One doesn’t get to be the Director of National Intelligence – the guy above the CIA, FBI, NSA, and military intelligence – without being able to synthesize the information one sees into a coherent theory, an explanation that one can use to advance a nation’s interests. That’s just part of the reason that I listen to Jim Clapper, former DNI. The other reason, is that all these old spooks stay plugged in to their network (it is why keeping their clearances is a big deal, it isn’t talked about much), and “hear things” that constitute continuing top secret intelligence. They’ll never pass that on to the public, but it shapes their view of the situation. That’s another good reason to listen closely to what he has to say.
This morning Clapper stated that Trump’s latest antics, the tweets, the complaints, the bizarre behavior, to his eyes, is that of a man who knows the walls are crashing in upon him.
“I just think the volume and the — to me — the irrationality of some of the things he is saying in his tweets, at least tell me that, you know, the walls are kind of crashing in on him,” Clapper replied. “When you think about the sequence of events in the last week or so, when you have the [Paul] Manafort guilty plea and Michael Cohen plea bargain, and the revelations about the past misdeeds the National Enquirer has been suppressing, I think that more and more, he is legally thinking that he feels like he is in jeopardy.”
“I think what he is trying to do, using a military expression is prepping the battlefield and undermining the credibility of the investigation,” Clapper continued. “I guess it is a rhetorical ratcheting up here from a hoax to something illegal. The fact that he has not used that adjective before is pretty significant.”
Did anyone not feel the same way yesterday upon hearing that Trump stated that NBC and Lester Holt doctored the tape? Did anyone not feel that this was “prepping the battlefield,” calling into question obvious fact?
Some very good news came out this morning, though. As the evidence comes out, and the walls crash in, the public seems to have noticed.
Disapproval of Donald Trump is at a new high, support for the Mueller investigation is broad and half of Americans in a new ABC News/Washington Post poll favor Congress initiating impeachment proceedings against the president.
Sixty percent in the national survey disapprove of Trump’s performance in office, numerically the highest of his presidency, albeit by a single point; that includes 53 percent who disapprove strongly, more than half for the first time. Thirty-six percent approve, matching his low.
Those are compelling numbers, and they are comforting to those of us who believe that sanity can still win in the end. However, there’s no question that Trump’s supporters will take every advantage of his prepared battlefield, willing to suspend belief.
What is not being analyzed is the fact that this President, upon feeling the walls crashing in upon him, and sensing his own political demise, is not leading this nation globally. What if a true disaster hit? What if we were attacked? This president is not ready. We need Mueller, we need those walls to crash in, we need to learn from this, advance through it, and study it, so it never happens again.
Yesterday I wrote that today is the single most likely day for Mueller to release his report on obstruction, stay close to your TV, phone, or laptop. The roof is due to collapse.
TWITTER: @MiciakZoom, first weekend of college football! We have made it through the sports desert that is mid-summer, god has smiled upon us, and brought us football. We’ll tweet physics this weekend, too – I have some great stuff.
