SPIEGEL ONLINE: Professor Reich, Donald Trump has been US president for two years. How do you assess the state of the nation?

Reich: I worked for three presidents. Two of them were Democrats, a Republican. I have advised a fourth president. So I know how the presidency should work, and I know what is expected of a president in terms of effectiveness and protection of our democracy. I also studied past presidencies. In my opinion, we have had some very bad presidents in our history. Donald Trump is one of the worst, if not the worst. He has no idea about democracy and does not seem to care. He only cares about his own selfish goals, and that's wealth and power.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Has Trump already changed the country?

Reich: The country is deeply divided today, and the reason for the split is mainly Donald Trump himself. Immigration, racism, these are all controversial issues, as well as social policy, abortion, arms control. As Americans, we are divided on many issues, but Trump's lies and demagoguery have created a bitter, furious split.

The real problem, the root cause of this anger, takes a back seat: a small group at the top gets richer and richer, while many people's wages have been virtually stagnant for 40 years. Trump, like other demagogues in history, has absorbed and exploited existing economic tensions, creating scapegoats to which he has directed the rage of many people.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: They demand that Trump should be impeached later this year, the so-called Impeachment. Why?

Reich: He has violated the constitution. There is much evidence that he violated, for example, the so-called remuneration clause. This regulation prohibits senior government officials from benefiting financially from their service to the state privately.

There is also evidence that he has obstructed justice in the Russian affair by trying to stop investigating his possible wrongdoing in the 2016 elections.

He has always and without hesitation lied to the American people on important issues affecting our democracy, our electoral system and its competitors in the 2016 elections. Even if there is no conclusive evidence of an agreement with Vladimir Putin and Russia on the elections in the end, all the other issues would justify the House calling for impeachment.

"Make clear what this man has done"

SPIEGEL ONLINE: The constitutional hurdles for an impeachment are very high. The process is initiated by the House of Representatives, but the Senate must approve the conviction by a two-thirds majority vote.

Reich: There have been only two presidents who have been impeached by the House of Representatives, Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson. Neither was convicted by the Senate. Even in Trump's case, it is very unlikely that he will in the end actually be relieved by the Senate of the Office. But the initiation of the trial, an in-depth investigation by Congress, would be important to the nation. It's about clear conditions, it's about making clear what this man has done.

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Nancy Pelosi

SPIEGEL ONLINE: The current dispute over the so-called wall and the shutdown moves the country. How do you assess the situation?

Reich: At the beginning of the dispute with Democrats Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, Donald Trump made it clear that he will not end the shutdown until he receives funding for his wall. He has practically taken the government of the United States hostage. He has violated, in my opinion, the duty of a President to protect the Constitution and the Government. A president can not abuse the government in this way.

"The Wall fit into its demagogic game"

SPIEGEL ONLINE: What is Trump's motivation in this fight?

Reich: He says it's about building a wall. During the election campaign in 2016, he put his followers into a frenzy of nativism and xenophobia, creating this artificial border crisis. But the fact is that the number of undocumented immigrants who come to the United States has steadily dropped over the last decade. There is no evidence that it is a crisis. But because the Wall fit so well into his demagogic game, he used the theme in the election campaign. Now he is under political pressure from the right, including from people like Fox News presenter Sean Hannity, to fulfill his promise.

But there is more: I think he also uses the wall and the shutdown as a distraction from another much more important issue: the arrangements with Vladimir Putin on the 2016 elections.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Many Democrats are preparing to run against Trump in the presidential election next year. Who would be the best candidate to beat Donald Trump? A woman or a man? A younger or an older politician?

Reich: It's too early to say that. I believe Americans are desperately looking for someone who stands for integrity and honesty after two years of Donald Trump. Wanted are candidates who put the interests of the country before their own interests. It will be about finding someone who also deals with the issue of unequal distribution of wealth and power in this country.

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Richard Nixon

SPIEGEL ONLINE: How will this presidency end? Will Trump be defeated in the election or will he leave the White House before that?

Reich: My prediction is that Donald Trump will resign at the end of the four years because the pressure on him is getting too big. Richard Nixon resigned prior to the initiation of the impeachment trial by the House of Representatives because he knew he would not stand it and survive. There is a good chance that Donald Trump will go the same way. He is a man of exceptionally strong narcissism and ego, and I do not think he wants to do this to himself and his family.

On the other hand, who knows? Trump is unpredictable. The same narcissism and megalomania could make him stay and even stand for re-election. Then he could become an even bigger and more dangerous demagogue.