Posted by Mark NC on July 17, 2018 at 11:14 am.
NOComments :
It’s only Tuesday and already Donald Trump has sold out the United States to Russia, our perennial enemy and the country whose military intelligence corrupted our democratic process during the 2016 presidential election. And by all accounts is still doing it. Trump’s betrayal at the joint press conference with Vladimir Putin could not have been more obvious and dangerous.
The President of the United States actually said that he trusts Putin more than he trusts his own intelligence and law enforcement agencies. The reaction to this traitorous behavior was swift and nearly unanimous. Even many of the reliable Fox News shills veered from their customary Trump-fluffing to condemn the President for throwing America under the bus.
The exceptions to that were just who you might predict. Trump ran with his tail between his legs to be consoled by Sean Hannity at Fox News immediately after the disastrous press conference. And eager bootlickers like Lou Dobbs and Jeanine Pirro came to Trump’s defense with nearly incomprehensible rationalizations for his glassy-eyed infatuation with Putin. And Putin himself chose Fox News as the network he would give his first post-summit interview to.
Which makes the following report from a Kremlin pool correspondent all the more understandable. Dmitry Smirnov is a journalist with the Special Corps of Komsomolskaya Pravda. He was covering the Putin-Trump summit in Helsinki, Finland, and had this to say after Putin’s interview with Chris Wallace of Fox News (translated from the Russian in the tweet):
“Another gift to Trump: In Helsinki Vladimir Putin gave an interview to the American channel Fox News, owned by the US president.”
Owned by the US president? Not technically. However it is easy to understand how someone could have made that mistake. Fox News has been accurately described as America’s version of State TV. They feverishly defend Trump and shield him from any and all criticism. They tenaciously struggle to validate his glaringly evident lies. And they work furiously to smear his opponents and to advance crackpot conspiracy theories in order to misdirect the public’s attention from Trump’s abject failures.
But Trump doesn’t own Fox News. Rupert Murdoch does. Which is a distinction with very little difference. Murdoch is an unrelenting supporter of Trump throughout his media empire. He permits his “reporters” to post stories that are wholly lacking in facts, but abound in one-sided, extremist opinions. He even lets them act as Trump surrogates and mouthpieces at political events. That’s something that no reputable news organization would tolerate.
So the Russian correspondent was not far off base with his tweet. Perhaps the only thing that he got wrong was the direction of the ownership reference. It may be less accurate to say that Trump owns Fox News than to say that Fox News owns Trump. Either way, it’s an incestuous and unethical relationship that tarnishes them both – and hurts the media and the country.
Monday morning Donald Trump held hands with his bestie, Vladimir Putin, for the duration of a surreal press conference wherein he repeatedly took Russia’s side on every issue (here are some must see excerpts). It was a festival of betrayal the likes of which have never been seen.
The reaction to this internationally televised farce was nearly unanimous disgust and, for most Americans, anger and embarrassment. Trump refused to condemn Russia for interfering with our election. He dismissed his own intelligence agencies in favor of Putin’s promises. He kept bringing up debunked conspiracy theories about Democratic computer servers and Hillary Clinton’s emails.
It was a pitiful sight that marked Trump as the deceitful dotard that he has become known to the world as. And he received the reception that he deserved from most rational observers. Which, of course, leaves out Sean Hannity. On his radio show Monday morning he unleashed an extended rant defending Trump and denigrating his critics. That included some of Hannity’s Fox News colleagues. Hannity said in part:
“These Republicans have been so pathetically weak. They have been so feckless. They have been so visionless.”
And it only got worse from there. Let’s review just who Hannity is referring to, and what they said that rattled Hannity so:
Abby Huntsman: No negotiation is worth throwing your own people and country under the bus.
Stuart Varney: It was not a very forceful presentation from President Trump with Putin standing right next to him. Not forceful at all.
Neil Cavuto: Trump’s performance was disgusting. I’m sorry. This is the only way I feel. It’s not a right or left thing to me. This is wrong. A U.S. president on foreign soil talking to our biggest enemy…is essentially letting the guy get away with this.
Trish Regan: This was clearly not his best performance… He should have defended us! He should have defended his own intelligence community.
General Jack Keane: What happened today is stunning and disappointing.
