“I have the absolute right to PARDON myself…” – Donald J. Trump, June 4, 2018

“The appointment of the Special Councel is totally UNCONSTITUTIONAL!” – Trump, June 4, 2018

“I don’t know how you can indict while he’s in office. No matter what it is. [Even] If he shot James Comey…” – Rudy Giuliani, lawyer for President Trump, June 3, 2018

Monday’s commentary, “Trump Pardons Frankenstein, Wolf Man,” was a joke about Trump’s latest fondness for presidential forgiveness. Sadly, the quotes above would all be jokes if they weren’t true. But in the Trump era, this is just another expression of The Trump Doctrine.

What is the Trump Doctrine?

Anything… EVERTHING outrageous or appalling that spills out of his head and gets the most immediate reaction possible becomes his ad hoc policy-du-jour. Examples:

On Mexico: “When Mexico sends its people…They’re sending people that have lots of problems… They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.”

On Sen. John McCain: “He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured.”

On Reporter Megyn Kelly: “You could see blood coming out of her… wherever…”

On his invulnerability: “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters.”

On the First Amendment: “We’re going to open up the libel laws, so that when they write falsely, we can sue the media.”

And that’s just the spillage from his campaign.

Hillary Clinton may have had her “deplorable” moment, but on the egregious meter, Trump passed “deplorable” light years ago. Remember this one:

“Why are we having all these people from these shithole countries come here?”

While Trump likens himself to Andrew Jackson, he’s closer to Andrew Dice Clay.

Lately, The Trump Doctrine has turned its wrath against the institutions that serve and protect us. The latest: “Spygate”!

“I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes – and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!” – Trump, May 20, 2018

Trump’s seat-of-his-pants policy: let’s dismiss and denigrate vital institutions while distracting from reality and truth.

After a classified meeting between lawmakers and Justice officials, House Intelligence Committee member and Republican Trey Gowdy told Fox News, “I am even more convinced that the FBI did exactly what my fellow citizens would want them to do. It has nothing to do with Donald Trump.”

And yet, Trump ally, Devin Nunes, chairman of that committee, continues to call for files related to the Russia/Trump investigation despite the fact that it violates standard DOJ policy for members of Congress to view files on an active investigation.

What should be of more interest to California voters is the fact that Trump’s recent trade tariffs against Europe and China are backfiring against Nunes’ own constituents in the Central Valley where agriculture is the key industry as many have announced tariffs of their own, particularly against agriculture products from California.

Another target of The Doctrine is the intelligence community, the people directly charged with the safety and security of the country.

“John Brennan is panicking. He has disgraced himself, he has disgraced the Country, he has disgraced the entire Intelligence Community. He is the one man who is largely responsible for the destruction of American’s faith in the Intelligence Community and in some people at the…. top of the FBI. Brennan started this entire debacle about President Trump. We now know that Brennan had detailed knowledge of the (phony) Dossier…he knows about the Dossier, he denies knowledge of the Dossier, he briefs the Gang of 8 on the Hill about the Dossier…” – Donald Trump, May 21, 2018

In a tweet of his own, Brennan makes known the obvious:

“Lady Liberty, our founding fathers, and generations of right-thinking Americans are all weeping tonight over the atrocious comments attributed to Donald Trump, who continues to demonstrate daily that he is a deeply flawed person.” – John O. Brennan, January 11, 2018

What happens with the Trump meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jung-un, border children who are taken from their parents, healthcare, trade wars, not to mention his on-going cozy relationship (they talk frequently, according to Vladimir) with Russia’s Putin?

Tune in tomorrow… next week… next month…… next year… for the next contemptible tweet, or Rust Belt Rally to learn the latest from America’s hooligan-in-chief.

Oh, and for the record, Mr. President, the Special CounSEL is not unconstitutional.