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The Media Will Re-Elect Trump
Holman W. Jenkins February 26, 2019
Donald Trump’s tenure has been a pleasant surprise compared to expectations, which isn’t saying much. His administration has been as chaotic as predicted, driven by his habit of saying unscripted things. But it also has been productive of a few things: corporate tax reform, curbing regulation, injecting a semi-useful ferment into our foreign policy.
The remainder of his term was always likely to be dominated by the enormous baggage he brought with him—his business and personal history.
What was not foreseeable is the extent to which the FBI’s meddling in the 2016 presidential race, using Russia’s meddling as an excuse, would become a counter thread in the narrative of alleged Trump corruption.
There is a humongous irony here. Not expecting to win, Mr. Trump allowed his organization’s desultory pursuit of a Trump tower in Moscow to continue during the 2016 campaign. Make no mistake, though a report that he instructed Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about this matter has been debunked by none other than special counsel Robert Mueller, it remains true that Mr. Cohen lied to Congress. The lack of any other crime will not stop this episode from being central in a Democratic House impeachment hearing resting heavily on hints that there is something fishy about Mr. Trump’s attitudes about Russia.
But what is true of Mr. Trump is also true of James Comey. He also expected Mr. Trump to lose. The FBI’s own highly questionable actions during the campaign, which inadvertently helped elect Mr. Trump, he and his Obama colleagues also expected to go unexamined.
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