Donald Trump seems to think that raging on Twitter and having Rudy Giuliani, Stephen Miller, and Lindsey Graham lying for him on TV news shows is all he needs to do to defend himself against an impeachment inquiry. That has the semi-competent people around him nervous, but as usual, the better the advice he’s getting, the more likely Trump is ignoring it.
Trump is—exactly as we would have guessed—spending his time ranting not just on Twitter but to anyone who will listen to him in private conversations. But what he isn’t doing is ramping up a legal defense or coming out with any compelling messaging for his allies to use. “Trump privately resisted appeals for help,” CNN reports. “He has dismissed talks of forming an impeachment response team, raging that talk of bringing former aides back to help him projected weakness.” Even better, “he has privately declared he doesn't need any more lawyers, even though several people have privately told him that his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, isn't helping him.”
Donald Trump will not be told what to do, even if he’s being told how to try to save his own ass. Because he always knows better and he already has All The Best People around him. You know, like Giuliani.
Trump is going to need more lawyers, but even once he gets around to admitting that, he’s likely to prize aggressive talk show appearances over actual legal competence, as we saw during the Mueller investigation. He’s going to need a better message, except that he’s going to personally undercut whatever his communications team attempts to put out there. And while the Lindsey Grahams and Jim Jordans of the Congress may be shameless enough to go to the mat for Trump again and again despite the devastating facts on the record, there are signs that some Republicans are starting to get nervous about being seen defending things like calls for civil war.
So please, Donald, keep doing just what you’re doing: spittle-flecked rants and a flat refusal to engage competent help. Democracy and history will thank you for it.
