At a joint press conference today, President Trump doubled down on his belief in President Putin’s denial that Russia launched cyberattacks on the 2016 US presidential election.
This, despite his own intelligence agencies — the CIA, FBI, and NSA — saying Russia did. Not to mention the Mueller investigation, which indicted 12 Russian agents for orchestrating those cyberattacks.
‘I have — I have confidence in both parties,’ Mr. Trump said. ‘So 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.’
(The Wall Street Journal, July 16, 2018)
I cannot resist noting this craven symmetry: Trump failed to support American intelligence over Russian propaganda in Helsinki, just as he failed to support anti-fascists over neo-Nazis in Charlottesville.
That said, Trump, of all people, knows full well that denials from liars are always strong and powerful.
Bipartisan outrage erupts
Bipartisanship is as rare in Washington these days as virtue. But Trump siding with Putin on this existential issue — on the world stage, no less — provoked bipartisan outrage in spades. It began with Trump’s own Director of National Intelligence, Dan Coats, immediately rebutting his betrayal:
We have been clear in our assessments of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and their ongoing, pervasive efforts to undermine our democracy, and we will continue to provide unvarnished and objective intelligence in support of our national security.
(USA Today, July 16, 2018)
But nobody expressed the Democrats’ outrage quite like John Brennan, the former head of the CIA:
Donald Trump’s press conference performance in Helsinki rises to & exceeds the threshold of ‘high crimes & misdemeanors.’ It was nothing short of treasonous. Not only were Trump’s comments imbecilic, he is wholly in the pocket of Putin. Republican Patriots: Where are you???
— John O. Brennan (@JohnBrennan) July 16, 2018
And nobody expressed the Republicans’ outrage quite like John McCain, US senator and bona-fide war hero:
Today’s press conference in Helsinki was one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory. The damage inflicted by President Trump’s naiveté, egotism, false equivalence, and sympathy for autocrats is difficult to calculate.
(CNN, July 16, 2018)
Nobody should be shocked
To be fair, nobody should be shocked. After all, Trump telegraphed for years everything he did in Europe last week. This included extorting “pledges” for increased defense spending from NATO members, stabbing UK Prime Minister Theresa May in the back over Brexit, and standing shoulder to shoulder with Putin while insulting US intelligence. I duly commented in “Trump Abroad: Mooning NATO, Droning Britain, Spooning Putin“ on July 12, 2018.
But frankly, I have nothing but contempt for American politicians rushing to TV cameras to express how “shocked, shocked” they are. And I have nothing but pity for European politicians asking today the question I posed the morning after Americans elected this mendacious buffoon: “WTF President-elect Donald J. Trump? America. What. Have. You. Done“ on November 9, 2016.
I told you so
Truth be told, I am too informed to be shocked and too indignant to be outraged by this latest manifestation of Trump’s “treasonous” behavior.
Back in April 2011, I warned against Trump’s presidential ambitions, noting his clownish political foray was purely for personal ego and financial enrichment. I highlighted how he was fashioning himself as a born-again conservative after supporting liberal causes—doing what was good for Trump, not America.
By January 2017, I observed that Trump and intelligence are parallel forces of nature. His need to feed his ego knows no bounds, even facing brazen hypocrisy or imminent danger. I noted then that if you were still expressing shock over Trump’s ignorant, narcissistic, and dangerous behavior, the joke was on you.
In May 2017, I also documented Trump’s troubling pattern of cozying up to dictators while insulting democratic allies. He did in two days what Putin had been trying to do for nearly two decades: sow discord in NATO—the greatest military alliance in history and guarantor of European peace since WWII.
Most tellingly, in February 2018, I warned about Trump’s treasonous behavior regarding Russian ties. I noted he was behaving like a Manchurian president, and questioned what compromising information Putin might hold over him.
iPINIONS told you so, no?
The ultimate hypocrisy
I will only add that Trump led Republicans in ridiculing Obama for bowing (as a courtesy) before the king of Saudi Arabia, a longstanding US ally. Yet here we have Trump kissing (as an apostasy) the ass of the president of Russia, a longstanding US enemy.
Unfortunately, accusing Republicans of rabid hypocrisy these days is rather like accusing jihadists of rabid religiosity. In both cases, I fear only Judgment Day will bring them to their senses.
Actually, waiting for enabling Republicans — who control Congress — to back up their rhetorical outrage with legislative action would be like Waiting for Godot. So don’t hold your breath. Indeed, their spasms of outrage notwithstanding, here is what I texted to an old friend today:
The only chance they have of redeeming themselves in this world is if Republican leaders drag Trump in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot him between the eyes.
* This commentary was originally published yesterday, Monday, at 6:17 p.m.
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