Donald Trump’s terrible poker face just gave him away

| 10:50 pm EDT April 3, 2019
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Donald Trump would make a spectacularly bad poker player. Apart from his tendency to cheat at everything, he constantly flashes his hand to the world. The latest big Trump flashes have been interesting in that what they imply falls in line with what we’ve been gathering since the Mueller Report was submitted.

Specifically, Trump has become cagey. We know this because of his late night tweetarrhea and newly found defensiveness about releasing the Mueller Report, the release of which he initially said “wouldn’t bother me at all.” We’ve come a long way. It’s worth noting that, allegedly, the White House has not yet seen the Mueller Report. However, at some point, they must have gotten wind of what really lies within, which is to say a damning account of the many misdoings by Trump & Co. But there’s actually more to it than this.

Immediately after Trump proclaimed complete exoneration, he announced that there will be a new effort to gut the Affordable Care Act, something virtually no one wants, regardless of political persuasion. This week, he backed down and said we’ll have to stay tuned until his second term to get a better health care deal. He also partially backed down from his threat of closing the US-Mexico border, which would have been the economic equivalent of sticking his tongue in a mousetrap just to lick the cheese. He backed down again after his administration came under fire for defunding the Special Olympics, a move only an asshole of biblical proportions would attempt.

Trump has a history of backing down from his KFC-induced fever dream policies, but backing down from three big ones in quick succession at this particular time sure makes it seem like he got wind of what’s really in the Mueller Report and he knows his power is dwindling. He’s rolling awfully close to lame-duck territory. But wait, there’s more.

House Democrats in the Judiciary Committee just approved a subpoena of the Mueller Report, which is something Attorney General William Barr must legally comply with once issued. Expect more panicked Trump behavior. Don’t let the diversions get the better of you. Justice is going to bring him and his moribund presidency down, but the speed at which this happens is going to depend on just how well the Democrats play their cards, and just how much Trump keeps on flashing his.