Republican debate: Chris Christie is right that Trump’s behavior was ‘beneath the dignity of the office’
Timothy P. Carney
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There are a thousand reasons to be wary of the state and federal indictments of President Donald Trump. When asked about these indictments and when asked about Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss, most Republican candidates avoided the question and instead ran to condemn the politicized Department of Justice under President Joe Biden.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) aptly pointed to the Biden DOJ persecuting pro-lifers, but in doing so, he was dodging the question.
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This is a Republican primary debate. Scott, like all of the other candidates who dashed to bash the Biden DOJ, is running against Trump for the Republican nomination. The question at hand is about Trump’s conduct. I think the New York charges are laughable. I think the Georgia charges have weaknesses, as do the federal Jan. 6 charges.
But Chris Christie put it perfectly: “Whether or not you think the criminal charges are right or wrong, the conduct is beneath the office of the president of the United States.”
That’s absolutely true.
The New York charges are rooted in the fact that our former president cheated on his wife and paid his mistress hush money. The Georgia charges and the Jan. 6 charges are rooted in Trump’s impenetrable narcissism and lack of respect for the rule of law. The documents charges are based in his belief that he himself is the state.
Again, I’m not sure that most or any of these charges are prudent or should stand. But in a GOP debate, the most pressing issue is a different one: Should Trump be the nominee? All of these cases highlight the ways in which he is exactly the wrong man.