'Why would the President heedlessly insert himself into the Yovanovitch hearing? The best answer, it seems, is that he knows no other way,' writes Trump biographer Michael D'Antonio for CNNOpinion
Michael D'Antonio is the author of the book"Never Enough: Donald Trump and the Pursuit of Success" and co-author with Peter Eisner of"The Shadow President: The Truth About Mike Pence." The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author. View more opinion articles on CNN.
Donald Trump's toolbox has never held anything but hammers, so it is no surprise that he used one of them — blunt character assassination -- against Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch. The marvel, in this case, is that he chose to use it as she was testifying to Congress, thereby calling maximum attention to what looked very much like he was abusing his power and possibly engaging in a criminal act.
Michael D'AntonioOf course, that bold attention-seeking is Trump's way. He has been doing it since childhood. But consider the stakes in this moment and you might agree that the decision to bash Yovanovitch with a Tweet was ill-timed and self-destructive. "Everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad," wrote the President.
Trump doubles down on tweets attacking witness 00:46 Put yourself in the ambassador's place. As a witness testifying before Congress, on live television, her face became recognizable to all, including millions who will regard her as the enemy of their President. Now imagine going out in public—perhaps to an airport, or even a restaurant. If you were her, would you feel safe? Unfortunately Yovanovitch has had prior experience with political demonization of this sort.
Impeachment: Yovanovitch's opening statement in 3 minutes 03:10This is where we get to the content of Trump's tweet, which suggested Yovanovitch was the Typhoid Mary of the diplomatic corps, spreading destruction everywhere she went. No one with any sense of the ambassador's record could think such a thing, let alone say it. In fact, throughout her public hearing Friday both Democrats and Republicans hailed her service.
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