Brit Hume: Because Trump is unable to see past himself, he sees the Russia meddling investigation as only about him and the collusion claim, and thus calls it a witch hunt.
Shepard Smith: Shameful, disgraceful, treasonous. Three of the descriptions of what Trump did today in Helsinki.
John Roberts: There is a growing consensus tonight across this land that the President threw the United States under the bus.
And those are just the folks from Fox News. Republican politicians like John McCain, Jeff Flake, and Lindsey Graham weighed in as well. Even the Worm of – I mean the Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, distanced himself from the Trump train wreck. It’s no wonder that Trump chose Hannity for his post-summit interview, which was so lame it doesn’t even warrant a review. But it was probably just the sort of tongue bath that would restore Trump’s orange glow.
The long-anticipated (well, not really that long) summit between Donald Trump and his boss, Vladimir Putin, is now history. And history will surely record this as one of the most troubling displays of subservience to a foreign enemy by an American president ever witnessed. Trump’s flagrant deference to Putin throughout the press avail following their suspiciously private tete-a-tete should horrify every American.
There is no better way to illustrate just how dangerous Trump’s Putin-worship is than by simply transcribing his own words. They reveal a man who is locked in the throes of advanced senile dementia. What follows are the verbatim responses to selected questions by our brazenly traitorous president as he cowers before the dictator he idolizes and embarrasses America before the entire world:
QUESTION: Mr. President, you tweeted this morning that it’s U.S. stupidity, foolishness, and the Mueller probe that is responsible for the decline in U.S. relations with Russia. Do you hold Russia at all accountable for anything in particular. And, if so, what would you consider that they are responsible for? TRUMP: Yes I do. I hold both countries responsible. I think that the United States has been foolish. I think we’ve all been foolish. We should have had this dialog a long time ago. A long time, frankly, before I got to office. And I think that we’re all to blame. I think that the United States has now stepped forward, along with Russia. And we’re getting a chance to do some great things. Whether it’s nuclear proliferation, in terms of stopping. Have to do it. And ultimately that’s probably the most important thing we can be working on.
But I do feel that we have both made some mistakes. I think that the probe is a disaster for our country. I think it’s kept us apart. It’s kept us separated. There was no collusion at all. Everybody knows it. People are being brought out to the fore, so far as I know, virtually none of it related to the campaign. And they’re gonna have to try really hard to find somebody that did relate to the campaign. It was a clean campaign. I beat Hillary Clinton easily. And frankly, we beat her – and I’m not even saying from the standpoint – we won that race. And it’s a shame that there can be even a little bit of a cloud over it. People know that. They understand it. But the main thing we discussed also- zero collusion. And it has had a negative impact on the relationship of the largest nuclear powers in the world. We have ninety percent of nuclear power between the two countries. It’s ridiculous. It’s ridiculous what’s going on with the probe.
Notice that he didn’t answer the question as to what responsibility Russia has for the decline in U.S. relations. He’s putting all the blame on the U.S. Outside of a few vague references to “both” sides, every example is one that holds only America accountable. And then he wanders off into a defensive posture concerning his collusion with Russia during the 2016 election and the tainted victory he still can’t stop obsessing over.
QUESTION: Why should Americans and why should President Trump believe your statement that Russia did not intervene in the 2016 election? Do you have any evidence that U.S. intelligence agencies have provided? And would you consider extraditing the twelve Russian officials that were indicted last week by a U.S. grand jury? TRUMP: Well I’m gonna let the President (Putin) answer the second part of that. But as you know, the whole concept came up, perhaps a little bit before, came out as a reason why the Democrats lost an election which, frankly, they should have been able to win because the electoral college is much more advantageous to Democrats, as you know, than it is to Republicans. We won the electoral college by a lot. 306 to 223, I believe. And that was a well fought battle. We did a great job.
And frankly, I’m gonna let the President speak to the second part of your question, but just to say it one time again, and I say it all the time, There was no collusion. I didn’t know the President. There was nobody to collude with. No collusion with the campaign. And every time you hear all of these – twelve and fourteen – it’s stuff that has nothing to do with – and frankly they admit that these are not people involved in the campaign. But to the average reader out there, they’re saying well maybe that does it doesn’t and even the people involved, some told mis-stories. And in one case the FBI said there was no lie. There was no lie. Somebody else says there was. We ran a brilliant campaign and that’s why I’m president.
