In light of Trump’s Twitter suspension, my wife remarked: He deserved it.
He certainly did, but I am still of two minds about this one. More importantly, I am not at all certain that it is wise to call for criminal prosecution against him after he leaves office.
Not that he doesn’t deserve it. He deserves it a hundred times over.
But asking what he deserves is the wrong question.
Here is the right question: What will make the world, American democracy in particular, a better place years from now?
Vindictively dealing with politicians, no matter how badly they deserve it, is unlikely to accomplish that. In fact, it may create a precedent that will make it that much harder to remove future miscreants from office, that much more likely that they’ll cling to power, through unlawful means if necessary.
And make no mistake about it: the next wannabe despot will be a lot smarter, a lot more skillful than Trump.
And for all we know, the next wannabe despot will be driven by a bigger-than-life ideology, a messianic complex, a desire to change the world, as opposed to mere narcissistic, infantile egocentrism. And that person will be a lot more dangerous than Trump has ever been.