A recording reviewed by ABC News appears to capture President Donald Trump telling associates he wanted the then-U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch fired while speaking at a small gathering that included Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman -- two former business associates of Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani who have since been indicted in New York.
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"Get rid of her!" is what the voice that appears to be Trump’s is heard saying. "Get her out tomorrow. I don't care. Get her out tomorrow. Take her out. OK? Do it."It is utterly baffling that ABC presents this as Trump wanting Yovanovitch fired. As numerous Trump supporters have pointed out since this news became public, all U.S. ambassadors serve "at the pleasure of the president", as they used to say on the West Wing, and so if Trump wanted her removed, all he needed to do was call HER and fire her.
Moreover, Parnas and Fruman are not U.S. civil servants, or government employees in any way. It seems fairly clear that Trump's instruction to "take her out" can't possibly refer to firing her. And if Trump wasn't ordering Parnas and Furman to fire her, we are forced to conclude that Trump's intent was more sinister.
As unthinkable as it is that a sitting U.S. president would demand that private citizens do harm to a U.S. ambassador, it is completely consistent with Trump's approach to 'governance' (for lack of a better term). He has a long, colorful history of dehumanizing rhetoric and promoting violence. Consider:
- He took out full-page ads in four separate newspapers demanding the death penalty for five young men accused of gang-raping a woman in Central Park. Trump continued to insist the 'Central Park Five' were guilty long after DNA evidence and a confession from another man proved them innocent.
- Trump kicked off his presidential campaign by insisting that Mexican immigrants tend to be 'rapists' bringing 'drugs' and 'crime' to the U.S. Three years later, he doubled-down on that belief, saying "These aren't people. These are animals."
- His hatred for people of color and immigrants isn't exclusive to Mexicans, as he frequently talks about 'infestation' when discussing predominantly black cities, and referring to 'shithole countries'.
- This isn't just talk. Trump actually treated illegal immigrants as animals, showing no remorse even in the face of sexual abuse and death in detainment facilities.
- His rhetoric isn't limited to name-calling. He explicitly campaigned, in part, on a promise to 'take out their families' --- innocent people, mind you --- as a way to combat terrorism. Does that phrase sound familiar?
- He openly encourages violence against the media, including praising a GOP congressman who literally assaulted a reporter.
- He similarly encouraged law enforcement to physically abuse suspects (so much for 'innocent until proven guilty').
- If you're inclined to believe that Trump is all bark and no bite, recall that even Pentagon officials were stunned by Trump's bloodlust. When presented with several options for handling Iran, Trump made the most extreme choice (assassinating Soleimani), even though that option was only presented to him to make other choices seems moderate.
This is a watershed moment in Trump's presidency. Republicans in the Senate are on the verge of turning a blind eye to his behavior, which seems incredibly dangerous. An acquittal will be a green light to Trump to give in to his worst instincts, and there's every reason to believe that those instincts are violent. If the Senate doesn't remove Trump from the White House now, it is more likely than not that he will only leave in a body bag (death either by natural causes or as a result of some violent upheaval).
As awful as Trump's reign has been up to now, it is likely to be small potatoes compared to Trump unchained. In fact, Trump has already given Senators a small taste of what they can expect:
CBS News reported late Thursday that a “Trump confidant” had issued a warning to wavering Republican Senators: “Vote against the president, and your head will be on a pike.”Yes, this is just a metaphor --- but if Trump survives this trial, it is likely to be closer to reality than most are willing to imagine.
