trump has nothing that will help him come back from this.
He has no self-discipline to stick to a stage-managed lie that might create doubt.
He has no dignity.
He has no humble apology.
He has no political skill.
He has no foundation of respect and trust.
He has no grace.
He has no quick thinking. He has little at all. None of it is wise or creative.
His lawyer pool, at the White House, the DoJ, and his personal collection headed by Giuliani, reek in this situation right along with him.
He hasn’t got one or two convenient fall guys, because having an entirely corrupt and complicit administration built on constant cover-ups does not work the same way.
His dreaded insults will transform to badges of honor.
No one can credibly take the blame of having “ill-advised” him, because he brags of taking no advice or expert opinion.
If not all of politics is transactional, his version certainly is. The political survival fear will turn in an instant. There will be fewer, and many more quiet, “trump loyalists.” With Republicons demonstrating for over a decade their willingness to destroy country for party, there will be little willingness to destroy self for trump. It is, above all, the Selfish People Party.
There is no learning curve mistake at this point. Not after the Mueller report and investigation. Not after the feedback from trump’s interview when he tried to make it sound reasonable to accept foreign interference in our elections while keeping it quiet.
Conspiracy theories have limited use in the real world. Mike Flynn and Roger Stone have been shocked to discover they don’t work in courtrooms. They don’t work in the court of public opinion either, outside of the echo chambers.
He can’t feasibly send in Melania or Ivanka to smooth it over. They are not the correct tools for this situation. He may try. But it won’t go over well.
Everyone on his side, nationally and internationally, is gripped with potentially paralytic concerns: “If this, just this, has turned so serious, what is going to happen when they find out about that other stuff?”
His cons aren’t actually good. He isn’t actually a fighter when the going gets tough. Going underhanded isn’t what could help him now.
And worst of all for trump: there is no one he can buy off.
