Just over a month ago, President Trump made an ominous threat against former FBI Director James Comey, tweeting that if tapes of their conversations existed, they would be damaging to Comey’s reputation. Back in May, Trump tweeted:
“James Comey better hope that there are no ‘tapes’ of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!”
Though the tweets were vague, they carried the implication that Trump had tapes and planned to release them.
Today, Trump admits that not only did he not make tapes, he has no idea if someone in his own administration does or did. It’s a shocking admission of weakness from someone who unsuccessfully tried to politically bully one of the most reputable figures in modern politics:
And now the admission is just the latest development in what Mike Allen says wil “go down as one of the dumbest political mistakes in the modern era.”
After all, it seems increasingly unlikely that evidence will emerge Trump engaged in any illegal collusion with Russian officials. But his arrogant and reckless firing of Comey, along with his attempts to control the investigation by former FBI Director Robert Mueller, could ultimately prove to be Trump’s downfall. As Allen explains:
“Trump changed the arc of his presidency on Day 110 by bouncing Comey. Now, Trump’s great fight is to have his presidency remembered for something else.”