Ever since Robert Mueller indicted thirteen Russians for interfering in the 2016 election, Donald Trump has been acting like he's finally losing his marbles.
Lashing out at just about everybody.
President Trump lashed out with fresh anger about the intensifying Russia probe over the weekend, accusing Democrats of enabling a foreign adversary to interfere in the 2016 election and attacking the FBI as well as his own national security adviser.
From his own staff to Oprah.
At everybody that is except the Russians.
Which has some like Thomas Friedman asking the obvious question, what is Trump hiding?
President Trump is either totally compromised by the Russians or is a towering fool, or both, but either way he has shown himself unwilling or unable to defend America against a Russian campaign to divide and undermine our democracy.
That is, either Trump’s real estate empire has taken large amounts of money from shady oligarchs linked to the Kremlin — so much that they literally own him; or rumors are true that he engaged in sexual misbehavior while he was in Moscow running the Miss Universe contest, which Russian intelligence has on tape and he doesn’t want released; or Trump actually believes Russian President Vladimir Putin when he says he is innocent of intervening in our elections — over the explicit findings of Trump’s own C.I.A., N.S.A. and F.B.I. chiefs.
And drawing the obvious conclusions:
In sum, Trump is either hiding something so threatening to himself, or he’s criminally incompetent to be commander in chief.
But whatever it is, Trump is either trying so hard to hide it or is so naïve about Russia that he is ready to not only resist mounting a proper defense of our democracy, he’s actually ready to undermine some of our most important institutions, the F.B.I. and Justice Department, to keep his compromised status hidden. That must not be tolerated.
This is code red. The biggest threat to the integrity of our democracy today is in the Oval Office.
And to make matters even worse, whether Americans think that Trump is a traitor or an idiot, or just senile.
I'm sure that most of them would agree that he's probably going to need a good lawyer.
And sadly for him he doesn't have one.
For if Michael Cohen believes this:
And answers his critics in this manner:
It's not hard to imagine where Trump is going.
He could run...
He could hide.
But he could not escape the truth...
How many foreign elections has the US interfered in?
ReplyDeleteYou say that like this is "karma"? That the whole world deserved to be put under the yoke of Russian fascism by default, with their manipulation of the American election, and for that reason alone we should shrug our shoulders and say, "how many foreign elections has U.S. interfered in"? As though this is deserved payback for America's sins? How much is Emperor Vladputine paying you to shake your keyboard at Yankee bourgeois imperialists and their pitiful rebellion, Comrade Darth Boris?
DeleteI find your lack of global awareness disturbing. You do know Russia won't stop with the U.S., right? What about Brexit? What about the phony "Macron Leaks" published by Rebel Media because Putin wanted his girl Le Pen to win the French election, and so did the raging Islamophobe nutcase Ezra Levant and some of his far-right fanboys in Québec (like the mosque shooter himself)? Putin HATES Chrystia Freeland for exposing his circle of ruthless oligarchs in her book Sale of the Century, and despises Trudeau for welcoming in Chechen gay refugees. You don't think he's got a dog in the fight in Canada? He's got a whole brood of Siberian Huskies!
Not to mention, I certainly wouldn't underestimate the craven willingness of the Maple Republicans to follow the same path as the G.O.P., and align themselves with the most lowlife scumbags in the world if they ever got desperate enough to unseat Trudeau. The U.S. far-left has proven their potential as useful idiots in terms of the Sanders/Stein wing, so don't count out the Dippers being made disposable pawns up north too.
Trump, Russia and the G.O.P. need to be stopped. Fingerpointing and whataboutery helps no one ward off arguably one of the most serious threats to democracy everywhere in the world. This is not the time to rail about the C.I.A. sending exploding cigars to Castro, or Henry Ford publishing newsletters that Hitler read, or even George Bush's cronies aiding and abetting the stealth coup of Stephen Harper. This is a time to focus on the here and now. Stop Trump, stop the G.O.P., and for the love of democracy and the future of the planet, stop Vladimir Putin!
Hi anon@10:06... I'm sure the U.S. has interfered in some elections, but never on a scale like this one, or the ones in Europe. And since Russia is a fascist country, nothing can excuse what they have done, and nothing can make Trump appear less than a traitor...
Deletehi Jackie...I agree with you:
DeleteThis is not the time to rail about the C.I.A. sending exploding cigars to Castro, or Henry Ford publishing newsletters that Hitler read, or even George Bush's cronies aiding and abetting the stealth coup of Stephen Harper. This is a time to focus on the here and now. Stop Trump, stop the G.O.P., and for the love of democracy and the future of the planet, stop Vladimir Putin!
There is a time and a place for everything, but those "progressive" snowflakes just don't get it. Now is not the time to cut our own throats...
He is definitely hiding something Simon. Innocent people do not go to the absurd lengths he has gone to in providing cover for himself and his beloved Russia.
ReplyDeleteI think now would be the perfect time for Mueller to subpoena his bank and tax records without fear of being fired because he's close, the screws are tightening, the orangutan is cornered and no amount of bullshit will save him now.
This farce of a presidency is in fact a reality show now and Trump is desperate to avoid being voted off the Island or hitting closer to home, being told, "you're fired!"
JD
hi JD...I haven't the slightest doubt that Trump is hiding something. As the pressure mounts he's slowly becoming undone, and sounding too desperate to be innocent. And whether it's some corrupt financial dealings, or some depraved sexual scandal, I'm sure that when the truth is finally revealed, it won't be pretty. But it will be the end of Trump's disgusting regime. The new generation is rising, and they will take no prisoners...
