Trump is a big shameless cheater. Does anyone care?
We knew this a long time ago. The question is whether or not anyone wants to do anything about it.
On Tuesday, President Trump's longtime personal lawyer and "fixer" Michael Cohen directly implicated him in a federal felony. Cohen said that, "in coordination with and at the direction of a candidate for federal office" — Trump — he paid off a porn actress and a former Playboy model to buy their silence about extramarital affairs they said they had with Trump in 2006, and he did it "for the principal purpose of influencing the election."
In other words, Trump, according to his own former lawyer, cheated to win the 2016 election. In this case, according to Cohen, Trump cheated by directing hush money to two women with whom he likely cheated on his third and current wife, Melania. It remains to be seen whether Special Counsel Robert Mueller can prove Trump cheated in other ways, like by working with Russia to disseminate and promote pilfered emails harmful to Hillary Clinton. At the very least, Trump and his new lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, admit Trump's campaign tried to collude with Russia.
Cohen's guilty plea caused some shockwaves. "Let that sink in: Mr. Trump's own lawyer has now accused him, under oath, of committing a felony," The New York Times wrote in an editorial. "On Tuesday, the president of the United States was credibly accused in federal court of directing one of his subordinates to commit a federal crime," The Washington Post editorialists added, referring to Trump as the "alleged co-conspirator in the White House." Conservative New York Times columnist Bret Stephens even used the "i" word:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Is all this cheating really a big deal? We already knew — or should have known — Trump was a cheater. He lied and cheated to get on the Forbes 400 list, using deceit and alter-egos to inflate his wealth, according to the Forbes reporter who compiled the list. Legally he may not have cheated on his taxes, but he has publicly said that using tax loopholes to avoid paying federal income taxes for 18 years "makes me smart." Hundreds of contractors have accused him of cheating them out of money they earned doing work for him. He agreed to pay Trump University students $25 million because he'd cheated them out of their promised education. He is infamous for cheating at golf. And regardless of whether the Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal affairs really happened, Trump publicly bragged about cheating on his first wife with his second wife. You can find more examples in this long list of Trump scandals from The Atlantic.
So how big a deal is it, really, if we get definitive proof that Trump broke campaign finance laws to cover up his infidelity? Or more to the point, who will care?
Democrats, obviously — but they care about every Trump infraction, real and merely alleged. Congressional Republicans? "We are aware of Mr. Cohen's guilty plea to these serious charges," said House Speaker Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) office. "We will need more information than is currently available at this point."
Right-leaning media outlets? If Trump did order the payment to Stormy Daniels, The Wall Street Journal editorial board wrote, "he exhibited awful political as well as ethical judgment. By October 2016, after the Billy Bush tape had come out, a years-old affair with a porn star would not have shocked voters." Cohen's guilty plea raised the stakes for Trump and his presidency, the Journal added, but before Congress moves to impeach, "voters may want to see more than evidence about payments to a porn star to overturn the results of a presidential election."
On Fox News, legal scholar Alan Dershowitz told Tucker Carlson that what Cohen is accusing Trump of doing "is technically, perhaps, a violation of the election laws," but such violations are "regarded as kind of jaywalking in the realm of things about elections," and "here, they're trying to elevate this to an impeachable offense or a felony against the president." (Gee, "the goalposts have been moved to a Pep Boys parking lot 35 miles outside the stadium," responded New York Times reporter Glenn Thrush.)
Perhaps the real question is whether Trump is as immune from the laws of fair play as his lawyers claim he is. Is there a significant political difference in Trump's America between cheating at golf and cheating to win an election? Are elections still something held sacred in America? Are we a nation of laws or a nation of men?
Or maybe the real question echoes the central imponderable of the Trump presidency: Does anything even matter anymore?
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
'The House under GOP rule has become a hostile workplace'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
The Shohei Ohtani gambling scandal is about more than bad bets
In The Spotlight The firestorm surrounding one of baseball's biggest stars threatens to upend a generational legacy and professional sports at large
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Feds raid Diddy homes in alleged sex trafficking case
Speed Read Homeland Security raided the properties of hip hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Xi-Biden meeting: what's in it for both leaders?
Today's Big Question Two superpowers seek to stabilise relations amid global turmoil but core issues of security, trade and Taiwan remain
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Will North Korea take advantage of Israel-Hamas conflict?
Today's Big Question Pyongyang's ties with Russia are 'growing and dangerous' amid reports it sent weapons to Gaza
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published