What do you mean “currently”? He has made similar statements since before he was elected.
ETA replying to Euphonious Polemic (page break)
Right–most Americans don’t know shit about what goes on in their own government. They’re too busy watching bullshit fictional “reality” TV shows, (like The Apprentice). Trump supporters are particularly susceptible to bullshit, and even if you could show them how much Trump is full of bullshit, they won’t accept it, because they don’t want to admit how they’ve been duped.
The inquiry will have to dumb down the whole thing a lot before any polls start showing overall support for impeachment.
Our emperor has no clothes, and it’s a disgusting sight, but a lot of Americans are still in denial.
I wonder – is there anyone left that curbs Trump’s craziness? Kelly was just awful from an honor-and-decency perspective, but he wasn’t stupid. Neither was McGahn. Both of them probably stopped Trump from doing really, really stupid stuff that would directly harm him politically. Is there anyone left with any actual smarts?
I think a note of caution is in order. This is not for everybody. The right wing bubble is designed to suck people into their way of thinking. Too much exposure could cause permanent political realignment. Too many guys start watching Fox or listening to Limbaugh, Savage, and the like and before they know it, they develop immunity to factual information and critical analysis.
I think this may be what has happened.
I think the only people left are interns who would accidentally sent their own talking points to Democrats.
And I question the accidentally part.
Some Republican’s senators’ initial reactions, presented without comment:
This baffled me as well, and in fact I started a thread on this very question:https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=882461
My conclusion, somewhere on page three of that thread was that it happened quickly (before Barr or anyone could set the table), and the offense is easy to understand. By the time the Mueller report came out, much was already known, and many of the really bad things were couched in legalese (“If we could have determined that the president did not commit a crime, we would have”, or something like that). Plus, obstruction is a much more vague crime that extortion (“hey, that’s a nice country you’ve got there – it would be a shame if something were to happen to it”) and digging up dirt on your political enemies.
So, clearer, more understandable offense, happening much more quickly, with no chance for the White House or its toadies in the DOJ to soften the blow. Compare that with obstruction (with no obvious underlying crime) leaked out over two years, with a summary from Barr spinning to say all is well and when that final report came out, it was seen to be a fizzle.
It’s weird, because obstruction is a crime whether or not we learn about it slowly. I’m convinced that if no one knew that Mueller was conducting this investigation and then released it through an honest DOJ, it would have been a bombshell and led to impeachment. Next time I simulate the universe, I’ll have to try that path out.
Here’s the thing with Deutsche Bank: They were fined $10 billion in a Russian money-laundering scheme only a couple years ago and there are still charges swirling around them today which involve Jared Kushner. Trump actually sued the bank in 2008 when he was unable to make payments on a loan (which is of course how anyone who cannot pay off a loan handles it) and when nobody else would loan Trump money, why would the bank that he had already defaulted on and sued still do so?
There’s a lot of unexplained things going on with that relationship. It will be interesting to see how they are explained.
There is a documentary called The Brainwashing of My Dad that chronicles this very phenomenon. The director’s father was a Democrat. The family moved and the father then had a long commute to work during which he began listening to Rush Limbaugh. Eventually he transformed into a rabid right-winger.
If my own interest in this story is any indicator of its significance, I haven’t been this riveted in checking/updating my own various online news sources in months. Maybe not since the 2018 midterm election.
This is the beginning of Trump being Vlad’s patsy.
It is also why Biden shouldn’t be the Democrat’s nominee.
Honesty, dishonesty, integrity, constitutionality-none of this is even on the table when it comes to Trump supporters. Trump’s ability to hold onto the power is their only concern.
My productivity has gone to hell just following this thread the last three days!
I do too and would say that it equally crushes the spirit.
Tell me about it! I literally just now wrote a post-it on my work computer monitor: “NO MORE STRAIGHT DOPE OR TRUMP STUFF UNTIL AFTER OCT. 1”.
Okay — see y’all in a few days —
It doesn’t so much crush my spirit as make me sad. I come away from it wondering just how stupid do you have to be, to believe what they are selling. My family, my friends, my coworkers.
Cool. I haven’t had a chance to read it yet. Busy morning. 
So, is Trump threatening the life and freedom of the whistle blower’s source when he says:
Seems like witness tampering to me – can we add that to the list? Also, treason? Mr. Trump, HurricaneDitka has a bone to pick with you.