The conclusion of the special counsel’s report that President Trump did not conspire with Russia all but assures that Mr. Trump’s political fate will be determined at the ballot box next year — and that Democratic voters already consumed by electability will become even more singularly focused on finding a candidate who can defeat the president. With House Democrats now far less likely to impeach Mr. Trump, and Senate Republicans certain to resist removing him if they did, the president will be judged in a 2020 race sure to revolve more around his performance in office than how he won in the first place. That may disappoint some Democrats, who believe that the Russian interference on Mr. Trump’s behalf in the 2016 race makes his presidency illegitimate, but it offers the party a chance to oust him through democratic means that could prove harder to dispute. Even as the candidates lining up to take on Mr. Trump demanded Sunday that Attorney General William P. Barr release the full report by Robert S. Mueller III, some top Democrats urged them to abandon the idea that the president will be removed through investigations, and instead focus on the promises they say he has failed to keep.

Source: New York Times March 25, 2019 09:00 UTC