What has changed

Damon Linker is weary of the “epicycle” of outrages, hype about how Trump is finally toast, and then … nothing. But he thinks something may have actually changed a little this time. I pick what I think most notable:

For one thing, Trump’s entire defense against the Mueller investigation boiled down to the assertion that it was a witch hunt engineered by far-left Democrats and pursued by a hostile special counsel. Some Republican voters probably didn’t care and just stayed by the president’s side out of nothing more complicated than tribal loyalty. But others undoubtedly bought the “witch hunt” line. This is a highly dangerous constituency for the president — because they have now learned, along with the rest of us, that after the investigation of the 2016 election was complete, Trump actively attempted to do precisely what he was accused of doing by the special counsel: seeking to advance his domestic political prospects by soliciting help from a foreign power. This could well be leading some Republicans and independents to re-evaluate what they have believed about Trump and to reflect on precisely how much political treachery they are willing to stomach in the name of making America great again.

(Emphasis added)