Donald Trump has crossed a lot of lines since he became president. But last week, Robert Reich writes, he crossed a most dangerous line:
In a series of tweets Friday morning, Trump directly called on the Justice Department and the FBI to “do what is right and proper” by launching criminal probes of Hillary Clinton.
Trump’s obvious aim was to deflect attention from special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of his campaign, and of the indictments issued against his campaign aides.
You simply don't do that kind of thing in a democracy. Consider what happened between Al Gore and George W. Bush after the 2000 election:
Think of Al Gore’s concession speech to George W. Bush in 2000, after five weeks of a bitterly contested election and just one day after the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of Bush. “I say to President-elect Bush that what remains of partisan rancor must now be put aside, and may God bless his stewardship of this country.”
Gore publicly bowed to the institutions of our democracy. “Now the U.S. Supreme Court has spoken. Let there be no doubt, while I strongly disagree with the court’s decision, I accept it … And tonight, for the sake of our unity as a people and the strength of our democracy, I offer my concession.”
And consider Bush's response:
“Vice president Gore and I put our hearts and hopes into our campaigns; we both gave it our all. We shared similar emotions. I understand how difficult this moment must be for vice president Gore and his family. He has a distinguished record of service to our country as a congressman, a senator and as vice president.”
Democracy demands that leaders occasionally show graciousness to each other. Trump knows nothing of graciousness. Perhaps the word simply has too many syllables for him. But, for whatever reasons, he is -- and has been since the beginning -- a threat to the foundations of American democracy.
He is a clear and present danger.
Image: Mountain Xpress
