16 Jul 2017 12:53 pm
Conservative writers who were trying to give the president the benefit of the doubt are starting to turn.
A Conspiracy of Dunces - Ross Douthat
And as for the president himself anyone presuming his innocence at this point should have all of the confidence of Chris Christie awaiting his cabinet appointment.
The Benefit of the Doubt Is Gone - Jonah Goldberg
On the one hand, the media get lots of stuff wrong and get way ahead of the facts. So, we should give Donald Trump some benefit of the doubt.
On the other hand, the Trump White House lies like a randy sailor with eight hours of shore leave and not enough money for a professional “date.”
It doesn’t frick’n matter if — note the “if” — nothing came of the meeting.
Junior can’t claim he, Manafort, and Kushner never sought to collude with the Russian government when he admits that he, Manafort, and Kushner eagerly took a meeting for the express purpose of colluding with Russia.
The Don Jr. Meeting 3.0 and 4.0 - Rich Lowry
I have believed that 1) Trump’s weird defensiveness over Russia had to do with his reflex to reject anything undermining the legitimacy of his election and 2) the forgetfulness of people around him about Russia contacts was normal Washington evasion — it’s never a good time to be forthcoming if it’s going to create a negative news-cycle in an incredibly hostile news environment.
But the way this story has unfolded, with Don. Jr.’s highly misleading accounts, raises the prospect that it’s something worse.
The GOP’s moral rot is the problem, not Donald Trump Jr. - Jennifer Rubin
If the GOP had not become unhinged about the Clintons, would it have rationalized Trump as the lesser of two evils?
Only in the crazed bubble of right-wing hysteria does an ethically challenged, moderate Democrat become a threat to Western civilization and Trump the salvation of America.