Once again, without addressing the actual question, Trump is fixated on his election fetish as he hijacks a question directed at Putin. And he continues to try to absolve himself of his obviously guilty conscience with regard to colluding with Russia.
QUESTION: President Trump, just now President Putin denied having anything to do with election interference in 2016. Every U.S. intelligence agency has concluded that Russia did. My first question for you, sir, is who do you believe? My second question is, would you now, with the whole world watching, tell President Putin, would you denounce what happened in 2016, and would you warn him to never do it again? TRUMP: Well, let me just say that we have two thoughts. We have groups that are wondering why the FBI never took the server. Why haven’t they taken the server? Why was the FBI told to leave the office of the Democratic National Committee? I’ve been wondering that. I’ve been asking that for a month. And I’ve been tweeting it out, and I’ve been calling it out on social media. Where is the server? I wanna know where is the server? And what is the server saying.
With that being said, all I can do is ask the question. My people came to me – (Director of National Intelligence) Dan Coats came to me and some others – they said they think it’s Russia. 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 wanna see the server. But I have confidence in both parties. I really believe that this will probably go on for a while. But I don’t think it can go on without finding out what happened to the server. What happened to the servers of the Pakistani gentleman that worked on the DNC. Where are those servers? They’re missing. Where are they? What happened to Hillary Clinton’s emails? Thirty-three thousand emails gone, just gone. I think in Russia they wouldn’t be gone so easily. I think it’s a disgrace that we can’t get Hillary Clinton’s three thousand emails. I have great confidence in my intelligence people. But I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today.
In a stark diversion from the question, Trump veered off into an incoherent rant about the DNC server, a wholly imaginary controversy (you can find the truth about the server matters here and here). But more worrisome is Trump’s explicit renouncement of American intelligence. He very plainly took sides with Putin saying that, despite the unanimous conclusions of his own intel resources, he doesn’t “see any reason why it would be” Russia. His manic obsession with some nefarious servers is rooted in ludicrous conspiracy theories. And he still can’t let go of the non-issue of Clinton’s emails, which he says “in Russia they wouldn’t be gone so easily.” That’s more proof that he prefers the Russian model of tyranny to America’s democracy.
Trump goes on to say that he has “great confidence in my intelligence people,” but that that was overridden by his admiration and awe that “Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today.” Well, in that case we should all just let it go. Would Putin lie to us? And just before cutting off any further questions, Trump interjected a totally off-topic swing at Peter Strzok, who recently made the GOP inquisitioners in Congress look like rabid fools.
What we all witnessed in this press conference was the public Trump literally bending over for Vladimir Putin and choosing to trust our enemy more than our own intelligence professionals and patriots. Which has to make one wonder what happened behind the closed doors of the Treason Summit. And this is not just the opinion of partisan lefties determined to destroy Trump. Immediately following the press conference many conservative pundits and politicians spoke to the horror they just suffered through. They include: Neil Cavuto, Brit Hume, John Roberts, and Abby Huntsman of Fox News. And Republican senators Jeff Flake and Lindsay Graham Even Dick Cheney’s daughter, Rep. Liz Cheney. And to top it all off there is this exchange between the press and Putin that tells the whole story of collusion:
QUESTION: Did you want President Trump to win the election? And did you direct any of your officials to help him do that? PUTIN: Yes, I did. Yes, I did. Because he talked about bringing the U.S.-Russia relationship back to normal.
Notice that Putin appears to have answered both parts of the question: his preference and his directions. And if that isn’t enough for the highly complicit congressional Republicans to finally get off their asses and remove Trump from office, than there is absolutely no hope left for their cursed souls.
This weekend Donald Trump massively accelerated the level of nonsense that has been the hallmark of his presidency. Among the cognitive lapses he displayed while embarrassing America in Europe were his defensive response to the indictment of twelve Russians for interfering with the 2016 presidential election, and his anti-First Amendment rebuke of the the “fake news” network CNN in favor of the “real” network, Fox News. But he was just getting started.
There were several instances of acute mental confusion that Trump exhibited this weekend. But let’s begin with the most disturbing one, even though it may not be the most substantive. In an interview with British Trump-fluffer Piers Morgan, the President was asked “What is the incentive for America to do a great deal with the United Kingdom?” And this was Trump’s – – – answer?
