Trump and Russia
Christopher Loumeau
Some food for thought amidst the US/Russia Summit happening right now:
1) The Justice Department just indicted a dozen Russians for interfering with our elections. Some of this interference happened literally the day that Donald Trump asked Russia, in a presidential debate, to try to hack Hillary Clinton's emails.
2) Donald Trump has spent his entire presidency defending Russia, praising Putin, setting the USA and Russia up as morally equivalent countries, and generally contradicting literally everyone in the intelligence community who claim that Russia is our most dangerous geopolitical foe.
3) Republicans used to believe that Russia was dangerous. In the 2012 election, when Romney voiced his concerns about Russia and was mocked by Obama, Republicans threw every act of Russian malfeasance in Obama's face for the next 4 years. They were right to do so. Obama was wrong to underestimate Russia. Congressional Republicans are now trying to downplay the threat that Russia represents and are claiming that Russian interference in our elections isn't that big of a deal because "all countries do it".
4) Donald Trump's own son asked a Russian government official to release dirt on Hillary Clinton closer to the election.
5) The most important job that an American president has is to protect our country and represent it well in negotiations with or against other countries, especially our enemies.
6) Russia is our enemy.
7) Donald Trump, while an excellent campaigner and brilliant at playing to people's fears, is an awful negotiator. Throughout his presidency, he has undermined his own party, his own positions, his own policies, and his own advisers, by making silly, unforced errors and spouting off impulsively. Given Republican control of Congress and the Supreme Court, a canny Republican president could have gotten an unprecedented number of huge victories. Trump has not done this.
8) This morning - Donald Trump met with Vladimir Putin, an ex-KGB agent and master manipulator who has tightly controlled Russia and who has shown himself to be dangerous, canny, and remarkably good at getting what he wants. They met privately, with just a translator.
9) If all of the above facts referenced a Democrat president, congressional Republicans would literally be spontaneously combusting with concern and rage.
10) This summit is scary. Letting Putin in a room with Trump, a narcissist who worships and praises dictators while ignoring democratic principles, who is susceptible to flattery and manipulation, whose own defenders acknowledge that he knows almost nothing of history or current events - letting Putin in a room with him alone is bad for our country, dangerous, and scary.
But hey. Trump pisses off the liberal snowflakes - so it's totally worth it.
Marie Loumeau
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vivian.branner
Christopher Loumeau
- Paul Ryan: "There is no question that Russia interfered in our election and continues attempts to undermine democracy here and around the world.That is not just the finding of the American intelligence community but also the House Committee on Intelligence.The president must appreciate that Russia is not our ally. There is no moral equivalence between the United States and Russia, which remains hostile to our most basic values and ideals. The United States must be focused on holding Russia accountable and putting an end to its vile attacks on democracy"
- Mitch McConnell: "I've said a number of times and I say it again, the Russians are not our friends and I entirely believe the assessment of our intelligence community."
- John McCain: "[Trump's comments] were one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory."
- Bob Corker: "[President Trump] made us look like a pushover and Putin was probably eating caviar on the plane home. I was very disappointed and saddened with the equivalency that he gave between them (the US intelligence agencies) and what Putin was saying."
- Ben Sasse (On both countries being responsible for the deteriorated relationship between the US and Russia): "This is bizarre and flat-out wrong. The United States is not to blame. America wants a good relationship with the Russian people but Vladimir Putin and his thugs are responsible for Soviet-style aggression. When the President plays these moral equivalence games, he gives Putin a propaganda win he desperately needs."
- Liz Cheney: ""As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I am deeply troubled by President Trump's defense of Putin against the intelligence agencies of the U.S. & his suggestion of moral equivalence between the U.S. and Russia. Russia poses a grave threat to our national security"
- Lindsey Graham: "Missed opportunity by President Trump to firmly hold Russia accountable for 2016 meddling and deliver a strong warning regarding future elections. This answer by President Trump will be seen by Russia as a sign of weakness and create far more problems than it solves."
- Susan Collins: "It's certainly not helpful for the President to express doubt about the conclusions of his own team. He has assembled a first-rate intelligence team handled by Dan Coats and I would hope that he would take their analysis over the predictable denials of President Putin"
- Jeff Flake: "I never thought I would see the day when our American President would stand on the stage with the Russian President and place blame on the United States for Russian aggression. This is shameful"
- Will Hurd: "I've seen the Russian intelligence manipulate many people many people in my career, and I never would have thought the US President would be one of them"
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Marie Loumeau
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