President Donald Trump actually made at least one true statement during Tuesday’s White House briefing on the novel coronavirus. When it comes to the way he handled the administration’s response, he wasn’t affected one bit by impeachment. “I don't think I would have done any better had I not been impeached,” Trump told reporters, when asked whether the impeachment process impeded his response.
Trump’s response basically destroyed one of Republican lawmakers’ favorite new talking points. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told a conservative radio host on Tuesday that impeachment had "diverted the attention of the government.” It was nothing if not an admission that Trump and GOP lawmakers totally fumbled the ball on this public health disaster. If anyone thought they were really doing a great job, Republicans would be cooing about how wonderfully they’ve managed the response. The real question is, why did Senate Republicans vote to keep the ever-incompetent Trump in charge when they very clearly had a sense of the calamity that lay ahead for the country?
Of course, Trump is delusional enough to think he’s been just great. “Did it divert my attention?” Trump said during the White House briefing. “I think I'm getting A-pluses for the way I handled myself during a phony impeachment, okay? It was a hoax.” Trump said he may have thought about impeachment, but added, “I don't think I would have done any better had I not been impeached, okay?”
Trump isn’t getting A-pluses.
Impeachment wasn’t a hoax.
But he was constitutionally incapable of mounting an aggressive, coordinated response to this crisis. So—ding ding ding!—impeachment or no impeachment, Trump wouldn’t have done any better. Correct.