“We would make a great deal with the United Kingdom because they have product that we like. I mean they have a lot of great product. They make phenomenal things, you know, and you have different names — you can say ‘England’, you can say ‘UK’, you can say ‘United Kingdom’ so many different — you know you have, you have so many different names – Great Britain. I always say: ‘Which one do you prefer? Great Britain?’ You understand what I’m saying?”
No. Nobody understands a single thing that you’re saying. But that’s only because you aren’t saying anything that is remotely intelligible. But other than that, it’s perfectly clear.
From there we go on to an interview Trump gave to CBS anchor Jeff Glor. Trump made several bits of “news” in this brief dialog. Like when he said that his father was born in the EU (Germany). Except that his father was born in New York. Trump will literally lie about anything. There are no limits to the outright absurdity of his frightening foolishness. For example:
GLOR: “What’s your goal from the Putin meeting?” TRUMP: “I’ll let you know after the meeting.”
Well, that’s comforting. It shows how seriously Trump is taking this summit with the dictator of the nation that is occupying Crimea, helping Iran in Syria, and that attacked America’s democracy. And then there’s this:
GLOR: “The Russians who were indicted. Would you ask Putin to send them here?” TRUMP: “Well I might. I hadn’t thought of that. But again — this was during the Obama administration.”
He hadn’t thought of the most obvious response to a historic indictment of a foreign nation’s criminal cyberwar against the United States? What the hell is he thinking of? Pee-pee tapes? And even after being given the idea, Trump still only says that he “might” bring it up. Then he goes on to blame President Obama for the whole mess. It may have happened DURING the Obama administration, but it was being done FOR (and with?) the Trump campaign. And then there’s this:
TRUMP: “I think the DNC should be ashamed of themselves for allowing themselves to be hacked. They had bad defenses and they were able to be hacked. But I heard they were trying to hack the Republicans too, but — and this may be wrong — but they had much stronger defenses.”
So now the DNC is responsible for Putin’s hacking of Democrats on behalf of Donald Trump. Classic “blaming the victim.” And Trump has the audacity to make this allegation even while admitting that “this may be wrong.” What sober-minded world leader would say things publicly that he doesn’t know are true? BTW, according to the Justice Department, the GOP was hacked, so their defenses were no better than the DNC. But Russia was only using hacked info against the Democrats. Whatever they hacked from Republicans is probably being used to blackmail Trump. And then there’s this:
GLOR: “Who is your biggest competitor? Your biggest foe globally right now?” TRUMP: “Well I think we have a lot of foes. I think the European Union is a foe, what they do to us in trade. Now you wouldn’t think of the European Union but they’re a foe.”
Indeed, we do have a lot of foes. Especially many of our former allies since Trump took office. But the first one he thinks of to mention is the European Union? Certainly not China, or North Korea, or Iran. And as for Russia, last week Trump referred to Putin only as a competitor, saying explicitly that he was “not my enemy.” Trump even went out of his way to congratulate Russia on Twitter Sunday morning. But the EU is a foe? And then there’s this:
TRUMP (On UK protests): “There are many, many protests in my favor.”
Um OK.
Amazing turn out in the thousands and inspiring spirits at the Trump protest in Sheffield yesterday. But in the name of fairness I have to mention the pro-Trump contingent present. Almost enough for a game of five-a-side. pic.twitter.com/LOrm7pJUU2
— Daniel Dylan Wray (@DanielDylanWray) July 14, 2018
— Sister Resister ??????? (@GoodTroubleGran) July 13, 2018
Following the Putin/Trump performance review on Monday, Trump is now scheduled for a lavish tongue bathing by Fox News shills Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson. Because who else would he turn to? And Vladimir Putin will also be visiting Fox News for an interview with Chris Wallace. So it’s an all-Fox, All Russia, all Trump festival of flagrant propaganda. I can hardly wait.
On Monday Donald Trump is going to sit down with his – Friend? Boss? Russian counterpart? – Vladimir Putin for a meeting that has no agenda or even a stated purpose. The Helsinki tryst comes just a few days after his own Justice Department announced indictments of twelve Russians for interfering with the 2016 presidential campaign. Trump’s only reaction to this was to say that he would “ask” Putin about it. Well, that should put the brutal dictator on notice.
