As this line emerges as the take-away from the presser and arguably Trump’s entire presidency, it’s worth noting how honest it is. Trump lies constantly, yes, but he also seeks to normalize his awfulness by frequently admitting stuff and daring us to accept it: that not paying /1
taxes is smart, neo-nazis are good people too, foreigners should investigate the Bidens, taking foreign oppo in a campaign is ok, he fired Comey bc of Russia, non-western countries are shitholes, etc. Trump, like Col. Jessup, desperately wants to say the quiet part out loud. /2
He will lie & evade, but what he really wants is acceptance that his bad behavior is not actually bad. That’s why his presidency is so mentally exhausting. It’s a constant, daily effort by all of us to keep T from re-defining American standards into those of a banana republic. /3
