Trump trolling of Comey — not presidential

Why does President Donald Trump attack James Comey so often and so bitterly?

Last week, the president resumed his attack against the FBI director he fired. The continuation of the attacks on Comey indicate that the president sees his former FBI director as a threat to his survival in the White House.

Trump’s new tweet suggested Comey and the special prosecutor, Robert Mueller, were too friendly for an impartial investigation into the charge that his former national security adviser lied about his relationship with Russian officials.

The testimony clearly had an impact on Mueller too.

{mosads}Only six days after Comey’s dramatic testimony, The Washington Post and other media outlets reported that the special prosecutor was investigating attempts by Donald Trump to obstruct justice.

Why was Comey’s testimony so compelling for the public and important to Mueller?

His testimony was matter of fact, unassuming and detailed. The dramatic content and the presentation made his testimony compelling.

His testimony certainly didn’t lift the fog off the Russian/Trump affair that envelops the credibility of the chief executive.

Comey laid it all on the line and went as far to say that the president lied and wanted to obstruct the probe.

After a veteran prosecutor and a law enforcement official who has served presidents of both parties calls the president of the United States a liar; a political tornado and a legal inquiry will follow.

The committee hearing also signaled to Mueller that there might be a bipartisan political opening for his probe.

I’m sure that the special prosecutor saw that some Republicans failed to defend the president against the accusations during Comey’s testimony.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) made no effort to defend the president and the chairman asked Comey a series of questions that set up his criticism of the president.

My guess is the president flipped out when Burr egged his witness on instead of challenging the testimony of the fired FBI director — especially since Trump, on the advice of counsel, could not express his frustration with a tweetstorm.

Burr’s behavior is just one sign of Republican concerns about Trump’s behavior. At least some GOP members of Congress are more concerned about their own political hides than the fate of the scandal plagued president.

The public is inclined to support the special prosecutor if he aggressively investigates the president and his cronies for illegal collusion with the Russians and an attempt to obstruct justice in the case.

Most Americans believe Trump fired his FBI director to obstruct justice in the Russian collusion investigation.

A poll conducted by The Washington Post and ABC News indicates a clear majority of people think the president fired Comey to protect himself instead of doing what’s best for the country.

The outcome of a court case might be murky, but it’s clear we already have a winner in the court of public opinion.

Brad Bannon is a Democratic pollster and CEO of Bannon Communications Research. (He is not related Trump adviser Stephen Bannon.) Campaigns and Elections magazine called him a mover and shaker in the political consulting industry. He hosts and contributes to the nationally syndicated progressive talk show, “The Leslie Marshall Show.” Bannon is also a political analyst for CLTV, the cable news station of the Chicago Tribune and WGN-TV. He is also a senior adviser to, and editor of, the blog at MyTiller.com. Contact him at brad@bannoncr.com.

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