In advance of this meeting, Trump’s National Security advisor, John Bolton was scheduled to appear on CNN’s State of the Union. But on Saturday SOTU host, Jake Tapper, tweeted that the White House has canceled that booking. So Trump won’t cancel his meeting with Vladimir Putin, whose spy network was just indicted for election tampering, but he will cancel a Sunday morning interview with Bolton. Who does this tell you that Trump is more afraid of?
This cancellation comes on the heels of Trump’s anti-free press harangue on Friday when he refused to take a question from CNN’s Jim Acosta, saying that he doesn’t take questions from “fake news” CNN. He then called on John Roberts of Fox News, which he said was a “real network.” Now Trump has, without explanation, pulled his NSA chief from a CNN program.
In a tweet on Saturday morning Trump bragged about his “takedown” of Acosta, as if suppressing the free press was something to be proud of. He also falsely claimed that CNN was “dying in the ratings” (they aren’t), and that they didn’t report on the exchange (they did). What Trump neglected to mention was that Fox’s Roberts later called out Trump and defended the fairness and honesty of NBC and CNN.
Clearly Trump is scared witless. The only question is: Who is he afraid of more? There’s no doubt that Trump is horribly frightened at the prospect of having to answer any questions that aren’t pre-screened, criticism-free, and/or dripping with adoration. That’s why he doesn’t allow interviews with anyone but friendly “reporters” that he knows will not challenge him. And it’s why he snubbed Acosta and canceled Bolton’s interview.
But he’s also obviously fearful of Putin. Which is why he won’t risk offending him by not turning up for their get-together on Monday. People as politically diverse as senators Chuck Schumer and John McCain have been urging Trump to stay away. But Trump, as usual, isn’t listening to good advice. And his State TV affiliate (aka Fox News) is continuing to prove that they are on his side by booking Brother Vlad for an interview immediately following his tete-a-tete with Trump. Where else would Putin go other than the network that his biggest supporter outside of RT (Russian Television)?
UPDATE: Trump’s press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, responded to the Bolton cancellation saying that it was due to a CNN reporter being “disrespectful” to Trump. So they “decided to reprioritize the TV appearances.” For the record, Trump called CNN’s Acosta “fake news.” He replied that CNN is a real network. That’s it. No discernible hint disrespect. But even if there were, she canceled an interview with Jake Tapper for something Acosta did? This whole excuse is bullshit – no disrespect intended.
Donald Trump was visiting with the British Prime Minister Theresa May in London on Friday when he obliged the media by taking a few question to which he would respond with his customary obfuscation and lies. But in the process he employed one of his familiar tactics of demeaning the press even as he pretends to be accommodating them.
Just as Jim Acosta of CNN began to ask a question, Trump interrupted him him saying “No.” and pointing to John Roberts of Fox News. Acosta was not immediately convinced that his opportunity to question the President was over. But Trump made it even more clear saying “CNN is fake news, I don’t take questions from CNN. John Roberts of Fox, let’s go to a real network.”
"CNN is fake news. I don't take questions from CNN. John Roberts from Fox. Let's go to a real network." pic.twitter.com/e2TcEu6G7e
Roberts had an opportunity to stand up for the integrity and honor of his profession. But instead, he chose to ignore Trump’s malice toward the press and ask if Trump hopes to have a better relationship with Vladimir Putin. That question was a fairly obsequious waste of time that would provide no insight to any current affairs. However, it did successfully help Trump to throw another sucker punch at the media that he despises. And at the same time Trump got to promote the one network that has so obediently acted as his State TV affiliate of the White House.
By maligning the media this way on foreign soil, Trump is ensuring that other foreign dictators will feel encouraged to continue their own crusades against the press, which often include suppression and murder. Trump’s friend Vladimir can attest to that. It’s bad enough when Trump calls the media “the enemy of the American people” during one of his revival meeting style campaign rallies in South Dakota. But to export that hostile rhetoric to other countries only makes his animus toward the free press more dangerous for journalists throughout the world.
