Donald Trump has been unreserved in his vituperative labels for those who have dared to disagree with him. This is, after all, the president who has told Americans his political opponents are “fascists” who are also guilty of “treason.” His domestic foes are also “enemies of the people,” “the enemy within” and “threats to democracy.”
Last year, Trump went so far as to insist Democrats were “evil” and members of “the party of Satan.”
Just over the last few days, however, the president has embraced a new word as part of his attacks against his critics. Earlier this week, he published an item to his social media platform in which he wrote, in reference to Democrats, “TRAITORS ALL.”
During a telephone interview with CNBC, the president used the same word in a similar context.
Commenting on White House negotiations with Iran, Trump said, “So, it’s tough, but we can’t let traitors like [Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer] put pressure on you where they say, ‘We want out.’ Think how bad that is. I’m negotiating with these people and they’re telling us, ‘We have to get out now, we have to get out now, we have to get out now.’”
In other words, as the president sees it, public criticism of the war is necessarily bad for the United States because, as he sees it, the commentary undermines negotiations with Tehran.
In his mind, he’s therefore justified in calling his detractors “traitors.”
Except, that’s ridiculous. Throughout American history, the public has expressed opinions, often loudly, about controversial combat operations abroad. During Democratic administrations, Trump has been among those critics.
That’s not evidence of disloyalty. As the president really ought to understand, it’s what the First Amendment is all about.
This is especially true in Congress, where the Democratic minority has a responsibility to push back against dangerous and misguided Republican policy pursuits. This is just America 101, whether this causes confusion in the White House or not.
But Trump’s comments hinted at a larger goal: The president is no doubt aware of the fact that the unnecessary war he started is unpopular, and it’s contributing to his own collapsing public support. It’s against this backdrop that Trump doesn’t just want to condemn his domestic foes, he also appears eager to stifle dissent, perhaps thinking that the public might like the war more if fewer officials condemned it.
That said, if the president thinks bullying and name-calling will silence his critics, he should probably start lowering his expectations.
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