On Trump and Putin

Since the beginning of the year I have been writing articles regarding Donald J. Trump. None have been very flattering, but I have tried to be accurate in my depiction of him. I have described Mr. Trump as a master manipulator capable of mesmerizing his supporters at rallies and maintaining their support. He has suggested that he and Vladimir Putin might become “best friends”. We have heard of all of the serious crimes that Putin is purported to have authorized. Many believe that, he too is a master manipulator, but as a former KGB trained agent, he is a master manipulator of “world class” status-possessing cunning abilities superior to those of Mr. Trump.

In my work, I have tried to grasp the “essence” of who Trump is and convey that to my readers. In chronological order, here are some snippets of what I’ve written which correspond to nine points I want to make. Let’s begin:

Trump the Chump

March 12, 2018

First, “Trump has continually denied any improper association with the Russians yet he continues to plant “doubt” about his veracity in the minds of many. He always acts as if he is hiding something and trying to cover his tracks on the Russian issue.”

The Innocent Man of Capitol Hill Part I-(The Russian Investigation That Was Not Necessary)

March 12, 2018

Secondly, “Mr. Trump has alienated some of our international friends and allies.  Yet he tenderly embraces our major foe of several decades. What is the real reason why he continually refuses to invoke sanctions on Russia in direct opposition to the recommendations of his own Congress? Why does he not overtly condemn this man about his interference in the last U.S. election? Why does Trump twist himself into a pretzel rather than say something bad about this man? With Donald Trump everyone is ‘fair game’, except Mr. Putin. Why? Why? What is the special relationship between Mr. Putin and The Innocent Man of Capitol Hill?  All Trump had to do from the beginning was to proclaim his innocence and his total campaign’s innocence, prove it, that would have ended the whole thing! But here we are over one year later and though innocence has been proclaimed, Trump has submitted no undisputable proof of innocence whatsoever.”                                    

The Innocent Man of Capitol Hill-Part II- (Mr. Trump’s Devaluation of America)

March 12, 2018

Thirdly, “Many have said that Mr. Putin has fomented chaos, division, and discord in America with his disinformation campaign targeting the 2016 election. Many have said that Mr. Trump has fomented the same chaos, division, and discord within the U.S. They will tell you this is evidenced by his insensitive and divisive rhetoric and actions, and the fact that he caters only to his base. These people feel that just as Putin is hurting us from abroad, Mr. Trump is hurting us from his White House perch within our own sacred borders. In view of Mr. Mueller’s indisputable findings of Russian meddling in our election, I have repeatedly asked “where are the sanctions?” Does Mr. Trump need Mr. Putin’s approval before he invokes the sanctions that were overwhelmingly voted in by our Congress?  Does Trump not appear afraid of Putin?”

The Innocent Man of Capitol Hill-Part III

(Trump’s Peculiar Admiration for Dictators, Totalitarians, Despots, Strongmen)

March 13, 2018

Fourthly, “Trump admires dictators, totalitarian leaders, despots, and strongmen. He openly praised Kim Jung Un for his uncanny ability to successfully inherit the reins of power from his deceased totalitarian father, despite his youth and being surrounded by elder ambitious career military strongmen. He demurely sidled-up to the Philippine dictator Duterte greeting him as if he was a long-missed ally. He extolled the virtues of Vladimir Putin saying that he is a greater leader than our own past-president Barack Obama. This remark not only demeaned our former president but our nation as well.”

Trump: The Innocent Man of Capitol Hill-Part VI- (Guilty!)

May 7, 2018

Fifth, “Mr. Trump’s lying, ducking, and dodging has not ceased. Instead of sitting before Mueller and steadfastly proclaiming his innocence, he is trying to smear the image of Mueller, the Department of Justice, and all other authorities committed to finding the truth, and possibly bringing charges against him. This shows you something. It shows that a key person looked at as a subject of the Mueller investigation “cannot prove his innocence”-because his innocence does not exist! His only recourse, as he apparently sees it, is to besmirch the images of the authorities doing the investigation and plant doubt in the public’s mind about the integrity of the investigation.”

Trump: The New Teflon Don?

May 14, 2018

Sixth, “We cannot continue to tolerate the actions of a man who seeks to hijack the very soul of America in order to derail legitimate legal inquiry. His attempts to publicly undermine authority are not some masterful Trump strokes of public relations genius. They are acts of apparent desperation by a man who tends to demonstrate his guilt on a daily basis. His emissaries (who are sent out to clarify the White House position on relevant issues) end up reinforcing his guilty image by continually dodging questions by an inquisitive media that is guilty only of seeking actual answers and truth.  Trump and his cronies are guilty of generating fake news, not the media! The daily White House Press Briefing ends up being nothing but a sham, and the public sees it for what it is. Sad! “

Countering Trump’s “Media Brigade” Untruths

May 28, 2018

Seventh, “America, we’re basically allowing one grossly flawed man to hijack the entire country as he has hijacked the Republican Party, and he and Nunes have hijacked the House Intelligence Committee. This is not fantasy. The hijackings occurred right before our eyes, and we had better wake up!” Yes, we must wake up. I can’t reiterate this enough!

