I have a bet with an old friend and mentor. Both of us believe that Donald Trump will not serve his full four year term. We differ, however, on how long he will survive. My friend thinks he will have been impeached by he House by Labor Day. While I don't dismiss that as an possibility, I'm betting he will get to 2018 but become so toxic by then that Republicans will abandon him in droves. The winner of this bet buys the other dinner at s fine restaurant in Washington, DC.

The agitprop designed to destroy Trump is alive and well and more Republicans appear to be signing on with anti-Trump memes pushed by the Democrats. But this is not a one-sided affair in terms of the effort to take Trump down. Donald Trump himself is busy shooting his own foot off with his uncontrollable mouth.

I think a good number of voters chose Trump over Hillary in the hopes that he was actually a businessman who had the organizational skill and vision to get things done. Those voters are starting to turn on Trump. Instead of good organization the nation is being treated to a petulant display of boorish immaturity. What manager in their right mind fires the head of the FBI in such a cavalier, reckless fashion. Please understand--I believe that Comey needed to go. He needed to be fired. But there is a right way and a wrong way.

What did Trump do? He chose the wrong way and further damaged his image.

Instead of calling Comey in for a meeting and giving him a chance to resign, Trump opted to blindside him. In doing so Trump gave the Democrats ammunition for attacking him as someone who was trying to interfere with an on-going investigation. Trump compounded the chaos by issuing a veiled threat against Comey by raising the specter that Comey's previous conversations with the President had been recorded. That has piqued the interest of Congress and we now have a bipartisan request for such tapes (if they exist).

I personally am sick and tired of listening to the whining of people like Kelly Anne Conway, who was on Howard Kurtz's show today (Sunday) kvetching about the media's failure to focus on the trade deal with China or health care. Sorry Kelly Anne, but the media did not fire Comey and the media did not produce competing explanations about why Trump did what he did.

There is simply no excuse for this kind of impromptu decision making. Unfortunately, Trump has made a habit of this during the campaign. It did not prove fatal then. That is not likely to be the case going forward. Trump will not run for a second term. Trump will not finish his first term. The only question is when will he be forced out or call it quits. The only winners from this sad affair will be my friend and me--but we will share a great meal together. PT