USA TODAY International Edition
Wild wiretapping charge erodes Trump’s credibility
When candidate Donald Trump trafficked in reckless rumors and accusations on Twitter, it was troubling but relatively insignificant, except as a measure of his fitness to be president. Now, when President Trump erupts on Twitter in some early morning tantrum, it’s far more disturbing and consequential.
If it were true that President Obama “had my ‘ wires tapped’ in Trump Tower just before the victory,” as Trump tweeted Saturday, it would be a political scandal of historic proportion and a crime. Probably not the sort of thing that should be announced to the nation in 140 characters, followed by a comment on Arnold Schwarzenegger and The Celebrity Apprentice.
Three days after making the wild accusation, Trump offered no evidence to back it up, and none has come to light. On Tuesday, his spokesman waved off questions about proof but said the president has “absolutely” no regrets about the tweets.
The Obama camp has denied that the former president or White House officials “ever ordered surveillance on any U. S. citizen.” And FBI Director James Comey took the extraordinary step of calling on his Justice Department bosses to publicly reject the assertion as false.
It’s possible, of course, that as intelligence agencies were inves- tigating Russian interference into last year’s election, they legally sought an order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to monitor calls or a computer server at Trump Tower. But that’s a far cry from Obama personally ordering surveillance of Trump.
So much is wrong with this entire episode, it’s hard to pinpoint what’s most distressing. Is it that Trump is a master manipulator who turns to ever more inflammatory assertions to divert attention when the news goes against him? Is it that he cares so little about the truth? Or is it that the man with the nuclear codes lacks normal adult impulse control?
Trump was reported to be furious Friday after his well- reviewed speech to Congress was overshadowed by news that his attorney general had misled the Senate about meetings with the Russian ambassador. When his anger overflows, Trump has often turned to Twitter or voiced outrageous claims, each time shedding more of his credibility — credibility he’ll need in moments of external crisis.
Prior outbursts have involved crowd estimates at his inaugural ( Trump claimed they were understated) and allegations that millions of people voted illegally for Hillary Clinton ( who won the popular vote). Trump has called for investigations of supposedly massive voter fraud and illegal surveillance at Trump Tower — inquiries that, if they occur at all, are destined to be huge wastes of time and money.
Observers have noted that many of Trump’s most unhinged tweets have come on Friday nights and Saturday mornings, either because he wants to dominate weekend news cycles or because his daughter Ivanka and her husband, top Trump adviser Jared Kushner, are observing the Jewish Sabbath and not working.
Perhaps, like children who have to take away dad’s car keys when he becomes a danger to himself and others, the time has come for a Twitter intervention.