Donald Trump’s week from hell just got even more nightmarish for him

| 9:09 am EDT July 11, 2020
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When the Supreme Court ruled this week that Donald Trump’s tax returns must be turned over to the New York grand jury that’s in the process of criminally indicting him on state charges, it seemed like a safe bet that this would be the biggest blow Trump took this week. But now there’s room for argument on that front.

Donald Trump’s oldest “friend” is Roger Stone, a conniving scumbag who has spent decades doing dirty deeds on Trump’s behalf. The problem with being friends with a guy like Stone is that if he ever feels like he has to, he’ll kneecap you in the same way that he’s always kneecapped others. Stone decided he wasn’t willing to rot in prison until the inevitable pardon that Trump would have given him shortly after the election, so he instead forced Trump to commute his sentence now.

While the Supreme Court tax ruling helps ensure that Donald Trump will go to prison if he loses the election, this Roger Stone development has a more immediate impact on Trump. It sends a clear signal to voters on the fence that Trump really is the criminal that his detractors have long painted him as being. It puts the media focus back on the election crimes that Stone committed at Trump’s direction. And it provides endless fodder for damning television ads; just imagine, for instance, what the Lincoln Project will do with this Trump-Stone story.

This was not a move that Donald Trump wanted to make. Even his increasingly addled brain surely understands that this commutation will knock a few more points off his terrible approval rating, and make it even harder for him to win the election – which is a big blow considering that Trump is headed to prison if he loses. Trump was already having a nightmare of a week. The Stone development made it even uglier for him.