Admires Chinese President’s
power grab
While President Donald Trump earned some laughs at a D.C. dinner
on Saturday—in his words, "nobody does
self-deprecating humor better than I do"—ethics experts warn his
commentary earlier in the day, praising the Chinese president's power grab, was no laughing
matter.
CNN obtained audio
from a closed-door event in which Trump spoke favorably about a recent move by Chinese President Xi Jinping to
remain in his post by removing presidential term limits from the state
constitution.
"He's now president for life. President for life. No, he's
great," Trump said Saturday during a lunch and
fundraiser at his Mar-a-Lago estate, the so-called Winter White House. "And
look, he was able to do that. I think it's great. Maybe we'll have to give that
a shot some day."
The remarks alarmed ethics experts. Norm Eisen, the Obama administration's
legal counsel and current chair of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in
Washington (CREW), reacted on Twitter:
Trump’s secret reaction to the Chinese communist dictator changing the rules to serve for life:“Maybe we’ll try that here someday.“ You mean, suspend the constitution and make you a permanent tyrant? I don’t think so. The most chilling part of this was the ecstatic cheers of his supporters behind closed doors when he said “maybe will try that someday.”
Former White House ethics attorneys Walt Shaub and Richard
Painter also quickly weighed in:
The man repeatedly proves he has no concept of public service. Or America. https://twitter.com/jimsciutto/status/970093342829707265 …Walter Shaub ✔@waltshaub
Either he’s losing it, or we’re losing it if we let him stay on after this. How many hints do we need that he wants to be a dictator? Trump on China's Xi consolidating power: 'Maybe we'll give that a shot some day' @CNNPolitics http://cnn.it/2oOGUzfRichard W. Painter@RWPUSA
