Donald Trump still doesn’t understand he’s the “President” now

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Donald Trump is not the President of the United States. Not after he and his campaign conspired with a foreign enemy to rig the election in his favor. But he does occupy the office of President of the United States, at least until we can impeach him or force his resignation. We all saw him get sworn in; surely he remembers it as well. So you’d think he’d at least understand that he holds the office. But his words and actions increasingly suggest he hasn’t figured it out.

Last night, “President” Donald Trump blamed Barack Obama for not doing enough about Russian interference in U.S. elections. Never mind that in doing so, Trump just admitted Russia rigged the election for him. But what Trump doesn’t get is it’s now his responsibility to put a stop to any further hacking. He’s held the office for five months. And yet instead of settling in and doing something with that responsibility, he still thinks he’s some kind of outside commentator.

When that American kid died earlier this week after having been held by North Korea in inhumane conditions, Donald Trump once again blamed his predecessor. Does Trump not understand that he himself had five months to try to get the kid released? Does he not get that this is ultimately his failure? Maybe it’s Trump’s fault for not being able to get the kid released in time to save him, maybe it’s not. We have no way of knowing, since he’s never never even told us if he truly tried. But whether or not it’s his fault, it’s his responsibility. It’s all on him now.

Trump recently told associates that he wants to resign, but he’s afraid of how history will judge him for it. What he doesn’t get is that history is already judging him by the hour. Everything he makes worse, everything he fails to make better, is being etched into his record for all time. In fact the only way he might be able to get history to judge him a bit less harshly is if he does resign, and promptly.

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