In a step toward admitting defeat, Donald Trump admits his Russia scandal is “taking hold”
Based on his lifelong pattern of behavior, Donald Trump will never admit that his Russia scandal is real, or that he conspired with the Kremlin to rig the election in his own favor. But he came much closer today to admitting something far more important: that the scandal is going to take him down.
This came in the form of a rare mid afternoon Twitter rant which saw him continuing to deny that his Russia scandal is real, while finally admitting that his Russia scandal is the only thing that matters. Here’s what Trump had to say in a brief and rare moment of partial candor buried within lies. See if you can spot it in here: “As the phony Russian Witch Hunt continues, two groups are laughing at this excuse for a lost election taking hold, Democrats and Russians!” (link). The only two words that matter in that word salad are “taking hold.”
Donald Trump’s Russia scandal is very real and very criminal. There’s already enough fire in the form of collusion to land people in prison, and there’s enough smoke billowing to know that there’s a whole lot more fire around the corner. Trump is guilty. But as we’ve seen with a “Hillary Clinton email scandal” that had zero substance to begin with and for which she was fully exonerated in the end, public perception in politics can end up meaning more than innocence or guilt.
Trump, despite being defined by his own legendary denial and obtuse lack of self awareness, seems to have somehow managed to finally figure out that his Russia scandal has defined him. That’s how it should be; he’s a traitor who rigged a U.S. Presidential election. He’ll never acknowledge that last part, but that may not matter. All that matters is that he figures out he’s screwed and realizes he’s defeated.
