Gowdy: After Helsinki “Advisers Need to Reevaluate” If They Can Serve

Trey Gowdy went on Fox on Sunday and he actually said things that made sense. It’s hard to believe given his performance during the Peter Strzok hearing, but after Trump’s shocking behavior in Helsinki, some in the GOP seem to discovered a newfound rationality. And with his rationale mind taking over, Gowdy is letting some punches fly, and they seem to be aimed at Trump.

Here are some words that sound like someone in touch with reality would say:

There is no way you can listen to the evidence and not conclude, not that the Democrats were the victims, but the United States of America were the victims. We were the victims of what Russia did in 2016.

Yep, makes sense. The Russians attacked our democracy. This is not a partisan issue. We are with you so far, Mr. Gowdy.

On the press conference during the Helsinki Summit, Gowdy said this:

It ought to be a source of unity and rallying around the fact that we are never going to allow this to happen again and we’re going to punish those who try to do it. And there was this equivocation [by Trump] during the press conference. I’m glad [Trump] corrected it.

Okay, Gowdy landed a soft one calling what Trump did “an equivocation”. Though it’s not strongly stated, he did essentially say that Trump was weak. I don’t think Trump will like that much. Perhaps Gowdy realized that in the moment and pulled back by generously calling Trump’s post-Helsinki blathering about double negatives a “correction”. But then his rationale mind came back to the fight:

But when you’re the leader of the free world, every syllable matters, and you really shouldn’t be having to correct it when you’re the leader of the free world.

Damn straight, Mr. Gowdy. If you are the president of the United States, you need to get your statements right the first time because what you say is damn important. Even if Trump misspoke, which no rational person is buying, there is no excuse for screwing it up so badly. The president has a duty to get his words right the first time.

But here’s the knockout blow from Gowdy’s appearance. It’s not clear if it is aimed at Trump or his advisors like Pompeo, Coats, and Haley, but it is significant either way:

The president either needs to rely on the people that he has chosen to advise him, or those advisers need to re-evaluate whether or not they can serve in this administration. But the disconnect cannot continue. The evidence is overwhelming and the president needs to say that and act like it.

You can watch it here:

.@TGowdySC to @BretBaier on Russian meddling in 2016: "The evidence is overwhelming…The President either needs to rely on the people that he has chosen to advise him, or those advisers need to reevaluate whether or not they can serve in this administration." #FNS pic.twitter.com/fThEZ8H5N4

— FoxNewsSunday (@FoxNewsSunday) July 22, 2018

The “disconnect cannot continue” — those are fighting words. (Notice how they are omitted from the Fox News summary.) Gowdy is laying out an either-or situation. Either all Trump’s advisors resign, which would be a disaster for the already thinly staffed Trump administration or Trump starts doing his job. Listen to what your advisors are telling you to do, then execute on that. Start acting like the president of the United States.

Gowdy isn’t the only Republican speaking out against Trump’s summit with Putin, but he’s a high-profile one landing some solid blows and only occasionally pulling his punches. Will this open the gates for more Republicans to come out against Trump? We shall see.