Roberts was castigated online by many of his peers for allowing Trump to insult Acosta and just going forward with his own lame question. As a result, he later appeared in a segment on Fox where he finally mustered up the courage to defend CNN, NBC, and his profession:
Fox News corespondent John Roberts defended networks CNN and NBC after the president insulted them at a press conference.
"They have fine journalists there who risk their lives to cover the news around the world, [and] to say they are not a real network [is] unfair," he said. pic.twitter.com/VuRjmP5YMW
That would have been a great thing to say when Trump lashed out at Acosta. As it is, it was too little. too late. Especially considering the fact that it isn’t just Trump who is dispensing these attacks. It is also many of Roberts’ colleagues on Fox News. It’s Sean Hannity and Steve Doocy and Laura Ingraham and Tucker Carlson, and few dozen other contributors who make regular appearances. Not to mention most of the GOP caucus in Congress.
For Roberts to be taken seriously he would have to call out all of those offenders. He would have to acknowledge that the cries of fake news, dishonesty, and unfairness are just as harmful and inappropriate when they come from a Fox News host as when the come from a desperately lying president. But don’t hold your breath waiting for Roberts, or anyone else at Fox, to be so consistent and honorable. Their mission is the same as it ever was: to defend Dear Leader Trump and to malign his critics. Expect that to continue unabated.
The breaking news this Friday morning is on a scale that is rarely seen in modern politics and crime. The Deputy Attorney General, Rod Rosenstein, announced the indictment of twelve Russian intelligence operatives for illegally hacking into the accounts of members of the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton’s campaign for president. These are not some anonymous “dark web” patsies, but actual agents of Russia’s GRU spy agency.
Naturally, Fox News has played down the story by airing short reports at the top of the hour and ignoring it thereafter. Other cable news networks are doing the deep dive into the many sordid details. And Fox is also leaping to the defense of Donald Trump by highlighting remarks that Rosenstein made regarding the allegations that are not asserting any complicity by Americans or vote total changes. What they are forgetting is that there are only no such allegations YET. This is not over by a long shot.
The response from the White White was astonishingly tone deaf. They issued a brief statement that was entirely defensive, as if the only consideration was how this affected the probe into Trump’s criminal collusion with Russia. It read:
As Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said today:
– There is no allegation in this indictment that Americans knew that they were corresponding with Russians.
– There is no allegation in this indictment that any American citizen committed a crime.
– There is no allegation that the conspiracy changed the vote count or affected any election result.
Today’s charges include no allegations of knowing involvement by anyone on the campaign and no allegations that the alleged hacking affected the election result. This is consistent with what we have been saying all along.
It’s clear that Trump doesn’t care at all about the attack on America’s democratic system. He doesn’t say one word about the atrocity that is alleged in the indictments. And of course, he doesn’t criticize his friend (boss) Vladimir Putin. He doesn’t make even the most timid condemnation of Russia for their actions. He just whines that nothing in the indictments accuses him of anything. And, as noted above, that is only for the time being. Neither Rosenstain nor special counsel Robert Mueller said anything about there not being any further indictments. And the investigation is still in progress.
Along with Fox News and the Republican echo chamber’s ludicrous efforts to spin this as vindication for Trump, his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, is asserting that these indictments are “good News,” and suggest that they prove that “Trump is completely innocent.” Which they most certainly do not do. Giuliani is also saying that Thursday’s congressional inquisition of Peter Strzok makes it less likely that Trump will ever interview with Mueller. Gee, ya think? Trump never intended to interview with Mueller.
You can count on Fox News to fiercely continue defending Trump and to make these cries of absolution for at least the remainder of the day. It remains to be seen how long they will have this sort of wiggle room to avoid the increasingly obvious evidence of Trump’s treasonous guilt. But these new charges are an indication that Mueller is getting closer to the completion of his investigation. It isn’t surprising that no Americans were included in this set of indictments. The primary targets are always held in confidence until the end. Stay tuned.
Now that Donald Trump has concluded his meeting with NATO, he will be spending a couple of days at his golf resort in Scotland, and then it’s off to Helsinki and his tryst with Vladimir Putin. Trump’s behavior at NATO was typically hostile in nature toward America’s long-time allies. And he is already expressing his affection for Putin in advance of their meeting.
