Staring down impeachment, Trump sees himself as a victim of historic proportions

… In the five days since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) opened an impeachment inquiry following revelations about Trump’s conduct with his Ukrainian counterpart, Trump has been determined to cast himself as a singular victim in a warped reality — a portrayal that seems part political survival strategy, part virtual therapy session.

As Trump tells it, he is a hard-working and honorable president whose conduct has been “perfect” but who is being harassed and tormented by “Do Nothing Democrat Savages” and a corrupt intelligence community resolved to perpetuate a hoax, defraud the public and, ultimately, undo the 2016 election. …

Victimization always has been core to Trump’s identity, both as a politician and as a real estate promoter and reality-television star. It is the emotional glue that yokes Trump to the grievance politics of the right. Many of Trump’s grass roots followers have said they feel protective of the president in part because they, too, feel oppressed and ostracized by elites. CONT.

Philip Rucker, Washington Post