'The Force of Trump's Lying Has Ruptured the Space-Time Continuum': Steve Schmidt on Impeachment
Last edited Mon Nov 4, 2019, 12:05 AM - Edit history (1)
Last week, Schmidt returned to MSNBC after an eight-month hiatus, which included a stint as an advisor to Howard Schultz’s brief and inglorious flirtation with a third-party run. Intelligencer caught up with Schmidt on the phone this week and asked him about impeachment, the Schultz debacle, and the Democratic fiel
A few days ago you said that we’ve entered the “consequences stage” of the presidency. What are the consequences you foresee?
I think what’s missing from the coverage in the middle of all of the chaos that Trump produces, and the daily drama that emanates from this White House, is the degree to which Trump has been an extremely consequential president. There is an argument to be made that he is the most consequential president since FDR, because he is systematically unraveling, at an extremely fast pace, the U.S.-led global order that was architected by FDR, built by Harry Truman, and maintained from Eisenhower through Obama. And everywhere around the world, all of the countries and all of the groups that we don’t want to see winning on the field of geopolitics — Iran, Hezbollah, ISIS, Al Qaeda, Russia, Turkey — are advancing while American interests are retreating.
He has completely remade the American presidency through his debasements of its traditions. He has pitted the country against each other in a cold civil war and he is the first president purposefully who, with each and every utterance, he seeks to incite and divide as opposed to unifying around core principles. He is attacking and degrading our institutions and the concepts of the rule of law that are necessary for the maintenance of the constitutional republic from within. He is utterly infidelitous to his oath to preserve, protect, and strengthen the Constitution of the United States. That makes him, not a clown and a joke, but a dangerous and profoundly consequential figure. I caveat “consequential” by saying it’s not a celebratory statement — it’s one of alarm.
There are people out there who make the argument that his presidency, so far, is also proof that the framework or system is working. Whether it’s his attempt to roll back health care or even backing down from the G7 at Doral, but from your perspective his presidency is proof it’s cracking.
http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/10/steve-schmidt-on-trump-impeachment-2020-and-howard-schultz.html
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