The US Presidency 2018
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Altair
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Just to recap the past few months.
The President of the United States, supposed leader of the free world, has personally attacked Justin Trudeau, Elizabeth May, Angela Merkel, the G7, NATO, China, Mexico, the WTO, and when he does so, he's a tough guy, laying down the law.
When confronted with Putin, and strong evidence of Russians attempting to meddle in the US election, and asked point blank about it, and cowers like a scolded puppy.
And him and Kim are friends, don't forget. This is America right now. Frankly, unbelievable. And it's not going to get any better.
The President of the United States, supposed leader of the free world, has personally attacked Justin Trudeau, Elizabeth May, Angela Merkel, the G7, NATO, China, Mexico, the WTO, and when he does so, he's a tough guy, laying down the law.
When confronted with Putin, and strong evidence of Russians attempting to meddle in the US election, and asked point blank about it, and cowers like a scolded puppy.
And him and Kim are friends, don't forget. This is America right now. Frankly, unbelievable. And it's not going to get any better.
Altair
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The narrative Tomahawk6 is trying to push now, along with the constant misdirection, is that there is no rational opposition to the President.Remius said:
Everyone who is speaking out against him are either leftists who are biased against every action he takes, or Republican establishment types who have always been biased against him.
There is no room for those with legitimate grievances or those who support him but believe he's made a mistake.
Disagree with the President, and they are a #nevertrumper.
This is a dangerous line of thought IMHO, and Tomahawk6 sadly isn't alone in thinking like this.
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Altair said:
Tone please.
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This, reproduced under the fair dealing provisions of the Copyright Act from the Financial Times, which is one of the world's most influential newspapers, bears reading:
Opinion The FT View
Trump, Putin and the betrayal of America
The US president put in a shameful performance in Helsinki
Donald Trump’s press conference with Vladimir Putin this week is likely to go down as one of the signature moments of his presidency. In an appalling display, the US president refused to endorse the verdict of his own intelligence agencies that Russia had deliberately intervened in the 2016 US presidential election. Instead, he gave equal credit to the “extremely strong and powerful” denial of such interference issued by President Putin. Mr Trump followed this up with a baffling and self-serving rant against his domestic critics — name-checking all his usual foes from Hillary Clinton to the FBI.
This kind of display from Mr Trump is an embarrassment when it happens at home. Coming at a summit meeting with the Russian president, on foreign soil, it ranks as a betrayal of the American national interest.
Mr Trump has undermined his country and his office in a series of important ways. His performance in Helsinki made it absolutely clear that the US president places his own political survival and personal vanity above any belief in the rule-of-law. Just a few days earlier, Rod Rosenstein, America’s deputy attorney-general, had indicted 12 Russian agents accused of interfering in the 2016 election and had correctly pointed out that the indictments should not be a partisan issue. But this crucial point is lost on Mr Trump. Everything — including truth, the rule-of-law and the dignity of the US — is subordinated to his own partisan interests.
The president’s rambling and self-centred remarks also underlined the questions about his intellectual fitness for office. The contrast with the controlled, polished (and deeply cynical) performance of Mr Putin was painful to behold.
The Trump-Putin summit also raised troubling questions about the future of US foreign policy. Mr Trump arrived in Helsinki after combative and gaffe-strewn meetings with Nato allies and the British government. During his trip to Europe, he had described the EU as a “foe” on trade. But Mr Trump did not extend the same description to Russia, describing Mr Putin approvingly as a “good competitor”.
What Mr Trump did not say on stage was almost as troubling as his actual pronouncements. At no point did the president raise the question of Russia’s armed intervention in Ukraine; nor did he mention the novichok poisoning case in the UK; nor did he mention the fourth anniversary of the shooting down of flight MH17 by a Russian missile, resulting in the loss of 298 lives.
It is true that Mr Trump did not accept explicitly Russia’s annexation of Crimea — as some feared he might. But the two presidents also had an extended private meeting. Details of what was said there have yet to emerge.
The Trump administration generates controversy and outrage as a matter of course. So there can be no certainty that the justified shock about President Trump’s behaviour in Helsinki will last — or whether it will fade away, like just another episode in a reality television show.
But there are small encouraging signs that this time might be different. Even some of Mr Trump’s habitual defenders and enablers — such as Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House of Representatives — have condemned the president’s behaviour.
Senior Republicans need now to step out of the shadow of Mr Trump — and remember their party’s honourable role in crafting the bipartisan foreign policy that saw the US through the cold war. The party of Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan should recoil at President Trump’s behaviour in Helsinki. It needs to rediscover its soul, before it is too late.
