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Senator Susan Collins, here applauding Trump during his State of the Union address on February 4, absurdly claimed after the Senates acquittal of him that Trump had learned from his impeachment and that he will be much more cautious in the future. (Drew Angerer / Getty Images)

Trumps attacks on the federal judiciary are the domestic Signal this week. Freed from all accountability by the Senate, the realtors inner autocrat is on full display, with a pressure campaign on the Justice Department to back off on its sentencing recommendations for his convicted friend Roger Stone, and with an extraordinary flurry of tweets personally attacking the judge in Stones case.Ad Policy

Trumps actions got so extreme that, amazingly, even Attorney General Barr finally had enough. On Thursday evening, in an extraordinary exchange, Barr, who has done more than anyone else to protect and enable this lawless presidency, said that Trumps tweets were making it impossible for him to do his job. Trump wasnt humbled. By Friday, he was on the attack once again, claiming that he had the legal right to interfere in federal criminal cases.

For Senator Susan Collins, who absurdly claimed that Trump had learned his lesson after being impeached by the House, and for the other moderate Republicans who voted to acquit, this week has been a nightmare. Sure, they can dismiss it as simply more Trumpian Noise, but when the attorney general of the United States personally undermines his own career prosecutors to do a solid for the president, thats far more serious than mere chatter.

And theres no indication things will get better anytime soon. To the contrary, between now and November we are likely to see Trump fully unleashed.More Signal:Noise

We are heading into election season led by a president consumed with personal vendettas and convinced that he is surrounded by conspirators. Paranoid and narcissistic, he is firing anyone who stands in his way, demanding ever more craven demonstrations of loyalty from his courtiers. In Tennessee, legislators are debating a resolution to declare CNN and The Washington Post fake news because of their critical coverage of Trump.

Trump himself attacks the press on a daily basis, spending the wee hours of the morning tweeting insults and ignoring major developments that require his attention.

That would be bad enough in normal times. But these arent normal times.Current Issue

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The threat of a coronavirus pandemic highlights the vital importance of properly funding public health initiatives and bringing primary health care access to as many Americans as possible. But theres no one left in the Trump inner circle willing to question the defunding of Medicaid, the Centers for Disease Control, the National Institutes of Health; of international efforts to monitor and track diseases; of foreign aid and international relief efforts.

For three years, former CDC officials have warned that the agency is catastrophically underfunded and not prepared to handle a public health emergency. They have been ignoredas have scientists working on climate change, pollution impacts, workplace contaminants, and so on. In Trumpland, only short-term profits matter, so the countrys long-term strategic planning in these areas has taken a series of grievous hits.

Meanwhile, Turkeya NATO member that could invoke Article V of NATOs charter were it to come under attackis in a direct shooting match with Syrian forces inside Syria. The risk of a clash with Russia, which is supporting the Syrian government, is growing by the day.

These are truly perilous times. The rule of law is being corroded; public health is endangered; the international situation grows ever more chaotic.

Read more:
Republicans Have Made It Clear They Will Let Trump Become a Dictator. Will We? - The Nation