The Trumpian Path: Not Good for America

June 4, 2018

Eighth, “When our American president does not show our traditional allies the proper respect, then turns around and “cuddles” our traditional enemies, something is wrong!  Many television pundits and newscasters have commented on this very aspect of Trump’s unusual behavior. This behavior does not appear to be haphazard at all. It appears deliberate and sends patriotic Americans scrambling to make sense of it all. Many citizens feel that with reference to Trump, “something is rotten in Denmark”, but so far the investigators have not linked the rot directly to Mr. Trump. Thus, Trumpism is alive and well on Capitol Hill and the Trump Kingdom reigns supreme and continues to compromise susceptible Republicans and instill fear in all majority party members that dare stand in Trumpism’s way.”

On Trump and the Silenced Majority

June 12, 2018

Ninth, “What bothers a lot of caring Americans is that Trump seems to be able to do almost anything and get away with it. I’m not going to rehash these issues now because I have written over ten articles about Trump, and I respectfully refer you to them. However, as I have said before, with reference to the “cozy-cozy” relationship between Trump and Putin, something seems ‘rotten in Denmark’.”

Helsinki Summit:

On July 16, 2018 President Trump and President Putin had a one-on-one “summit” in Helsinki, Finland, at which Trump threw shade and doubt on our intelligence community’s findings of Russian meddling in the 2016 Presidential Election.  However, he seemed to find credence in Putin’s claim that Russia did not interfere in the election. Trump’s denigration of our own well-regarded intelligence community on an international stage was likely unprecedented by an American President in our history.  Trump has always been hesitant to acknowledge the intelligence community’s findings of Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Many think that this is because he feels that this finding possibly “taints” his win in the eyes of the U.S. and the world.

The next day Trump tried to “walk back” his controversial Helsinki statement and said that he “misspoke” with reference to Russian alleged meddling.  In answer to a journalist’s question regarding the culpable party in the election attack, Trump said,” I don’t see any reason why it would be Russia”. Now he says that what he meant to say was, “I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t be Russia.” He further stated that he has “faith” in the US intelligence community.  Many felt that this clarification was “too little too late”. They further observed that the clarification that he read was so unenthusiastically delivered, that it appeared to be very disingenuous and probably coerced by his staff.

Trump had chances to correct his statement immediately following the summit, or on the plane ride home on Air Force One.  But, it was only after a large public outcry that he tried to publicly “clarify” his remarks.

Trump is said to be the least prepared President in U.S. history. Apparently he believes he doesn’t have to become a student of domestic or international politics and diplomacy. He continually operates from a “knowledge deficit” position when compared to his predecessors-and it shows!

After denigrating the U.S. intelligence community and seriously embarrassing himself and the USA on the international stage, who knows what ultimate “push-back” Mr. Trump will get from his party or others. He seems to have no sense of regret or embarrassment like other folks. When other people point out that he has committed a minor or major mistake, it doesn’t seem to noticeably affect him. He acts as if he does not care, or cannot care, given the constraints of his narcissistic psychological makeup.

In the aftermath of the Helsinki Debacle, I would suspect that Congress might attempt to curtail his authority, and/or invoke mandatory new sanctions on Russia.  I hope that the Republicans and his staff will finally rein him in. At this time, however, he is straining our relationships with our friends abroad while he warmly embraces our enemies. He continues to confuse the world that is questioning who America is now under his leadership, and what values do we now represent?

As Putin endeavors to hurt us from the outside, Mr. Trump continues to hurt us from within. To some, Putin and Trump appear to be “partners” working from the same “playbook”. Putin appears to be the senior partner who calls the shots.  In the pre-Helsinki political environment, what logical democratic leader would want to voluntarily appear on the international stage (with possibly agreed upon “talking points”) alongside a known harsh dictator with dubious intentions?  Did the person in charge make the meeting “mandatory”?  That’s a great possibility.

Recently speaking in South Africa, Former President, Barack Obama has just warned the world against the rise of “strongman politics”. This is not the time for American citizens to be quiet and submissive. It is a time for action at the ballot box!  American history and American values mean something. You can’t tear down the very underpinning of American society and predict success for all Americans in the end. If Trump’s grand political experiment does not work out, Americans will be left “high and dry”, while those of means can purchase a secluded island in the South Pacific somewhere, and live carefree for the rest of their lives.

Finally, this Trump-Putin connection raises a lot of questions. You have two wealthy people of questionable character and integrity possibly making secret deals affecting millions and millions of people.  When you think about it, this does not appear to be a good deal for the people, but perhaps a great deal for the dealmakers.  I’ll see you at the ballot box.