Immigration, ethics, Russia: Welcome to Trump World, where all scandals are above average

President Donald Trump is an overachiever. Seriously.

The ethics abuses and conflicts of interest in his administration are unprecedented. The Russia investigation, with Trump's accompanying attacks on the news media and the Justice Department, is far more serious than Watergate. And the border orphans crisis is not Trump’s "Katrina moment." It’s much worse because this is not only a tragedy, it's one that the president created for political reasons.

Separating children from parents was supposed to to be a deterrent, but people crossing the border didn’t know their kids would be taken. It was supposed to be a hallmark of a harsh zero tolerance policy, but judges typically slapped people with time served and a $10 ticket. It was supposed to strengthen Trump’s hand with Congress (yes, a bargaining chip) until pressure forced him not only to cave, but to also urge no action at all on immigration.

Vicarious panic and dread

And although family separation was — briefly — a pillar of administration policy, justified with Scripture no less, the government put no system in place to reunite families. Not even a simple system of bracelets to identify children and parents.

That is unfathomable. How did Trump and his team think U.S. parents would react? Probably the way Fox & Friends did — it’s not like he’s doing this to kids in Idaho or Texas. But they were wrong. Most parents seem to be feeling vicarious panic and dread, and most Americans oppose the policy. 

Even if you’ve never lost sight of your child for a minute at a mall, it’s all too easy to imagine this. And then to read that some families might never be reunited? That Americans could end up adopting some of these children? Imagine that happening to you and your child, happening to any parents and children from anywhere on earth. And then imagine your country did that. On purpose.

More:Family separation policy reveals the brokenness of our political incentives

Donald Trump's vicious assault on immigrant children hits America's moral gag reflex 

Trump has always expressed love for authoritarian leaders, but we failed to listen

This is the administration that having thrown our immigration system, our alliances, our international trade and our foreign policy into chaos now wants to reorganize the U.S. government. First on the list, combine the departments of Labor and Education. Raise your hand if you trust Trump or anyone on his team with that project. It’ll never get anywhere, because Congress has never warmed to this kind of thing. Still, the audacity — the idea that they think they are competent enough to remake government — is stunning.

Amid all the tragedy there is black comedy: Leading administration figures on immigration hounded by protesters as they try to dine out at, wait for it, Mexican restaurants in Washington. First lady Melania Trump’s “I really don’t care, do u?” jacket worn on a trip meant to show she cares about immigrant children ripped from their parents. Trump’s cavalier treatment of his fellow Republicans in Congress, who have been struggling for days toward an immigration reform compromise.

Waiting for the Red Wave

“Republicans should stop wasting their time on Immigration,” he tweeted, until after the “Red Wave” pads their House and Senate majorities this fall (he and Newt Gingrich might be the only political figures in America who are expecting that wave).

Trump is treating his GOP allies as if they're Canada and Mexico: like garbage. They can’t even trust him to accurately describe a meeting scores of them attended and saw with their own eyes. He said they “applauded and laughed loudly” when he insulted their colleague Mark Sanford, who lost his primary race this month to a Trump pick. They didn’t; they grumbled and booed and said he was way out of line.

The next day, the president abruptly canceled the traditional congressional picnic on White House grounds. “It didn’t feel exactly right to me,” he said. “We'll make it another time when things are going extremely well.”

Good luck with that.

Jill Lawrence is the commentary editor of USA TODAY and author of The Art of the Political Deal: How Congress Beat the Odds and Broke Through Gridlock. Follow her on Twitter: @JillDLawrence