The Editorial Board

USA TODAY

The president says he can’t work with Congress on legislation and be investigated at the same time, then showed this to be true by walking out of a meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer.

We wonder what his next protestation will be. He can’t negotiate a budget while dealing with a foreign policy crisis? He can’t fight a trade war and cut taxes? He can’t "walk and chew gum" at the same time?

We wonder, too, how he will articulate his dilemma. Perhaps instead of walking out in a huff he will stomp his feet, or scream at the top of his lungs. Maybe he’ll throw his Legos castle against the wall so it breaks into 20 bazillion pieces. Boy, wouldn’t that be something.

The fact is, presidents are subject to investigations. Some are legit. Others transparently partisan. Nonetheless, presidents get things done.

Democrats spent much of the presidency of George H.W. Bush investigating his role in the Iran-Contra scandal. Bush responded by winning the Persian Gulf War, getting air pollution and energy legislation through Congress, and negotiating a bipartisan budget that was partly to credit for the government surpluses of the late 1990s.

President Bill Clinton’s entire eight years was an investigation, first over a land investment he had made while governor of Arkansas, and then an affair with a former White House intern. President George W. Bush came under attack for the treatment of prisoners during the Iraq War, particularly at the camp known as Abu Ghraib. Barack Obama's administration was investigated after the terrorist attacks at the U.S. compound in Benghazi, Libya, where four Americans died.

Each managed to cope.

If there is one piece of advice that Trump’s friends and supporters should be giving him it is: Put on your billionaire britches and deal with it. His behavior makes him look weak and outmatched, and it feeds the narrative, gleefully retailed by Democrats, that our president has lost his marbles.

It is also a gift to Trump's political opponents. There is a debate — a rift even — in Democratic ranks over strategy. Do they have a solemn obligation to impeach Trump for his many outrages, knowing full well that the Senate would not convict? Or would it be more effective to let Trump’s behavior play out in court while they focus on tangible legislative accomplishments.

Here were Pelosi and Schumer doing their part to find common legislative ground on infrastructure spending, and it was the president who walked out. Now if nothing gets done before the 2020 election, voters will know whom to blame.

Donald John Trump, you are not doing yourself any favors. You are not doing your party any favors. And you most certainly aren't doing your country any favors. Pull yourself together and act like a president.

This editorial was written by Editorial Board member Dan Carney.

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