2017 May 15^th

What is up with Donald J. Trump? If we believe the leaks from the White House, Trump is reduced to screaming at his television sets and comes across to observers as unhinged. We are told that he is increasingly isolated, planning to replace nearly all of his staff. (Except for his relatives of course.) Most of this information comes from MSNBC, none of it arrives from Fox News… and none of that is surprising. Our primary avenue toward the truth is simply what we see ourselves.

We have seen television of Russian officials yukking it up in the oval office. No one on either side of the political fence suggests those pictures are faked, and no one denies that they were taken by Russian television because Trump would not allow American television into the oval office to record the event. Trump’s hostility toward the press is not debated by anyone; the debate is about whether or not the press deserves his hostility. He does describe as “fake news” any description of his activities that are not complimentary. If the news is reported accurately, there will be quite a lot of fake news.

Trump is scheduled to leave Friday for an eight-day tour primarily of the Middle East; he will be accompanied by Jared Kushner, H.R. McMaster, Dina Powell and others. He will visit the Holy Sites of all three major religions, including a meeting with Pope Francis. Given the enormity of his effect on news in this country his absence is bound to have a profoundly calming effect…assuming, of course, that his minders can keep him away from any major gaffes while he is away. Trump thrives on publicity so keeping him away from headlines for eight days will be a challenge.

Meanwhile, back at the White House, there are unlikely to be any staff changes. We know the Republican talking points: Primary among them was the view that no special investigating committees are needed. The ones now at work are doing just fine. Only this is not at all what the American public believes; about 78 percent of Americans believe we need a special prosecutor or some special investigative organization. Less than 20 percent believe that the congress is up to the job.

If you believe that will encourage anyone in government to appoint an apolitical investigating group you are mistaken. No Republican in his or her right mind will relinquish control of this investigation to an independent investigator. Just think of the consequences of an unfettered investigation!

News flash! Now there is information that Trump bragged to his Russian friends when they were at the White House about some special foreign intelligence he had just received. The same thing a seven year old might do by saying to a little buddy, “Look at this neat new toy grandpa bought me.” It looks like this could be a very big deal. The information was classified and Trump did reveal it…and while H.R. McMaster is trying desperately to put lipstick on it, the fact remains that Trump leaked classified material to the Russians. That’s not disputed…yet.