So when Trump told a gathering of the International Association of Chiefs of Police on Monday that Democrats were the ones bad-mouthing law enforcement, one could only marvel at another tour de force of hypocrisy.

“Politicians who spread this dangerous anti-police sentiment make life easier for criminals and more dangerous for law-abiding citizens, and they also make it more dangerous for police, and it must stop, and it must stop now,” Trump said.

AD

AD

That’s exactly right — and Trump should apologize to the FBI for all his false, insulting allegations that make the bureau’s job harder. He should never have allowed congressional allies to impugn the integrity of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance courts. He should have fired his TV lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, when he called FBI agents executing a lawfully obtain search warrant on Michael Cohen “stormtroopers.” He should never have denigrated prosecutors (during the trial no less) who successfully obtained convictions against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort. He should apologize to and cease public attacks on Bruce Ohr, a career Justice Department official.

Trump and the Republicans still fancy the GOP as the party of law and order. “Every single day of my administration, we will stand for law, order, and justice,” he proclaimed. The reality is different. Trump has threatened to fire the special counsel; he has harangued the attorney general (for following ethics laws to recuse himself in the Russia investigation); he has denigrated “so-called” judges; he has encouraged police to manhandle criminal suspects in violation of statutes and the Constitution; he has regularly demonstrated contempt for due process (“Lock her up!”) for his political enemies; and he has fawned over international leaders who abhor the rule of law, disregard civil rights and terrorize their own people. He has also gone so far as to endanger and out a confidential intelligence source.

A law-and-order president would not call an investigation into crimes and national security violations associated with the 2016 election a “witch hunt.” A law-and-order president would not falsely claim there has been illegal voting on a massive scale, nor falsely accuse illegal immigrants of causing a nonexistent crime wave.

AD

AD

For ideological reasons, Trump continues to pursue policies that many law enforcement agencies and officials oppose. They’d like to spend their time fighting violent crime, not pursuing nonviolent marijuana users. Not Trump. Many law enforcement officials would like to see reasonable gun safety laws. Not Trump.

Then there is his own conduct. We’ve never had a president who allegedly helped defraud the taxpayers out of hundreds of millions of dollars as part of his family’s tax evasion operation. With the exception of Richard M. Nixon, Trump is the only president who has orchestrated from the Oval Office a scheme to interfere with and disable an ongoing investigation. We’ve never caught one on tape urging his private attorney to evade campaign-finance laws to pay hush money to a former paramour.

Trump is unique in his ability to surround himself with criminals. His former national security adviser, former campaign chairman and deputy campaign chairman, personal lawyer and a batch of campaign advisers have either pleaded guilty or been convicted of crimes.

AD

AD

Rather than constantly playing defense, you would think Democrats would turn the tables on the GOP. If Republicans want to excuse tax cheating and claim the president cannot be held to account for obstruction of justice, if they want to falsely accuse the FBI of wrongdoing, and if they make the job of police harder, they can no longer call themselves the party of law and order.

No, a party that wants to be known for devotion to law, order and justice must defend law enforcement and an independent judiciary against scurrilous attacks, make crystal clear that the president must abide by the law and pursue policies that help rather than distract law enforcement from their core mission, and zealously defend civil liberties.