Might should not trump right

Watching President Trump blame Democrats for his administration’s inhumane practice of snatching immigrant children from their parents at the border evokes nothing so much as an abusive husband blaming his wife for the beatings he delivers: Why do you make me do this? I hate doing this! If you’d only be reasonable and listen to me, things wouldn’t have to be this way.

But the horror show at the border has got awkward for Trump. When the normally fawning Reverend Franklin Graham and other conservative religious leaders start publicly questioning this president’s inerrancy, you know Trump has really distinguished himself in his iniquity. Even the first lady felt moved to publicly distance herself from her husband’s cruelty, calling for a nation ‘‘that governs with heart’’.

Perhaps recognising the growing political hazard, the president is headed to Capitol Hill to try to drag Republican House members deeper into his dumpster fire. Lawmakers should not negotiate with the president until he puts a stop to this ‘‘zero tolerance’’ insanity. Even if Republican members can’t be swayed by the immorality of the practice, they should look at this situation in terms of preserving their own power: If they let Trump roll them by using innocent children as hostages, he will learn the lesson that brutality is the key to getting what he wants.