At an impromptu press availability, just prior to leaving Brussels, Trump, unprompted, reiterated that he is “a very stable genius.” He was later asked if he thought he would get along with Putin. The question was not especially probing considering the fact that Trump has many times confessed his deep regard for Russia’s murderous dictator. However, Trump went even farther than he usually goes to display an affinity for Putin that defies reason (video below). He said of Putin that:
“Well, he’s a competitor. He’s been very nice to me the times I’ve met him. I’ve been nice to him. He’s a competitor. Somebody was saying, ‘Is he an enemy?’ He’s not my enemy. Is he a friend? No, I don’t know him well enough. But the couple of times that I’ve gotten to meet him, we got along very well. You saw that.
I hope we get along well. I think we get along well. But ultimately, he’s a competitor. He’s representing Russia. I’m representing the United States. So in a sense we’re competitors. It’s not a question of friend or enemy. He’s not my enemy. And hopefully, someday, maybe he’ll be a friend. It could happen.”
Aw. Isn’t that sweet? Trump appreciates that Putin was nice to him. and twice insisted that Putin is not his enemy. He repeatedly referred to the Russian tyrant as a competitor, as if this were a business deal or a game and not a clash of international antagonists. But his expressed longing for a future friendship with someone best known for oppressing his people, stealing elections, and murdering opponents and journalists, is shockingly insensitive to those victims and to the principles of democracy and freedom. It’s like hoping to someday, maybe becoming friends with Mussolini, Hitler, or Kim Jong Un (Oh wait. That last one Trump does want to be friends with).
This is another example of Trump’s unfathomable, and un-American, interest in cozying up to brutal dictators. Trump’s flagrant infatuation, joined with the fact that he has never uttered a critical word about Putin, can only lead to speculation that the Russian leader has some compromising information that compels Trump to act in the service of our foes and against our national interests. Virtually everything Trump does – his tweets, his desperate rants, his infantile tantrums – affirms that speculation as well as a consciousness of guilt. Trump’s yearning for friendship with Trump only exacerbates the problem. No American should seek such camaraderie with an avowed enemy.
And naturally, Putin will be playing a role in the public presentation of what takes place in the meeting. So he has alraedy been booked to appear on State TV (aka Fox News) immediately after his meeting with Trump. Because where else would an ally of the Trump administration’s assault on the press, on U.S. intelligence and law enforcement, and on the truth, go to discuss his post-Trump get together?
It’s getting more difficult with every new day to ignore just how deferential Donald Trump is to Vladimir Putin. Trump has never been shy about expressing his feelings, particularly when they are brash insults to anyone who he thinks is less than adoring to him. Trump will lash out viciously at friends, associates, and strangers who dare to criticize him, even in mild terms. But he never has a harsh word for his pal in the Kremlin. Many people are wondering what Putin has on Trump to guarantee this endless supply of affection.
This peculiar – and conspicuously anti-American – behavior was exhibited again this week when Trump ventured off to Brussels for a meeting with our NATO allies. He even foreshadowed the position he intended to take when he told the media that his upcoming tete-a-tete with Putin would be “the easiest one” he would have on this junket. And in the very first public gathering open to the press, Trump demonstrated that his relations with our allies would not be easy at all by launching a wild harangue against Germany for partnering with Russia in a natural gas pipeline.
So the battlelines have already been drawn in just the first few hours of the NATO summit. And, naturally, Trump is bashing our friends and cozying up to our enemies. The brazen manner with which Trump displays his betrayal to long-time allies is now being noticed by his most vociferous defender: State TV (aka Fox News). As the summit was getting underway, Chris Stirewalt, Fox News digital politics editor, had a few words about the President’s disloyalty to America’s national interests (video below). Referring to members of Trump’s GOP who have been feverishly trying to spin Trump’s unsettling commentaries, Stirewalt said that:
“I want to tell these Republicans, quit kidding yourselves. You will not stop Donald Trump from undermining NATO, and you will not stop him from undermining U.S. foreign policy to be more favorable towards Russia. He is going to do it.
“And the Republicans who say, ‘Well, we have a broad foreign policy apparatus and we forced him to impose these sanctions, and we forced him to do these things.’ He is going to fly into Brussels like a seagull. He is going to defecate all over everything, squawk and fly away, is what he’s going to do in Brussels. And the Europeans are going to continue to say to each other, ‘We don’t have a reliable partner in the U.S. government right now. We don’t think this is a working relationship.’
