Donald Trump

Why Trump Is Thrilled About McCabe's Firing: Analysis

For President Trump's supporters to believe he's the victim of an un-American conspiracy, he has to position himself as the force cleansing a corrupt justice system

President Donald Trump had to cheer the firing of former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe to sell the narrative that he is the victim of a bipartisan conspiracy, carried out over two administrations, to deny him the presidency and then discredit him once he won it.

For the president's version of events to hold up, according to NBC News, the FBI and Justice Department have to be infested with his political enemies, with those so bent on destroying him that they will violate the public trust to do it. It's a case Trump and his allies have been making for so long and with such conviction that condemning the FBI, the Justice Department and special counsel Robert Mueller has become conservative liturgy by now.

And it's the predicate to push the case that the Russia probe should end, as Trump's lawyer did Saturday.

But for Trump's supporters to believe he's the victim of an un-American conspiracy, he has to position himself as the force cleansing a corrupt justice system — a victim-turned-conqueror who has been exonerated by the missteps of his foes. He has to politicize the FBI and Justice Department by arguing that they already were politicized. That's how he's trying to use McCabe.

Contact Us