DeleteA great many.
ReplyDeletehi lagatta...yes, no doubt it has. But after that what?
DeleteThe Mueller probe was started to investigate "collusion". Notice how no one ever says exactly what that is? Everyone knows its the Wikileaks. So why no investigation of how this happened? Who leaked/hacked. The NSA knows, Kimdotcom says he knows. Why has this point not been settled. If you can charge a Russian with lying on social media, hacking the DNC server should be a slamp dunk.
ReplyDeleteThe Russians are not denying they tried to sow discord in the United States, DUH! The US spends tens of billions of electronic surveillance, are we supposed to expect a known troll farm was allowed to operate since 2014 and no one thought to stop it?
Its clearer every day that there was no collusion. What Trump is hiding is very likely a mountain of plain brown envelopes. A sex scandal cant touch him.
The complete manipulation of the people with the collusion false narrative will be clear in the end. Then the outrage will hit a crescendo and Trump wins.
Mueller's mandate is to investigate “any links... between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump." There is ample public information of financial links between Trump and Russians close to the Russian government, and Mueller can be expected to examine the details of those links. Mueller is playing his cards very close to his chest and so it's not surprising that he hasn't said whether there was collusion, and if so, in what form.
DeleteFrom what we know, Mueller is investigating three broad areas:
1. A possible conspiracy between members of the Trump campaign and the Russian government to influence the outcome of the 2016 election.
2. Possible illegal campaign contributions from Russia to the Trump campaign, including contributions in kind.
3. Possible obstruction of justice.
It's far from clear that there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and people working on behalf of the Russian government, indeed a series of meetings between Russian officials and people like Flynn, Sessions, Manafort, Gates, Page, Cohen and Don Jr. indicate otherwise. Why meet with Russians at all if no deal was in the works? As even a hack like Friedman can see, Trump's behaviour is highly suspicious. I'm surprised you can't see the implications for the US should their president be subject to Russian manipulation.
Hi Steve...dream on. Wikileaks is indeed a central player in this treasonous play, and who can forget Trump egging them on? For that alone he deserves life in prison. And what makes you so sure there was no collusion. I would wait until the investigation is over. But it's already clear that Trump is the only one who benefited from the activities of that massive troll farm, so under no circumstance can he be considered innocent...
Deletehi anon@4:42 PM...I think you summed up the situation well. Nobody has ever claimed that the U.S. is a perfect society, and goodness knows it isn't. But it's still a better and freer place to live in than Putin's Russia. And what him and his shadowy goons are doing doesn't just threaten the U.S. and the European democracies, it threatens this country as well. And having a Putin stooge in the White House threatens our very survival...
DeleteFreidman doesn't consider another possibility: Trump was happy that Putin was attacking Clinton. For him it was all personal.
ReplyDeletehi anon...I don't think Friedman had to mention that, for that at least was obvious. As I mentioned above, who can forget the day Trump urged Wikileaks to go after Clinton's e-mails. And was given a standing ovation by his gang of redneck traitors. Maybe it was all personal, but he can tell that one to the judge...
Deleteanonymouse:
ReplyDeleteKarma is a bitch, but it doesn't make Trump any less guilty .
hi rumleyfips...yes, the truth in just twelve words. Honestly, how can any decent person excuse Trump's behaviour?
DeleteA favorite propaganda ploy the Cons love is to take two unrelated or false simplistic statements and spoon feed the false conclusion. Its not often the rest of us are presented with simplistic, related, generally factual statements we can use to make a counter point. Issues are usually more complex and false statements do not improve anything.
ReplyDeleteSo here goes .. two statements and a conclusion that raises many questions. 1) Putin's Russia supported Trump's political campaigns 2)Trumps primary goal is to make America Great Again. Therefore Putin supports an even greater America although he must realize that political parties change and an even stronger more powerful America could be dogging his every move in the future. Its unlikely that he would take this chance so there has to be more! Perhaps he is desperate and is buying time, perhaps he knows Trump will diminish America, perhaps he believes Trump's policies will never be replaced. There is certainly more to the story and Trump is either complicit, egotistically blind, or following someone else's agenda.
RT
hi RT...yes, you're right to point out the central contradiction at the heart of this story. Putin wanted Trump not Clinton elected. Which is fine. But he didn't want to make American great again. I tend to favour the theory that Putin got more than he bargained for, and that all he wanted was to make life difficult for Clinton for having accused him of rigging a Russian election. But since he succeeded beyond his wildest dreams, he's sure to try it again, in the U.S., or Europe, or Canada. And that's what makes Trump a simpering stooge, and makes Putin so dangerous...
DeleteWikilieaks telling the truth is now treason. Are you down on Edward Snowden as well?
ReplyDeleteOpinion | Who Still Thinks Russia Didn’t Meddle in the Election?
ReplyDeletehttps://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/20/opinion/russia-election-trump.html
Hi Simon
ReplyDeleteI agree a major objective was Clinton revenge and they did not think the idiot would win. They were bracing for defeat and both Trump and the trolls were busy pushing the story of election rigging to delegitimize Clinton's win. Of course all that changed when the FBI reopened the missing email investigation, and the rest is history. In Fire & Fury, Bannon stated that Melania was shocked and cried in despair when he won. Did she have a premonition of what was to follow?
RT