Re: Trump, Putin, Our Allies, and North Korea

What’s with Donald Trump anyway? Why does he continue to cozy up to Putin and disrespect our age-old friends like Merkle and Trudeau? Even on the campaign trail he was always asking, “Wouldn’t it be nice to get along with Russia?” Does he want America to pivot to a pro-Russia attitude?  If he wants us to become pro-Russia, the question is why?  On the campaign trail and beyond, he repeated this phrase so much that many of us got tired of it.  It seems that Trump was not only campaigning for himself, but for Putin and Russia too. Again, the question is why?

As we moved forward and Trump became President (under questionable circumstances) he was called upon to sanction Russia for its meddling in our 2016 election. He procrastinated and procrastinated before putting some sanctions against Russia in place. Some folks on Capitol Hill felt that the sanctions were not tough enough. Several months into his presidency, instead of going head-to-head with Putin over his 2016 election meddling, Trump was trying to rally his fellow G7 partners to allow Putin and Russia back into the G7 to make it G8 again. Why?

When you consider Trump’s constant pro-Russia campaigning, and add to it the firing of Salley Yates, James Comey, and Preet Bahara, it’s not a far stretch to ask the questions “What’s going on, and why? Why fire key government officials capable of possibly bringing you to justice, if nothing is amiss with you? Logic would say that an innocent billionaire president with nothing to hide would love an “on the record” one-on-one with a special prosecutor who is investigating him for possible crimes that he knows he didn’t commit. Trump’s behavior continues to confuse many of us. His various actions, or “reactions”, to various things have not echoed the behavior of an innocent man.

Mr. Mueller is still hard at work on his Russia Investigation. Some feel that he is doing a wonderful job, having accomplished several interviews and indictments. Yet Trump’s folks are saying it is taking too long.  They have therefore embarked on a Giuliani-led public relations circus in an attempt to get public sentiment on their side. They’re doing this through blitzing the media with anti-Mueller/anti-FBI rhetoric.  Innocent, sincere, dedicated, and honest public servants would not denigrate world renown and respected government organizations to obscure an active case against them. They would let their “truth” speak for itself. Even if a few possible “bad apples” emerged from the FBI ranks, it doesn’t negate the success of the entire organization.

As I’ve asked before, if Trump is innocent, why doesn’t he just sit down with Mueller and “state his truth”? Period! If Trump professes innocence, he should save the taxpayer’s more money and grief. He should testify as to his innocence, prove it (as only he can) and let’s move on. Telling the truth is easy for an innocent man.  So why does an innocent man duck and dodge, fire people, lie continually, and delay and stall a meeting with Mueller. Why?

The phrase, “The world is watching”, applies to countries around the world, but Trump doesn’t care. Whatever his reasoning is, it allows him to posture before the public as if he is the victim-a misunderstood choirboy.

You may have noticed that our traditional allies are beginning to challenge Trump. Some are distancing themselves from him. Given his rude bombastic behavior and his willingness to disrespect and drop old friends “on a dime”, the Trump “trust factor”, as viewed by our allies, is constantly dwindling. Trump is perceived by many to be not believable and not trustworthy.

Trump claims that our allies have traditionally “socked it to” the USA, and he is, in a sense “manning up” on the behalf of the USA and demanding that they pay their fair share of joint international monetary obligations. He says several nations are taking advantage of us “trade wise” too, and he aims to put a stop to it. If nations are taking advantage of us, why doesn’t the “self-proclaimed” great negotiator sit down with them and negotiate a better deal?  Instead, he picks fights with them and acts more like a spoiled kid than the top notch negotiator and great businessman that he says he is.

Why are they floating a plump Trump kid-like balloon dressed in a diaper in the UK if not to poke fun at Baby Donald? This might just be the beginning. Other countries may well begin to disrespect Trump just as he has disrespected them.

Over the last several weeks, our dealings with North Korea went from bad to worse.  Trump and Kim Jung Un were deeply into a serious “war of words”. Then there was a sort of “reconciliation” when Pompeo went to North Korea and met with Kim Jung Un. This was followed by a meeting between Kim Jung Un and President Trump, which marked the “height” of our recent good relations with North Korea.   As of now (July 10, 2018) relations are back to “bad” as Kim Jung Un refused to meet with Trump’s emissary, Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo.  The North Koreans even threw around the term “bully” when referring to Trump.

During the North Korea talks, Trump created this very rosy picture, suggesting that they were well on the way to a new a new day with NK, inclusive of NK’s nuclear disarmament. Though he tried to spin it otherwise, Trump’s meeting with Kim Jung Un produced nothing. There was no ironclad agreement(s) signed whatsoever, and the meeting turned out to be nothing more than a photo-op for both parties.

Former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that Trump is a “con man”. Trump never challenged him on this. Why not?  Is it because it’s true? Bloomberg is ten times the billionaire that Trump is stated to be according to Forbes Magazine. Bloomberg knows the difference between running his business empire and running New York City. However, upon taking office, it appears that Trump didn’t realize that running the American government is not like running a real estate concern out of Trump Tower.

When you are the leader of the free world, diplomacy, statesmanship, and honesty are very important attributes to possess. Mr. Trump has none of them. However, he does possess the uncanny ability to make a certain group of people believe in him and follow him. He is not interested in recruiting any others to his cause. He has the “base” that he wants.

From day-one Trump was not suited for the job of President of the United States, and over the last year and a half, he has not grown into the job. In addition he has numerous lawsuits and threats of lawsuits against him. Yet he acts as if he is on top of the world-with no problems. Many citizens perceive that something is wrong with reference to Donald Trump, but they can’t or won’t express exactly what it is. Furthermore, they know that something is unusually unfair because Trump continues to get away with things that would have effectively submerged another politician by now.

In the past Trump denigrated Barack Obama and praised Kim Jung Un. Just today he said he preferred his coming meeting with Putin over his scheduled meeting with our European allies. Something is wrong when our highest office holder says something like this. It makes us ask, “Does he care about preserving our long-term alliances, or does he seek to destroy them?”

What is the genesis of this evolving relationship between Trump and Putin? There has been much speculation about this, but perhaps only they, and a few others, know the answer. Both Trump and Putin have the right to develop a personal relationship with each other. However, many questions arise when the USA, its power, and its resources are considered in the mix. Why would we want a relationship with a nation that has disrespected us to the extent that it interfered with the very underpinning of our democracy-our elections?

Whatever personal relationship Trump and Putin want to pursue, let them pursue it, but we must insist that America be kept out of the mix. Also, Mr. Trump should be required to report to Congress why he has not invoked the maximum sanctions against Russia as authorized by Congress earlier in the Trump Administration.  Any country that meddles in our elections should have to pay a hefty price-bar none!