Trump ‘alone can fix it’ is now too true

Here’s how to save this collapsing presidency

The Florida school massacre and the latest Mueller indictments have brought a noticeable sense of solemnity to the national conversation. President Trump, however, has used both to let loose an epic tweet storm. By trying to exploit the FBI’s mishandling of Parkland to help him somehow escape the clutches of the Russia probe, the president has descended to hitherto unplumbed depths of depravity.

For Trump the time is now 11:59 PM, almost the witching hour. If he were wise, he could still use the little time remaining to try to salvage his collapsing presidency. If Trump were to ask for a memo outlining the way ahead, here — dotted throughout with dollops of essential flattery — is what I would say:

Mr. President, you already have great accomplishments for which you will be long remembered: a historic tax cut and the invigoration of the economy, reflected in the record-breaking performance of financial markets. While your visage may never be carved into Mount Rushmore, there’s still a path forward that might earn you an honored place in the pantheon of America’s great presidents.

First, stanch the bleeding. The Rob Porter wife-beating scandal and special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation are doing immense damage. Your principal subordinates are engaged in knife fights while failing to serve your political and governing needs. With all this, it is unsurprising that your standing with the American public continues to hover near historic lows.

“I alone can fix it,” is what you once said. In this instance, it’s absolutely true. There’s no one else to whom you can turn. You urgently need to make fundamental changes.

The best way to accomplish this is finally to let Trump really be Trump. That means getting rid of your phony conservative veneer and becoming once again the more liberal wheeler-dealer New Yorker that you are. Break with your base on critical issues and make a dash for the American center.

Dealing effectively with the massshooting epidemic would be one way; fixing our broken immigration system would be another.

As a New Yorker, you know in your heart and your head it’s insane that it’s far easier to buy semiautomatic weapons than it is to get a permit to sell hot dogs on the sidewalk of Trump Tower.

You also know that scenes of young immigrants who were brought here as children being deported — to countries they do not know and whose languages they do not speak — would be a moral calamity that will kill your reputation.

State the truth about these two issues. Yes, many loyalists in your base will flee, but you will gain greater numbers in the broad middle.

Clean house. Fire Stephen Miller and all the other weirdo staffers who have steered your presidency into a dead end. Reach out to the moderate adversaries you defeated for recommendations of talented people to staff the White House and the Cabinet properly. As you have done to acclaim with the courts, you will finally find the genuinely best people.

The appearance — the reality — of nepotism and financial conflicts of interest have been deeply corrosive to your presidency. Announce that you are severing all financial ties to the Trump International Hotel down the street. As you acquire competent staff and gain political strength, you won’t need to lean on your children anymore. Send Jared and Ivanka packing.

Finally, find a way to bring the Russia investigation to a close. If you did politically ugly things in the campaign, come clean and ask for forgiveness. If you broke the law, throw yourself on the mercy of Congress and the American people. A president who is more humble, who is candid, who finds a way to be popular won’t be readily impeached.

I cannot guarantee that these radical steps will help you succeed. But if your presidency goes down, it is better to do so as the man you are rather than the immoral macho monster you’ve pretended to be in the reality show that for too long you’ve confused for real politics and real life.

Gabriel Schoenfeld, a member of USA TODAY’s Board of Contributors, was a senior adviser to the 2012 Romney for President campaign.