We knew the meeting with Putin was going to be bad after the disaster in Brussels late last week. How else could it go after the President of the United States, for the first time in the history of NATO, publicly chastised practically every member state and accused them all of, not being fair, to America?
Then came the surprise press conference after the Brussels get together. On the podium he stated the meeting with U.S. allies had been highly successful. while at the same time hinting, none to subtly, America might go its own way if the rest of NATO doesn't pony up not only on defense spending, but through trade concessions. One talking head on MSNBC noted it was like watching a mob boss working a protection racket shakedown.
Finally during the same presser came a moment, so bizarre and disturbing no Hollywood screen writer would dare come up with it. In front of God, the international media, and millions of viewers, Donald John Trump proclaimed himself a, "Stable genius."
It was a statement which prompted the 94 year old WWII veteran living on Pheasant Lane to declare, "He's the craziest son of a bitch I've ever seen." This from a man who voted for Ronald Reagan twice, George H. W. Bush once, Bush the younger two times, and John McCain.
Later, after hobnobbing with the Queen of England, Mr. Trump took a quick little trip to Scotland for a round of golf at one of his resorts--proving everyone prepares for a one on one sit down with a ruthless autocrat differently.
What followed yesterday on a Helsinki stage was the single most obsequious performance by an American head of state, ever. In truth the only thing missing was a Presidential blow job, although for all we know that happened during the closed door two and a half hour meeting held earlier.
The reaction was swift, vitriolic, and not just from democrats. Senator Jeff Flake, R-AZ said, "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."
John McCain wrote, "Today's press conference in #Helsinki was one of the most disgraceful performances by an American President in memory."
Senator Jim Lankford, R-OK tweeted, "I trust the assessments of Dan Coats, Gena Haspel & their teams more than I trust a former KGB agent, Vladimir Putin. U.S. Presidents should meet w/ foreign leaders. But we must unequivocally denounce Russia's election interference attempts & human rights abuses around the world."
Newt Gingrich called Trump's performance, "...the most serious mistake of his presidency..."
The outrage continued. The wife of the American ambassador to Russia accused the President of throwing his own people and country under the bus. Another retired pol aimed a tweet at Trump's cabinet, it read, "Resign, if you have any honor." Obama's former CIA director called his actions, "...nothing short of treasonous"
Trump's initial response was to blame the harsh criticisms on--who else--the media. This morning he tweeted, "While I had a great meeting with NATO, raising vast amounts of money, I had an even better meeting with Vladimir Putin of Russia. Sadly, nothing is being reported that way--the Fake News is going Crazy!"
This afternoon he finally seemed to realize how deep he'd stepped in it. In other words it dawned on him the media hadn't reported anything. They simply aired the joint news conference, letting him expose himself as a Russian dupe. During an impromptu meeting with the press he claimed he had inadvertently used the wrong word--would vs wouldn't--when questioned about why he didn't think Russia interfered with the election.
What he said on Monday, with Putin standing next to him, was, "I have President Putin. He just said it's not Russia. I will say this, I don't see any reason why it would be, but I really do want to see the server." He then continued with a lengthy whine about--that's right--Hillary Clinton's missing emails which included, "What happened to Hillary Clinton's emails? 33,000 emails gone--just gone. I think in Russia they wouldn't be gone so easily."
No, but plenty of dissident Russian politicians and journalists certainly are gone so easily.
He rambled on, but what is the use? It was pure Trump bullshit. He was the wronged party all along while Hillary Clinton was the evil one. Yes, that's the ticket, there was a huge criminal, deep state, conspiracy and she was at the center of it.
Today he also offered that Obama and the FBI knew about the Russian interference prior to the 2016 election, but did nothing because they assumed Mrs. Clinton would win. When she lost they suddenly made the hacking a big deal. His administration, on the other hand, is on top of the situation. Oh, and by the way, as I said yesterday, Vladimir Putin has offered to help with Robert Mueller's investigation into the perfidious behavior of, uh, Vladimir Putin. All we have to do is turn over Mueller's sources of information to the Russians.
Right.
How long O' Lord will it take for republicans to admit Putin has something on this malevolent clown? It is the only way to explain behavior such as this. My best guess is his properties served as a money laundering conduit for Russian mobsters and oligarchs. Although honestly, I would prefer it to be something more lurid--you know--tapes of him and a former Miss Universe contestant performing sex acts so incredibly deviant they would shock even Howard Stern. Hey, it's the romantic in me.
Well, I can always hope.
Ladies and gentlemen, as you can guess, the bar is open.
7-17-18
I have wondered if Russian business interests, possibly of the shady variety, have not driven our president's public comments. I'm fairly certain of one thing, had Hillary made comments similar to his during the Putin face-off, he would be beside himself with indignation. Very close to, if, indeed, not over the line in making treasonous comments. I believe this presidency, even more than Nixon and Watergate, are harming our country. It frustrates and saddens me that many cannot see it.
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