He Just Can't Help Himself, Can He?

Speaking with reporters outside the White House before heading to Florida on Thursday, President Donald Trump made it extremely clear that, yes, he engaged in an impeachable offense and hey, let’s widen this incredibly stupid scandal even further, shall we?

Asked once again what exactly he hoped Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would do regarding former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter (Trump had conspicuously refused to answer the question just one day earlier) the president blurted out, “If they were honest about it, they would start an investigation” into his political rival—the very charge at the core of congressional Democrats’ impeachment inquiry.

Then, either oblivious to the fact that he was doing the exact thing currently imperiling his presidency or simply too crooked to care, Trump took his impeachable offenses one step further, drawing China into this whole mess without prompting.

“Likewise, China should start an investigation into the Bidens,” Trump continued. “Because what happened in China is just about as bad as what happened with Ukraine.”

This is about as super-liminal as it gets, and underscores what is emerging as Trump’s main strategy (such as it is) to fight the coming battle: don’t deny the charges—simply act as if soliciting foreign help to investigate a political rival and influence an election is extremely fine and normal.

The guy just can’t help himself. If the threat of impeachment can’t get him to shut himself up, it looks like nothing will.