Editorial: Trump had little regard for the Constitution while in office. He's an even bigger threat to the rule of law now

In 2017, Donald Trump placed his hand on the Bible and swore to “preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

But Trump repeatedly betrayed his oath of office.

Throughout his chaotic term as president, Trump abused his power and trampled the rule of law — all for personal gain and to punish perceived enemies. He sided with adversaries — namely Russia — instead of the United States. Worst of all, Trump’s dark arts weakened America.

While some of Trump’s most vocal critics question whether his behavior would qualify as treasonous, at the very least his indifference to the Constitution and unconditional support for Russia make his potential return to the White House — with broadened immunity powers — an even bigger threat to the country’s safety and stability.

A recent court filing by special counsel Jack Smith laid bare how Trump refused to defend the Constitution against a domestic enemy. After Trump stoked the violent mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, an aide told him Vice President Mike Pence’s life was in peril.

Trump replied, “So what?”

As MAGA supporters ransacked the building and hunted for his loyal lieutenant, Trump shrugged. Smith’s filing sharpened the evidence that Trump knew he lost the election, but still conspired with lawyers, aides, campaign operatives, and some rioters to overturn the will of voters.

That should disqualify Trump for a second term. Indeed, he remains under criminal indictment for his role in thwarting the peaceful transfer of power. But it gets worse, as new evidence points to Trump’s role as a modern Manchurian candidate.

During the pandemic, as Americans were dying and scrambling to get COVID-19 tests, Trump secretly sent test kits to Russian President Vladimir Putin, a forthcoming book by the iconic Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward detailed, and the Kremlin confirmed.

America first? More like Russia first.

Woodward’s reporting demonstrates that Trump remains steadfastly loyal to Putin. Why is a mystery, though Trump’s Russian ties run deep. After his real estate empire imploded in the 1990s, American banks stopped doing business with Trump. Russian investors bailed him out.

Russia also helped elect Trump in 2016, thanks to an influence campaign authorized by Putin. Trump claims Russia’s role was a hoax, but a Republican-controlled Senate panel issued a nearly 1,000-page report that detailed extensive election interference, including contacts between Trump campaign advisers and Kremlin officials.

Donald Trump, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, shake hands at the beginning of a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland, in July of 2018. Pablo Martinez Monsivais Once in office, Trump went soft on Russia. He refused to condemn reports that Russia offered bounties for the killing of American troops. He pushed to admit Russia into the G-7, a move other world leaders rejected.

In 2018, he dismissed U.S. intelligence findings that Russia interfered with the election. In a humiliating display of weakness, Trump met with Putin in Helsinki and meekly swallowed his claim of not interfering with the election.

“President Putin says it’s not Russia. I don’t see any reason why it would be,” Trump said.

Former CIA Director John O. Brennan, who served six presidents, said Trump was in Putin’s “pocket” and called his performance in Helsinki “treasonous.”

Russia’s election-influencing efforts did not stop there. The Kremlin mounted similar schemes in the 2020 election, and more sophisticated efforts to sway the 2024 election in Trump’s favor.

Trump has repeatedly praised Putin, a former KGB spy who murdered critics, rigged elections, corruptly amassed enormous wealth, and is wanted for war crimes.

Trump called Putin “smart” and “tough.” He even said Putin outsmarted America. In August, he congratulated Putin on a deal that brought American hostages home.

Even after leaving the White House, Trump remained in contact with Putin. The two spoke as many as seven times, according to Woodward’s book.

The conversations occurred after Trump stole classified documents that included nuclear secrets and while he was pressuring Republican lawmakers to withhold funding to help Ukraine fend off the unprovoked attack by Russia.

It is unheard of to have a presidential candidate talking with a foreign leader, let alone an adversary. And it may be illegal since the Logan Act prohibits U.S. citizens from engaging in unauthorized diplomacy.

But the rule of law has never stopped Trump.

Trump accepted millions from foreign governments in an apparent violation of the Constitution’s emoluments clause. He was impeached in 2019 for a shakedown scheme that involved pressuring Ukraine to dig up dirt on then-political rival, Joe Biden.

At the time, Joe Walsh, a former Republican congressman from Illinois, said simply: “Donald Trump is a traitor.”

After leaving office, Trump was indicted for taking classified documents and showing them to others. He was convicted in May of paying off an adult film star to hide an alleged affair from the public that could have influenced the outcome of the 2016 election. He awaits sentencing.

If elected, Trump has already discussed plans to again betray his oath and abuse his power. With no evidence of wrongdoing, he wants to imprison perceived enemies and critics, including Biden, former Republican U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, and others. He threatened to execute former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley after a magazine article detailed the general’s efforts to protect the U.S. from Trump.

Trump’s track record demonstrates these are not idle musings.

Former FBI Director James Comey, with his attorney, David Kelley, right, speaks to reporters after a day of testimony compelled by the GOP-led House Judiciary and Oversight committees, on Capitol Hill in Washington in December of 2018. J. Scott Applewhite As president, Trump pressured the U.S. Justice Department to investigate former FBI Director James Comey and FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, two longtime law enforcement officials.

Prosecutors investigated Comey but he was not charged. Trump also told his chief of staff he wanted to “get the IRS on” Comey. An IRS audit found Comey overpaid his taxes. But Comey still spent thousands of dollars in legal and accounting fees to defend himself.

Trump also sicced the FBI and IRS on McCabe. The IRS launched an invasive audit. After a separate two-year investigation, a grand jury rejected efforts to indict McCabe. The judge in McCabe’s case, a George W. Bush appointee, referred to Trump’s efforts as something out of a “banana republic.”

Trump’s vindictiveness did not stop there. He pressured then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to fire McCabe days before his retirement in 2018, costing the 22-year law enforcement official his pension benefits. McCabe’s benefits were later reinstated as part of a legal settlement.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent misguided ruling granting presidents broad immunity would enable Trump to abuse his power with impunity.

Two years ago, he called for terminating the Constitution in order to overturn the 2020 election and reinstate him as president. If elected again, Trump said he would be a dictator on Day One.

Trump betrayed his oath of office in other ways. He belittled the military. He ordered administration officials to ignore subpoenas from Congress, a coequal branch of government under the Constitution. He shared highly classified information with Russia’s foreign minister.

There is a reason more than 100 Republican officials, including some who worked for Trump, have endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president.

Trump’s pledge of allegiance is to Trump.