From The Nation
Trump seeks to impose on America a strongman politics that even Republicans note--and fear.
Donald Trump knows no rule of law. Whatever the Republican nominee for president does -- no matter how wrong, no matter how vile -- he absolves himself of responsibility. Yet if a rival displeases him, he proposes investigation, prosecution, prison time. Trump does not merely celebrate the totalitarians of other times and other lands; he seeks to impose upon the United States a strongman politics that even Republicans have noted -- and fear.
Last February, Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse broke with Trump, observing that "he displays essentially no understanding of the fact that, in the American system, we have a constitutional system of checks and balances." Sasse added: "[Have] you noticed how Mr. Trump uses the word 'Reign' -- like he thinks he's running for King? It's creepy, actually."
It's gotten a lot creepier as the November 8 election approaches. The release of an 11-year-old tape of the alleged billionaire talking about how powerful men "can do anything" they want to women -- grab them, grope them, "move on" them, "anything" -- led the National Organization for Women to issue a statement with this headline: "Donald Trump Promotes Sexual Assault As a Rich Man's Perk." In and of itself, this makes Trump unfit for the presidency. "Someone with such disrespect for women, with such a misogynistic lifestyle who boasts about using his power to sexually assault women cannot -- and will not -- be the leader of this country," said NOW president Terry O'Neill, as dozens of Republican congressional candidates abandoned their ticket mate.
Trump disqualified himself long ago with his xenophobia, his racial and religious bigotry, and his striking disregard for the Constitution. Yet his response to the tape revealed an even more menacing side: Trapped in a scandal of his own making, Trump lashed out during the second presidential debate at Hillary Clinton. As president, Trump said, he would "instruct my attorney general to get a special prosecutor" to investigate Clinton's handling of e-mails. Clinton responded, "It's just awfully good that someone with the temperament of Donald Trump is not in charge of the law in our country."
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