One of the best lines from the classic movie “Jaws” comes as the sheriff is chumming for the killer shark, which has been snacking on island residents like Snickers bars. Heaving yet another bloody scoop of fish bits off of their trawler, he sees the monster come into view – all black eyes and jagged teeth – and says to the grizzled captain, “You’re going to need a bigger boat.”
That’s good advice for all the opponents of Donald Trump right now – Democrats, Republicans and independents alike – anyone who hopes somehow this president will be yanked from his office ahead of his time. I’m not saying you’re right or wrong to think that way, it’s just a bigger task than you may imagine.
Oh sure, you’ve watched this disastrous firing of the FBI director. Team Trump has rolled out more versions of “what happened” than a teenager explaining how the family Toyota wound up in the shopping mall fountain. Staffers have contradicted each other, the president and common sense. They’ve swung the door wide open for critics who say it’s all about quashing the investigation into Trump’s possible Russian ties.
On top of which, the White Housers managed to somehow let the Russians take photos of the president gripping and grinning with the Kremlin’s ambassador the very same week – in the Oval Office, no less!
And just to complete the trifecta, a new poll shows the White House may need a second basement to hold the president’s approval rating because it’s crazy low. All of this has triggered frothing comparisons to President Nixon from Trump’s foes who think he too might not make it through this full term in office.
But don’t bet on it. The probe into the Russian affair has lasted ten months and while it may produce some evidence directly implicating the president in wrongdoing, so far it definitively has not. And yes, the new president has had some embarrassing stumbles; and yes, he plays fast and loose with the truth. But he proved repeatedly in the election, he knows how to survive … and now he knows his enemies will need a much bigger boat to pull him from the political waters.
