Scholars left in shock by Trump's 'historic week of disarray'

President Donald Trump is causing even more chaos than usual on his way out the door, and three scholars say they've never seen this level of dysfunction by a departing president.

In an op-ed published by USA Today, the three scholars -- Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Edward Larson, political scientist Austin Sarat, and former federal prosecutor Dennis Aftergut -- argue that Trump has presided over a "historic week of disarray" in his desperate efforts to cling to power.

"When history looks back for a signature week of the Trump presidency, Christmas 2020 may win the prize," they write. "There was a pattern, and likely foreshadowing of a chaotic month to come: Political disorder, norm demolition and unrelenting indifference to others from a truth-negating president."

They then cite Trump's efforts to undermine his own appointees' response to Russia's cyberhack of American infrastructure, his surprise veto threat on the bipartisan pandemic relief bill, and his slew of pardons of political allies, some of who committed crimes for the president's benefit.

Additionally, they note that Trump is still trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which he lost decisively in the popular vote, the electoral college vote, and in court cases aimed at throwing out election results.

All of this, they conclude, will make the next 24 days fraught with peril.

"In the days before Joe Biden's Jan. 20 inauguration, expect arson from America's nihilist-in-chief, thrilled to be watching the flames," they write.