “suckers” by saying the enlisted military liked him, even as he slimed leadership as warmongers keeping defense contractor­s happy.

Let him practice his amoral ju-jitsu from his private residence. He’s polluted the White House long enough.

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