In a piece for The Washington Post today, opinion writer Paul Waldman contends that the current impeachment effort against President Trump won't make it less likely for him to seek foreign assistance for his reelection -- it'll only make it more likely.
Citing Russian president Vladimir Putin's recent comments where he said Trump's impeachment is based in "completely fabricated reasons," Waldman writes that Putin's words must have been a "ray of light to warm [Trump's] soul."
"And it’s a reminder that Putin almost certainly sees a second Trump term as in his own interests, both because it could produce policy outcomes favorable to the Kremlin and because on a daily basis Trump contributes to one of Putin’s key long-term projects: the discrediting of western liberal democracy," he continued.
Trump's open willingness to accept Russian assistance, followed by his alleged pressuring of the Ukrainian government to investigate his political rivals, shows that he is "utterly unrepentant." But ultimately, it's his own ego that will prompt to commit the same questionable behavior over and over again, according to Waldman.
"Some have suggested that when he gets acquitted, he’ll feel emboldened to commit more misdeeds," writes Waldman. 'While that makes some intuitive sense, I think it misreads the motivations at work. It’s not that he will at that point be convinced he’s free to act as he pleases, since he always thought that. He’ll do it to show them and himself how free he has always been. It’ll be a combination of narcissism and spite. You think you Democrats are going to stop me? I’ll show you."
Read his full piece over at The Washington Post.
