The president and the killer: Why Donald Trump's embrace of Eddie Gallagher is so dangerous

Judging by his Twitter feed and a few appearances before the cameras, President Trump doesn't seem to be enjoying his holiday break down at Mar-a-Lago. Despite his assertion during the annual Christmas Day phone call to the troops that he works constantly when he's at "the winter White House," he's been playing golf, hosting parties and hobnobbing with pals and paying guests.Among those honored guests was Eddie Gallagher, the former Navy SEAL who was accused of war crimes. Although Trump campaigned in 2016 by endorsing torture, atrocities and mass executions, even going so far as to proclaim that it was important to "take out the families," it's still shocking that he's openly embracing accused war criminals, calling Gallagher “one of the ultimate fighters” and a "very tough guy." After the New York Times' explosive story on Gallagher last Friday, in which we saw the original testimony of his fellow SEALs and footage of the moments before the killing of the sedated ISIS fighter, it's almost impossible to wrap your mind around the idea that this man was feted at the "winter White House" just last week. As the Times reported, this was "the first opportunity outside the courtroom to hear directly from the men of Alpha platoon, SEAL Team 7," whose blistering testimony about their platoon chief was dismissed by President Trump when he upended the military code of justice to protect Chief Gallagher from the punishment.