DeaGLe^ Posted January 25, 2017 Posted January 25, 2017 President Donald Trump's refusal to let sleeping dogs lie now threatens to harm his presidency. His revival of debunked claims that millions of illegal voters are to blame for him losing the po[CENSORED]r vote to Hillary Clinton -- in essence challenging the legitimacy of his election -- is overshadowing the otherwise fast start he has made in honoring campaign promises and changing America. Forced to defend the President's remarks to congressional leaders on Monday night, his spokesman Sean Spicer was unable to quell the controversy on Tuesday, citing "studies and evidence" -- then refused to discuss or produce any such material. "The President does believe that, I think he's stated that before, and stated his concern of voter fraud and people voting illegally during the campaign and continues to maintain that belief based on studies and evidence people have brought to him," Spicer said. The reappearance of a controversy the Trump camp had thought was in the past was another sign of one of the President's most dominant traits -- an inability to accept any suggestion that he was unable to pull off a complete and total victory in any area of his life. The self-ignited controversies in the first five days of his presidency -- including one about the size of his inaugural crowds -- also hints at a deeper and consuming need to be demonstrated as legitimate that has driven Trump for decades and has sometimes been an Achilles heel. As so often, the steps Trump takes to try to satisfy his craving for respect and to be seen as a spectacular victor threaten to make that recognition ever more elusive. In this case, his refusal to accept that he lost the po[CENSORED]r vote fair and square, despite winning the electoral college and the presidency, threatens to detract from another far more significant story -- his sweeping use of executive power to live up to campaign promises and begin to change America. He has moved to revive the Keystone XL and Dakota Access oil pipelines, killed the Trans-Pacific Partnership and begun the process of taking apart Obamacare. Next week, Trump is expected to name a Supreme Court nominee, a potential legacy-making opportunity most presidents don't get in their first week in office. But the revived debate about voter fraud is a sign that the off-the-cuff controversies that Trump used to his political benefit during the campaign have the capacity to actually damage him as President because they undermine the trust that is a vital commodity for every commander in chief. A number of academic and governmental studies have found no evidence of voter fraud to back up what would be the most sensational story election in American history. Trump's deep desire for legitimacy is not some new character trait that has emerged from during his early days in power.
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