A Turning Point for Trump

During Donald Trump’s first three months in the White House, America found ways to compartmentalize the convulsions of Washington. The stock market hit record highs. The

unemployment rate approached historic lows. The baseball season opened, even as Trump, wary of protesters, declined to throw out a first pitch.

Then, in the third week of May, the crisis consuming Trump’s Presidency exceeded the capacity for containment. On Monday, the Washington Post revealed that Trump had shared highly classified material with the Russian foreign minister and the Russian Ambassador. Aides disputed the story until the next morning, when Trump undermined them, writing, on Twitter, that he had the “absolute right” to give “facts pertaining to terrorism and airline flight safety” to the Russian government. His response revealed a tenuous grasp of his situation. The critics weren’t disputing his rights; they were decrying his judgment. The editorial board of the Wall Street Journal, the house organ of mainstream conservatives, questioned the Administration’s viability: “Presidencies can withstand only so much turbulence before they come apart.”

Read more...