Let’s take a quick look at President Donald Trump’s cuckoo-bananas week thus far.

After fighting tooth and nail to prevent it, Trump signed a bill to release the government’s files on his longtime pal and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, then followed that signature with a bonkers 390-word rant on social media, which I’ll quote in full in a moment.

Then, perhaps in an effort to distract from the Epstein scandal, Trump posted threats calling for the hanging of Democratic lawmakers who posted a video encouraging soldiers to uphold their oaths to the Constitution. The video accurately reminded soldiers and intelligence officers that they can refuse illegal orders. Trump responded to this by posting: “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!”

Trying to draw attention away from your involvement with a man who died in jail awaiting child sex trafficking charges by reposting comments about your political opponents like “HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD” is not normal presidential behavior. In the past, it would’ve been impeachable behavior.

Look, a lot of things are happening around Trump right now, none of them good, most of them a stark reminder that this is the guy Republicans reelected to run the country.

Trump welcomes the Saudi prince whom US intelligence said killed journalist Jamal Khashoggi

On Nov. 18, the president lavishly welcomed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the White House. That’s the same Saudi prince who, according to U.S. intelligence officials during Trump’s first term in office, ordered the killing of U.S. resident and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

Asked about the killing during the recent visit, Trump said of Khashoggi: “A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about. Whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happen.”

Ah, yes. Things happen. A perfectly cool and normal way for a president to talk about a journalist being killed and chopped into pieces.

And that’s just the tip of the recent iceberg.

Trump's unhinged Epstein rant on Truth Social should make Republicans cringe

GOP lawmakers furiously ran interference for him to keep the Epstein files from being released, sharing his claim that it’s all a hoax before having to turn around and vote for the release because they had no choice.

This is how Trump responded on Truth Social after signing the bill to release the files:

“Jeffrey Epstein, who was charged by the Trump Justice Department in 2019 (Not the Democrats!), was a lifelong Democrat, donated Thousands of Dollars to Democrat Politicians, and was deeply associated with many well-known Democrat figures, such as Bill Clinton (who traveled on his plane 26 times), Larry Summers (who just resigned from many Boards, including Harvard), Sleazebag Political Activist Reid Hoffman, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (who asked Epstein to donate to his Campaign AFTER Epstein was charged), Democrat Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett, and many more. Perhaps the truth about these Democrats, and their associations with Jeffrey Epstein, will soon be revealed, because I HAVE JUST SIGNED THE BILL TO RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES! As everyone knows, I asked Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, to pass this Bill in the House and Senate, respectively. Because of this request, the votes were almost unanimous in favor of passage. At my direction, the Department of Justice has already turned over close to fifty thousand pages of documents to Congress. Do not forget ‒ The Biden Administration did not turn over a SINGLE file or page related to Democrat Epstein, nor did they ever even speak about him. Democrats have used the “Epstein” issue, which affects them far more than the Republican Party, in order to try and distract from our AMAZING Victories, including THE GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL TAX CUT BILL, Strong Borders, No Men in Women’s Sports or Transgender for Everyone, ending DEI, stopping Biden’s Record Setting Inflation, lowering Prices, Biggest Tax and Regulation Cuts in History, ending EIGHT Wars, rebuilding our Military, knocking out Iran’s Nuclear capability, getting Trillions of Dollars INVESTED in the U.S.A., creating the 'HOTTEST' Country anywhere in the World, and even delivering a HUGE DEFEAT to the Democrats on the recent Shutdown Disaster. For years our Great Nation has had to endure RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA, UKRAINE, UKRAINE, UKRAINE, IMPEACHMENT HOAX #1, IMPEACHMENT HOAX #2, and many other Democrat created Witch Hunts and Scams, all of which have been so terrible and divisive for our Country, and have been done to confuse, deflect, and distract from the GREAT JOB that Republicans, and the Trump Administration, are doing. This latest Hoax will backfire on the Democrats just as all of the rest have! Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

You proud of yourselves, Republicans? Because you own every word of that insane gibberish.

If GOP lawmakers can't see Trump is spiraling, their heads are in the sand

The guy who wrote that screed is the same guy running the country, the same guy who equates encouraging troops to follow their oath with “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR,” the same guy who’s just fine fetishizing the hanging of political opponents, the same guy who’s best buddies with a Saudi prince who our own country has said ordered the killing of a journalist and legal permanent resident of the United States and now gets feted with a dinner at the White House.

Trump is spiraling. His poll numbers are terrible. Americans are angry about food prices and the economy. They don’t like Trump’s draconian immigration crackdown and roving bands of masked federal agents nabbing people off the streets. The president seems existentially concerned about the Epstein files, and he’s lashing out like a rabid dog. He recently called a female journalist “piggy.”

And we know whatever’s in those files won’t be good for him, because the stuff that’s already come out has been horrendously bad.

This is your guy, Republicans. He’s toxic. He’s losing, or has already lost, his marbles. Maybe it’s time to rethink the choices you’ve made.

Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on Bluesky at @rexhuppke.bsky.social and on Facebook at facebook.com/RexIsAJerk

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump wanting Dems to die isn't his craziest thing this week | Opinion

Reporting by Rex Huppke, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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