The latest poll numbers are dismal for Republicans, with the so-called “generic ballot” showing Democrats with a double-digit lead over their GOP opponents if the midterm elections were held today.
But the news may be even more dire for President Trump. If Republicans lose control of both houses of Congress and Robert Mueller returns a report that proves the Trump team conspired with Russia to rig the 2016 election, Trump will likely be facing impeachment.
Party leaders have been trying to put a happy face on the midterms, with Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) noting:
“Who knows what 2018 will be like? Nobody called 2016, right? Everybody thought Hillary Clinton was going to get elected and that Chuck Schumer was going to be the majority leader. And none of that turned out to be true.”
But as a recent report from The Washington Post reveals, Trump himself seems to be entertaining a much different scenario:
“In private conversations, Trump has told advisers that he doesn’t think the 2018 election has to be as bad as others are predicting. He has referenced the 2002 midterms, when George W. Bush and Republicans fared better after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, these people said.”
You read that right: Trump is referencing September 11 and seems to be suggesting that a similar terror attack on the United States would pay political dividends for him and his party, meaning that even a damaging report from Mueller would be survivable. How twisted is that?
Matthew Yglesias, who writes for Vox, took the entire matter to its dark but logical conclusion, writing:
“If the president and his top staff are not so concerned with democracy but purely political power, that’s a terrifying proposition. And given Trump’s willingness to put his own interests before democratic norms — from keeping his business interests, to firing his FBI director to protect a friend — the absurd idea feels almost plausible.
If Trump thinks a terrorist attack would serve his political interests — either through a blind rally ‘round the flag effect or by specifically validating anti-immigrant demagoguery or what have you — how hard is he really working to keep the country safe?”
Is Trump capable of such a sick, depraved outcome in order to save himself? Of course he is.
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