As impeachment unfolds, Trump offers counterprogramming
| Washington
By all indications, President Donald Trump is drawn to drama.听
The former reality TV star loves to perform, loves being the center of attention, loves to shift the media discourse with a well-timed tweet. Even now 鈥� after the by a former top aide that adds fuel to the charges at the heart of the impeachment trial 鈥� President Trump appears unfazed.听
And unlike former President Bill Clinton, who 鈥渃ompartmentalized鈥� his way through impeachment, Mr. Trump seems to be fully embracing the trial as part of the 鈥淭rump show鈥� and using his time in the split screen to capture attention and keep his supporters firmly on board. In fact, by staying away from the Capitol 鈥� despite saying , after a senator offered him a ticket 鈥� he may be garnering more attention than if he had to sit there in silence.听
Why We Wrote This
Unlike former President Bill Clinton, who chose not to say much about impeachment, Mr. Trump seems to be embracing a split-screen approach, trying to capture attention on his own terms.
From the start of the trial, Mr. Trump has worked hard to stay in the public eye: grabbing global attention while in Europe; hopscotching around the country for televised campaign rallies; tweeting up a storm, including a personal record for tweets in one day (142); hosting prominent foreign leaders at the White House.
Some items on the president鈥檚 busy schedule were long in the works, but they still feed into Mr. Trump鈥檚 larger purpose at a time of maximum stress. He pays close attention to TV ratings, for the impeachment trial, and he complained when his defense lawyers had to start their argument on Saturday morning, calling that time slot 聽Like a TV producer, he aims to create a competing narrative designed to attract public attention, both allies and detractors of Mr. Trump say.听聽
鈥淗e鈥檚 trying to counterprogram,鈥� says a source close to the White House who participates in multiple calls a day with Trump aides focused on public messaging during the impeachment trial.听
For President Clinton, only the second U.S. president in history to be impeached, the coping mechanism was to keep any scandals he was dealing with in a separate place, mentally.听
鈥淐linton was always a compartmentalizer,鈥� says veteran Democratic strategist Peter Fenn. 鈥淗e had an amazing talent for putting personal things聽into one box and public things and governing into another box.鈥�
Mr. Trump, in contrast, 鈥渢akes everything personally,鈥� says Mr. Fenn. 鈥淗e can鈥檛 operate outside the realm of, 鈥業t鈥檚 all about me.鈥欌��
For Trump aides, as with all presidential staff, pleasing the boss is paramount. And so staff who aren鈥檛 directly tasked with addressing impeachment have to compartmentalize to some degree, even as the boss is consumed by what he sees as a 鈥渨itch hunt鈥� 鈥� a term that many a Democrat applied to President Clinton鈥檚 1998 impeachment.听
In a 2006 interview with scholars at the University of Virginia鈥檚 Miller Center, former Clinton personal secretary Betty Currie agreed that during their impeachment whirlwind, most of the staff kept their noses to the grindstone and focused on work that had nothing to do with investigations and, eventually, impeachment.听
鈥淲e had to run the country,鈥� .听
Mr. Clinton also had an impeachment 鈥渨ar room,鈥� led by lawyer Lanny Davis, who pursued a One rule forbade the president from speaking publicly about the impeachment proceedings.听
That, of course, is anathema to Mr. Trump鈥檚 style. For starters, no one tells him what to do. Or if someone does, there鈥檚 no guarantee he鈥檒l listen.听
By having a press secretary who has never conducted a press briefing, Mr. Trump is effectively serving as his own spokesman. Thus, he lives or dies politically by his own guile and gut. The approach may be working: His registered Monday at its highest point 鈥� 45.5% 鈥� since the earliest days of his presidency.听聽
On Monday, as Mr. Trump鈥檚 impeachment trial resumed, the president鈥檚 expected story line 鈥� easy acquittal at week鈥檚 end, followed by a victory lap 鈥� may already have been dashed. The New York Times posted Sunday evening about former national security adviser John Bolton鈥檚 forthcoming book has increased the chances that the Senate will vote to subpoena witnesses. If a majority of senators make that call, the trial will extend beyond this week.
In his manuscript, Mr. Bolton 鈥� long at the top of Democrats鈥� wishlist for impeachment trial testimony 鈥� wrote that Mr. Trump had ordered a freeze on security aid to Ukraine until the country had agreed to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, a 2020 presidential rival, and others, according to the Times story. This represents the first time a firsthand witness has made such an assertion.听
But at the White House Monday, the programming centered on a completely different topic: Middle East peace. Mr. Trump welcomed ally Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and, separately, Israeli opposition leader Benny Gantz, for meetings on the Trump administration鈥檚 plan for the region.听
The meetings seemed to serve the domestic political goals of all concerned, but not much more. The Palestinians, who were not invited, rejected the U.S. plan sight unseen. On Tuesday, Mr. Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu will hold a joint press conference.听
This week鈥檚 focus on Israel recalls by Elaine Kamarck, a former aide to then-Vice President Al Gore, in her Miller Center interview from 2008. She spoke of how both Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush turned to Middle East peace as they struggled with domestic political challenges.
鈥淎ll these presidents think, 鈥極h, well, I [expletive]-ed up my presidency, so I鈥檒l try to make peace in the Middle East,鈥欌�� Ms. Kamarck said. 鈥淎s if this is going to save these guys.鈥�
