It took a failed insurrection — which he instigated — for Donald Trump to admit he will no longer be president after noon on Jan. 20. In what shape is he leaving the office of the presidency?
Jack Goldsmith, a Harvard Law School professor who was assistant attorney general under George W. Bush, says the Trump presidency has “exposed a number of weaknesses” in restraining presidents and upholding norms, and a reckoning similar to the post-Watergate years is due.
After four years under President Trump, in which the old post-Watergate norms have been shattered, the would-be reformers anticipate a counterreaction to establish new ones, writes @peterbakerNYT https://t.co/cmMQsr7c82
— NYT Politics (@nytpolitics) October 21, 2020
Some are weaknesses that pre-date January 2017, while others were unheard of until Trump, such as suspicions of a president with ties to a foreign power, in this case, Russia.
My take (with Bob Bauer) on prioritizing presidential reforms After Trump. https://t.co/zz5u12bz1p
— Jack Goldsmith (@jacklgoldsmith) December 18, 2020
As Trump heads for the exit – possibly sooner than later given talks about impeachment or removal from office – what happens to the presidency?
GUEST
Jack Goldsmith, Harvard Law School professor of law and Hoover Institution senior fellow; co-author of "After Trump: Reconstructing the Presidency" (@jacklgoldsmith)