See, this is how bipartisan and patriotic I am; I’m giving advice to Donald Trump. Because The Only President We Have Right Now had a bad week. Right now, the Robert Mueller investigation seems to be closing in on him. Most of the American people believe his campaign colluded with Russians, and every time he tweets ‘There was NO COLLUSION,’ the more convinced we are that there was. But there are three very simple, completely constitutional things he could do to take at least some of the pressure off from a public relations perspective. If he really wants to convince us that he did not treasonously cooperate with Russian efforts to undermine our democracy, there are pragmatic, sensible things he could do. They wouldn’t get Mueller off his back: that ship’s sailed. He’s totally going down. But a President’s popularity numbers do matter. They relate to political capital, and he needs some.
First, he could impose sanctions on Russia, as mandated by Congress. June 15, 2017, in a rare display of bipartisan agreement, the Senate and House voted overwhelmingly for targeted economic sanctions aimed at “bad Russian actors,” which is to say, companies and oligarchs who funded human rights violations in Syria, seized state resources, and engaged in hacking efforts aimed at the West. The bill also affirmed the US commitment to Article Five of the NATO charter, another issue upon which Trump’s been squishy. The Senate vote was 98-2.
So, Congress passed this bill, Trump signed it (reluctantly) into law. Since that time, Trump has done bupkus. To put it in Constitutional terms, the legislative branch passed a law, the executive branch has refused to implement it. Well, Trump could simply obey the law.
Right now, the Trump administration seems absurdly, and suspiciously, pro-Russia. I mean, if the problem is that people believe that a foreign power intervened in our election to get their preferred candidate in the White House, then that President might want to at least appear neutral towards that power. He hasn’t. He could start. And it has the added benefit of being in accordance with US law. One might even argue that his inaction has been impeachable. Which this President might want to avoid. Doing illegal things.
Second, Trump could release his tax returns. He’s promised to do it for months, insisting that he can’t do it while he’s under IRS audit. Nobody believes that, of course; people under audit can certainly release their tax returns under US law, and we don’t even know for sure that he’s actually being audited. And pretty much everyone thinks the reason he hasn’t released his tax returns (like every other Presidential candidate of my lifetime), is because there’s dangerous, scary stuff in there. Like lots of deals with Russia. He insists that’s not true, that he has nothing to hide, that he’s never pursued Russian financing (and certainly never laundered money for oligarchs in exchange for funding), that it’s just this pesky audit. Well, okay. If his finances are indeed pure as the driven snow, prove it. Release ’em. Simple, easy, and a nice distraction, honestly. Plus Rachel Maddow’s head would explode.
Third, and this really does need to happen, he could fire Jared Kushner. Kushner had a very very bad week. The Kushner family business is going belly-up, in large measure because young Jared made a very bad deal on a piece of Manhattan real estate in 2006, right before the US economy went pffft. (The address of that bad deal: 666 Fifth Avenue. Deal with the devil, pay his price). Since then, Jared has been scrambling for financing, complicated by the reality that basically no one wants to lend money to a company with that balance sheet. But he worked out a complicated deal involving Russian oil giant, Rosneft, Qatar, and a Chicago equity firm. Qatar didn’t want to play ball, and it now looks like Jared Kushner may have created a foreign policy emergency involving Qatar, the UAE and the Saudis. Which could have led to war, and did lead to a blockade. All, possibly, to pressure Qatar to bail out the Kushner firm.
Yikes.
That absolutely must be investigated. In the meanwhile, Kushner’s portfolio as ‘Presidential advisor’ includes stuff like negotiate with China, drive American business innovations (he’s Innovations Director), and bring peace to the Middle East. All jobs for which his qualifications are: his wife is the President’s daughter. Plus, he now has to do all that without a security clearance. Dancing backwards, in heels, plus with bone spurs in his feet.
Okay, so fire him. Fire him now, Mr. President. Let him defend himself legally without having his many many major White House jobs he also needs to be working on. Only fair to him. Jared Kushner is an ongoing scandal that’s not going away; you can get be rid of it tomorrow. Call Ivanka into your office, give her one of those Daddy/daughter talks about unpleasant realities and how we can’t always get what we want, but if we try somehow, we will find, we’ll get what we need, and fire her husband. While you’re at it, fire her too. The United States can’t afford to lavish a West Wing office, major policy portfolio, and staff, on a handbag designer.
So, three things. Impose sanctions. Release your tax returns. Fire Jared. Easy-peasy, and watch all the TV talking heads praise you for Acting Presidential. You’ll get at least a good week out of it. Before the next Mueller indictments come down.
There’s also zero chance Trump does any of those things. Still, just trying to help.