Trusting Trump is fatal

Andrew McCabe's book, to be released tomorrow, is already being pilloried by Trump supporters. They're pointing out that he's an alleged liar (the FBI's inspector general accuses McCabe of lying to department officials about leaks to reporters) and accuse him of attempting a coup against Trump by contemplating removing Trump from office via the 25th Amendment.

So the choice before us is, should we trust Andrew McCabe or Donald Trump?

That's not a choice that should comfort Trump or his supporters. In fact, Trump's supporters really should question whether their trust in him is well-advised.

First, let's consider the 25th Amendment story. The 25th Amendment requires buy-in from not just the Vice President but a majority of the Cabinet. Trump picked every one of these people. Could they have been enticed or coerced into taking such action?

Well, if they could have been enticed, they wouldn't be trustworthy or loyal. That would speak poorly of Trump's vetting process and/or his judgment of character.

If they could have been coerced, that would suggest the Deep State (TM) has truly frightening power. Yet consider this: nobody has tried it. If the Deep State (TM) has that power, why hasn't it acted?

The more logical interpretation of McCabe's 25th-Amendment story is, Trump's outward behavior and statements were so at odds with U.S. national interests that senior government officials whose job it is to watch for threats to national security had to consider the possibility that he was acting with ulterior, dangerous motives.

Now, as for McCabe the alleged liar, let's assume he did lie as the FBI inspector general says. That's one proven lie. Trump has lied hundreds if not thousands of times, in public. He lies as readily as he eats.

Even if McCabe is found to have lied as the FBI inspector general alleges, his credibility is infinitely better than Trump's. Trump has zero credibility except among his own supporters.

Trump lies to justify his misbegotten policies. He accuses legitimate experts, including his own Director of National Intelligence, Dan Coats, of lying or being deluded when they contradict him with facts and truth.

Trump lies by omission, too. He will not produce his tax returns. What has he to hide? (Incidentally, his claim that his returns are unavailable due to being audited is also a lie: the IRS does not prevent him or anyone else from releasing a return that is being audited.)

Why hasn't Trump told anyone else in his administration what was said in his private meetings and phone calls with Vladimir Putin? Why did he try to hide that those meetings and calls even took place?

Is Putin holding something over Trump's head?

Is Trump acting in Putin's best interests rather than the U.S.'s?

Trump doesn't just lie about the size of the crowd at his inauguration. He lies about really, really important things, too, things that affect the whole country — like the fact that Russia attempted to sway the outcome of the 2016 election.

Trusting Trump isn't just unpatriotic. Trusting Trump is fatal for the country.

[UPDATE: Corrected to note that it was the FBI's inspector general, not the Department of Justice's, that accused McCabe of lying.]