"President Trump this week set fire to the emoluments clause by announcing his own resort would host the G-7 summit. His Chief of Staff, Mick Mulvaney, set fire to his boss’s innocence admitting on camera to the very thing Trump is being investigated for and possibly impeached over," CNN's S.E. Cupp said.
"Donald Trump has put the Republican Party through a lot. Most have gone willingly along with him -- kids in cages, a trade war, protecting Putin, honoring Kim Jong-Un, breaking the law, the lies, the insults, the fake news, the rape allegations. Defending the president over the indefensible has become something of a cottage industry for Republican lawmakers, few of whom have ever dared to call him out," she noted.
"But over the course of his tenure, one issue has singularly and almost immediately prompted a vocal condemnation against the president and it’s the one issue that may put his presidency the most in danger. That issue? Syria," she explained. "This week 129 House Republicans voted against the president’s withdrawal from northern Syria, which unleashed a Turkish invasion, a Kurdish slaughter, ISIS prison escapes, and a U.S. brokered short-term cease-fire that Turkey ignored. In the Senate, Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Marco Rubio (F-FL), Mitt Romney (R-UT), even Mitch McConnell (R-KY) have lashed out at the president for his immoral, inexplicable actions in Syria."
The host played clips of Republicans condemning Trump.
"Now, this is not the first time Republicans have broken ranks with the president over Syria. Last year when he threatened to abandon the Kurds the first time, Republican lawmakers came out instantly and forcefully against the president," Cupp noted. "Lindsey Graham called him weak and dangerous at the time. He and Tom Cotton (R-AR), Marco Rubio, Joni Ernst (R-IA) and others signed a letter to Trump warning him to reconsider. Remember, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and special envoy Brett McGurk resigned over Trump’s Syria policy."
The conservative anchor believes the rebellion by GOP lawmakers is politically significant.
"You have to take notice when one issue, one singular issue has been able to unlock Trump’s vice grip on Republican lawmakers, to unleash their outrage and locate their backbones. That issue, mind you, wasn’t Russia. It has not been Ukraine. It is Syria," Cupp explained. "So here’s the deal, Republicans, many of whom also criticized Obama’s Syria policy are aware that history’s long gaze is unforgiving, and when it comes to serious foreign policy blunders, voters do blame presidents and parties for decades after. Think Vietnam, think Iraq."
"Republicans also know that a Republican president responsible for literally -- not indirectly -- literally releasing thousands of terrorists into an already unstable region of the world is not something they can stand by and they know that America will pay the price for the horrific toll this action will take on our allies and our reputation for years to come," she predicted.
Cupp explained how Syria could influence the impeachment inquiry.
"And all this comes at the worst possible time for the president when he needs Republican support the most. He’s not only up for re-election, but he’s up for impeachment," she noted. "If you’re a Republican lawmaker who is secretly on the fence, the Syria blunder might just give you the excuse to break ranks and say 'I’ve had enough.'"
"I’m telling you now, do not be surprised if after all the scandals, all the investigations, all the supposed threats to his unbroken base of support, it’s his withdrawal from Syria that might just undo his presidency," Cupp concluded.
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