George Conway: Trump is unfit for office

In essence, Trump thinks everything should be about him, for him, for his benefit and glorification—and he can’t comprehend, and doesn’t care about, anything that isn’t. The American diplomat David Holmes testified that Ambassador Gordon Sondland explained to him that “the president only cares about ‘big stuff’”—clarifying, according to Holmes, that this meant “big stuff that benefits the president.”

And that’s why Trump can’t comply with his duties to the nation, and why he now stands as the third president ever to have been impeached. His own stated view of his constitutional authority can only be described as narcissistic: “I have an Article II, where I have to the right to do whatever I want as president.” But as the House Judiciary Committee’s impeachment report rightly explains, “Impeachment is aimed at Presidents who believe they are above the law, and who believe their own interests transcend those of the country and Constitution.” Or, as then-Representative Mike Pence put it in 2008: “This business of high crimes and misdemeanors goes to the question of whether the person serving as President of the United States put their own interests, their personal interests, ahead of public service.” It was inevitable that, given his boundlessly self-centered bent, this president would do precisely that.

Which he did when he repeatedly and criminally obstructed the Mueller investigation, because he feared it would undercut his electoral triumph. He could have been, and should have been, impeached for that alone. And which he did once more when he put his own interests first—again subordinating the nation’s security—by trying to shake down Ukraine to obtain an electoral advantage over a political rival. That, too, violated his oath of office—an oath the Framers of the Constitution viewed as sacrosanct—and thus constituted, as the House rightly found, an impeachable offense.

And ever the narcissist, Trump can admit no wrong. Not only that; the man who clumsily Sharpied a weather map to cover up a mistake in a tweet continues to insist that he acted perfectly in all respects. Trump’s desperate, unhinged letter yesterday to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi demonstrates that he doesn’t understand what his constitutional duties require, and should cement the case for his removal: “You know that I had a totally innocent conversation with the President of Ukraine.” The “transcript” of that conversation shows “that the paragraph in question”—the “do us a favor, though” paragraph—“was perfect.” “I have been deprived of basic Constitutional Due Process.” “You view democracy as your enemy!” With virtually every word of that letter, Trump showed that he has no idea how he violated his oath of office—and will never be made to comprehend it. Trump would surely do it all again, and violate his oath again, if given the chance.