You report that Donald Trump claims that the only thing limiting his power as commander-in-chief is his “own morality” (‘I don’t need international law’: Trump says power constrained only by ‘my own morality’, 8 January). A lifetime’s evidence of that morality at work makes this position chilling. Courts and juries have found him guilty of falsifying business records, liable for sexual abuse and defamation, and responsible for misusing charitable funds for political ends. These are not partisan judgments, but evidence-based legal findings reached after due process.
The consistent pattern is not of any sort of moral restraint, but self-licensing. For him, truth is merely tactical. Rules and conventions are obeyed when convenient, but ignored when obstructive. He resists accountability. When challenged, his response is almost always to retaliate.