“Plus, we have a trade war going with them. The President will succeed, whether it’s temporary or whether it’s lasting, realigning U.S. foreign policy away from Europe and toward Moscow.”
Clearly the quotable portion of that analysis concerns the defecating seagull. The media will likely highlight that colorful phrase to draw in readers and viewers (just as News Corpse did). But no one should let the more substantive part of Stirewalt’s remarks go by. Because the significance of a Fox News editor telling their primetime audience that Trump is “realigning U.S. foreign policy away from Europe and toward Moscow,” cannot be overstated. This isn’t Anderson Cooper or Rachel Maddow talking. It’s a senior Fox news editor who is issuing a warning to an audience that he knows won’t welcome it.
But will they listen? Probably not. At least not until one of the pharisees of the Fox/Trump cult like Sean Hannity or Laura Ingraham says it. Until then, Trump’s disciples will continue to believe that he has the infallibility of the Messiah. And anything he says – no matter how destructive to American values or interests – will be agreed to and worshiped like gospel. And Stirewalt will be dismissed as a heretic. That’s how cults work.
On Monday night Donald Trump unveiled his second Supreme Court nominee in as many years. He did it in a splashy primetime ceremony that was wholly out of proportion to any actual news value. The fact that TV networks continue to cater to Trump’s insatiable appetite for attention is one of the most troubling failings of the media in the Trump era.
The unveiling of Judge Brett Kavanaugh went off as expected, so long as you were expecting a rose granting ceremony on the finale of The Bachelor. Trump gave a speech that could have been written by a computer programmed to emulate Republican talking points. And Kavanuagh’s address could have been copied verbatim from “Right-Wing Judicial Nomination Speeches for Dummies.” The whole event was a predictably partisan political sham that wasted everybody’s time.
Well, except for Fox News. The reason that Trump requested this primetime slot was solely to boost his favorite cable news network and, not coincidentally, right during the time period of Sean Hannity’s show. It worked. The ratings for the Trump infomercial spiked for Fox News with 6.6 million glassy-eyed Deplorables glued to their sets.
Following the announcement, Hannity returned to surprise no one with his unreserved praise and adulation for Trump’s selection (video below). But he had more on his mind than the alleged qualifications of Kavanaugh. Hannity actually spent far more time attacking Democratic critics of Kavanaugh than he did applauding him. And he held nothing back in his assault on the liberal demons set on destroying America. He began by asserting that the left’s attacks were “bordering on insanity.” He continued saying that:
“You have the left, the Democrats, and their friends in the media, their echo chamber, always conducting what is a malicious campaign to impugn the character of good people. The track record of good people. Frankly anybody that President Trump would have nominated to the Supreme Court. The language gets downright apocalyptic, and this time is no different.”
Coming from someone who is casting Democrats as the harbingers of the apocalypse, it’s hard for a rational person to take Hannity seriously. Likewise, the accusation by someone on Fox News that Democrats are employing an echo chamber is hysterical. But he was just getting started. He went on to play some clips from CNN and MSNBC of people with criticisms of Trump and his potential nominees. The striking thing about these clips is that none of them were remotely apocalyptic or insane. Each one exhibited a rational – and truthful – argument against Trump’s shortlist of Supreme Court candidates. And while Hannity blasted these criticisms in the most hostile terms, he never offered a single substantive rebuttal to any one of them.
Following that intellectually vacant harangue, Hannity reminded his viewers of the confirmation fights that occurred during the nominations of Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas. He felt that it was important to show how committed Democrats were in opposition to such strident and extremist conservatives. Funny thing though, Hannity didn’t bother to show any examples of Republicans viciously maligning – and lying about – the nominees of Democratic presidents.
In short, this televised tantrum was fairly typical of Hannity’s nightly bluster. He was even kind enough to provide a summary of what makes the GOP so offensive and out of touch with most Americans. In an attempt to dismiss liberal critics, Hannity noted that criticisms of Kavanaugh would fit the mold wherein his rulings would “lead to dirty air, dirty water, the rise of racism, sexism, misogynism, etc.” Exactly. Thanks for that succinct rundown of the Republican agenda and what we can reasonably expect from Kavanaugh if he is confirmed.
