Columnist details 6 mysterious ‘Trump bombshells’ that could blow at any moment

In the face of the coronavirus pandemic, the George Floyd protests, an economic recession, and the revelations in former National Security Adviser John Bolton’s new book, President Donald Trump is facing harsh scrutiny. He has faced harsh scrutiny since the moment he entered political life. But as Politico co-founder John F. Harris details in a new column on Thursday, there's still much we don't know.

There are at least six  “Trump bombshells that have yet to go off but almost certainly will someday," he explained.

The first, according to Harris, is “the business of the presidency/the presidency of the business.” Harris explains:

Trump was elected president on the strength of his self-proclaimed business mastery…. But questions swirl about the exact size of Trump’s fortune and whether the reality matches Trump’s claims; the nature of the family’s past and current business dealings overseas; the extent to which foreign interests seek to influence Trump through favorable dealings with his holdings or those of family members; the degree to which his hotels and other business operations have reaped enhanced revenue because of Trump’s presidency.

Bombshell #2, Harris writes, is “the Russia mystery.”

Many assume that the questions about Trump's relationship with Russia ended with the special counsel's investigation. But Harris argued otherwise.

Robert Mueller's "conclusion does not mean that questions about Russia’s role in Trump’s election or presidency are ‘a hoax,’ as Trump often says. It is ‘not a hoax,’ but a critical line of inquiry to understand the president’s relationship with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, said Peter Baker, a New York Times White House reporter.”

The third unexploded “Trump bombshell,” according to Harris, is “the real inner circle.” The Politico co-founder explains, “Here’s who you have not heard spilling secrets about Trump: ex-spouses, or children, or other people who love Trump or once loved him, or even people like household staff who had occasion to observe him in an intimate setting.”

Bombshell #4, according to Harris, is “When the documents speak.”

Harris explains:

The modern presidency keeps a lot of records, which is why modern presidents have often worked hard to keep those records secret as long as possible. When they do open up, they tell stories…. Who does Trump meet with and talk to on the phone? This might illuminate one of the major stories of the Trump years, which is the real relationships between an anti-establishment president with many establishment Republicans and corporate leaders who either publicly or privately profess to loathe him.

Bombshell #5, Harris says, is “What is the real state of Trump’s health?”

Harris asserts, “If Trump’s health is more troubled than usually terse official statements are letting on, he would not be the first president for whom this is the case. The physical and cognitive condition of presidents has been a key avenue of inquiry for historians of Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. What was that unscheduled trip to Walter Reed Army Medical Center last November all about? What explains Trump’s unsteady appearance drinking water or walking down a ramp at West Point earlier this month?”

The sixth and final “Trump bombshell,” according to Harris, is “Reading the thought bubbles.” Harris quotes presidential historian Jon Meacham as saying that Trump is “so good at making us focus on the part of the iceberg we can see. I’m not suggesting there are great hidden depths to him, but there is stuff we don’t know.”