Commentary: Donald Trump, the immoralist

In June 1954, Army counsel Joseph Welch galvanized our country when he turned to Sen. Joseph McCarthy, the notoriously corrupt crusader against alleged Communists, and declared, “At long last, have you left no sense of decency?” McCarthy had falsely claimed that Welch’s young colleague was a Communist traitor. Welch went on: “Until this moment, senator, I think I have never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness.”

Welch’s moral summing up came after 30 days of the McCarthy investigation hearings. It has taken longer to bring moral judgment to bear on President Donald Trump. Of course, ethical matters have been implicit in innumerable criticisms of Trump: his routine lying, his violation of fundamental political norms, his disregard for constitutional limits, his blatant obstruction of the coming election, his errant policies and taste for chaos.

But we clarify and deepen our judgment of Trump by bringing to it a specifically moral dimension. There are, of course, a multitude of vices of character, religious and secular, that could apply, as well as elaborate systems of ethical principles. Yet Welch’s trio — indecency, cruelty and recklessness — take us to the heart of the matter. They emphasize that Trump’s immorality, enhanced by his enablers, degrades democracy in America.

We begin with indecency. Trump’s modus vivendi is to taint, defame and libel fellow Americans, precisely because they exhibit decency and fair-mindedness — people like Sen. John McCain, the grieving Gold Star parents Khizr and Ghazala Khan, honorable career officials like ambassador Marie Yovanovitch. Anyone admired who is not admiring of him is liable to be attacked in repugnant terms with obscene gestures. Truth-tellers who question him — journalists or scientists — are met with unremitting assaults on their honesty and professional reputation. Trump also levels vicious attacks on entire groups, including immigrants, protesters and Democratic “scum.”