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She's the colluder! (Above, the third presidential debate at the Thomas & Mack Center on Oct. 19, 2016, in Las Vegas.)

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Compared with allegedly obstructing justice, allegedly profiting off the presidency in violation of the Constitutions Emoluments Clause, allegedly laundering money on behalf of Azerbaijani oligarchs and the Iran Revolutionary Guard in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, allegedly sexually assaulting women, and maybe even working with a foreign dictator to sway the U.S. presidential electionDonald Trumps crimes against the English language seem relatively minor.

On Sunday morning, however, the president tweeted the following:

I see what he did there. He took the word colludea word that journalists and voters use daily to describe alleged collaboration between Trumps campaign surrogates and the Russian governmentand slapped it onto Hillary Clinton, who for some reason Trump still considers his political rival. No colluder, no colluder! Shes the colluder!

Its worth noting some of the ways in which this tweet is interesting:

1. The tweet is nonsensical. Trump wants people to believe that hes under scrutiny for committing a crime that he did not commit and, moreover, that Hillary committed the same crime and got away with it. Trump is implying that he didnt secretly and illegally collaborate with Russia, but Hillary secretly collaborated with the Democratic National Committee, and unlike him, she was not investigated by Congress and the FBI for it! But while the conversations among DNC staffers that WikiLeaks published did show that the DNC tried to hurt Bernie Sanders candidacythe Unfair to Bernie! tag on Trumps tweet is its most reasonable clausethose emails did not show Hillary colluding with the DNC to commit a crime, which is what the allegations of collusion against Trumpworld are about. Websters defines collusion as a secret agreement for fraudulent or illegal purpose. When Trump says collude, he seems to mean merely works with.

2. The tweet is ironic. We only know about the DNCs moves to help Clinton win because hackers with ties to the Russians acquired and leaked the DNC emails showing as much. According to the U.S. intelligence community, they did this to help Trump win the election. So Trump here is pointing to HillaryDNC collusion that potentially came to light due to possible collusion between his own campaign and Russia, if such collusion occurred. Life, indeed, is a rich tome.

3. The tweet is strategic. Its fascinating to watch Trump try to turn around the words that have caused him so much trouble. Weve seen this schoolyard-bickering tacticIm not colluding, you arebefore, most saliently, in Trumpworlds wielding of fake news. The question now is: Will this strategy work?

Originally, the public conversation about fake news hurt Trump. Its existence and reach were tied to fictional stories that made him look good and made Clinton look badPope Francis Endorses Trump, Hillary Arms ISIS!!!, and what not. The popularity and spread of these stories suggested that Trump supporters were, at least in part, duped, and that if fake news was made-up garbage, real news from trustworthy outlets actually existed and was valuable. Trump didnt like that. After all, the real news was accurately covering his scandals and incoherent statements. So he transmogrified fake news, using it to discredit stories that he didnt like. And it worked. Surrogates like Sean Spicer and Kellyanne Conway starting using the phrase, too, beating back reporters questions simply by stating fake news. Fake news became their own.

Now, two other words are harming the Trump administration every time theyre uttered: obstruction and collusion. Since Rod Rosenstein appointed Robert Mueller as special counsel to lead the Russia investigation, and particularly since fired FBI Director James Comey testified before the Senate on June 8, theres been a lot of heat on Trump. Theres significant evidence that Trump at least attempted to obstruct justicein his effort to lean on Comey to let go of the FBIs investigation of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and in his firing of Comey, which by Trumps own admission, he did at least in part because of the Russia investigationand so the gang has gone back to the well. Behold some tweets that Trump has burped out since Comeys testimony:

Monday morning, as the cock crowed, our boy was back at it:

What the White House does not seem to understand or appreciate is that obstructionand collusionpose dangers to the presidency far more serious than fake newsever did. Trumps battle for the meaning of fake newswas primarily one over perception and public opinion. If enough people believed fake newsmeant what the administration wanted it to mean, the administration had won. Fake news, both in its original meaning and in Trumps usage, might corrode democracy like so much vodkabut it isnt a crime.

In contrast, obstruction of justice and collusion with a foreign power to sway an American election are very much crimes. Public perception of what those words mean wont save Trump from Robert Muellers investigation. Obstruction and collusion accusations against Hillary or other Democrats may soon be common yawps from Fox News and the internets MAGA corners, but social media wont save Trump from the law, either.

Nevertheless, public opinion about just who is obstructing and colluding could help the administration in one realm: Congress. Republican majorities control the body that ultimately will need to prosecute the president if Mueller finds there is something to prosecute. Perhaps if enough Republican constituents side with the president on what obstructionand collusionreally mean and who engages in it, senators and representatives will feel the old pressure of base revolt and primary challengesand agree with the president that the real crime here is Hillarys collusion with the DNC.

Read more here:
Trump Is Now Accusing Democrats of Collusion and Obstruction - Slate Magazine (blog)