Now I know thatPresident Donald Trump has some supporters here on Army.ca and I'm not trying to pick a fight ... but I agree 100% with what the FT says and, I'll bet, so do many of the most politically and economically influential people in the West.
Opinion The FT View
Trump, Putin and the betrayal of America
The US president put in a shameful performance in Helsinki
Donald Trump’s press conference with Vladimir Putin this week is likely to go down as one of the signature moments of his presidency. In an appalling display, the US president refused to endorse the verdict of his own intelligence agencies that Russia had deliberately intervened in the 2016 US presidential election. Instead, he gave equal credit to the “extremely strong and powerful” denial of such interference issued by President Putin. Mr Trump followed this up with a baffling and self-serving rant against his domestic critics — name-checking all his usual foes from Hillary Clinton to the FBI.
This kind of display from Mr Trump is an embarrassment when it happens at home. Coming at a summit meeting with the Russian president, on foreign soil, it ranks as a betrayal of the American national interest.
Mr Trump has undermined his country and his office in a series of important ways. His performance in Helsinki made it absolutely clear that the US president places his own political survival and personal vanity above any belief in the rule-of-law. Just a few days earlier, Rod Rosenstein, America’s deputy attorney-general, had indicted 12 Russian agents accused of interfering in the 2016 election and had correctly pointed out that the indictments should not be a partisan issue. But this crucial point is lost on Mr Trump. Everything — including truth, the rule-of-law and the dignity of the US — is subordinated to his own partisan interests.
The president’s rambling and self-centred remarks also underlined the questions about his intellectual fitness for office. The contrast with the controlled, polished (and deeply cynical) performance of Mr Putin was painful to behold.
The Trump-Putin summit also raised troubling questions about the future of US foreign policy. Mr Trump arrived in Helsinki after combative and gaffe-strewn meetings with Nato allies and the British government. During his trip to Europe, he had described the EU as a “foe” on trade. But Mr Trump did not extend the same description to Russia, describing Mr Putin approvingly as a “good competitor”.
What Mr Trump did not say on stage was almost as troubling as his actual pronouncements. At no point did the president raise the question of Russia’s armed intervention in Ukraine; nor did he mention the novichok poisoning case in the UK; nor did he mention the fourth anniversary of the shooting down of flight MH17 by a Russian missile, resulting in the loss of 298 lives.
It is true that Mr Trump did not accept explicitly Russia’s annexation of Crimea — as some feared he might. But the two presidents also had an extended private meeting. Details of what was said there have yet to emerge.
The Trump administration generates controversy and outrage as a matter of course. So there can be no certainty that the justified shock about President Trump’s behaviour in Helsinki will last — or whether it will fade away, like just another episode in a reality television show.
But there are small encouraging signs that this time might be different. Even some of Mr Trump’s habitual defenders and enablers — such as Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House of Representatives — have condemned the president’s behaviour.
Senior Republicans need now to step out of the shadow of Mr Trump — and remember their party’s honourable role in crafting the bipartisan foreign policy that saw the US through the cold war. The party of Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan should recoil at President Trump’s behaviour in Helsinki. It needs to rediscover its soul, before it is too late.
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Now I know thatPresident Donald Trump has some supporters here on Army.ca and I'm not trying to pick a fight ... but I agree 100% with what the FT says and, I'll bet, so do many of the most politically and economically influential people in the West.
Altair
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Sadly, and I'm not trying to be glib, but I think those politically and economically influential people in the west are going to lump into the #nevertrumper bin and dismissed.E.R. Campbell said:
I do agree with that article, and in fairness, the GOP is trying to distance itself from the President.
CNN Politics @CNNPolitics
3m
"I would say to our friends in Europe: We understand the Russian threat. And I think that is the widespread view here in the United States Senate among members of both parties," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says snappytv.com/tc/8499308
CBS News @CBSNews
1m
"I want [our allies] to understand that in this country, there are a lot of people in both parties who believe that these alliances painstakingly built in the wake of WWII are important and we want to maintain them," Senate Maj. Leader Mitch McConnell says
Sahil Kapur @sahilkapur
1m
McCONNELL won’t commit to Senate action on Russia post-Helsinki but says “there’s the possibility that we may well take up legislation related to this,” mentioning the Rubio-Van Hollen sanctions bill as an option.
MSNBC @MSNBC
now
"The Russians need to know that there are a lot of us who fully understand what happened in 2016, and it really better not happen again in 2018."
– Mitch McConnell
Elana Schor @eschor
4m
McConnell tells reporters that the prospect of a House impeachment of Rosenstein is too “farfetched” to address
McConnell is starting to break from the President and state official party line, and trying to reassure Americas allies. I do not know if it's going to be enough. Damage control needs to be implemented here, and I don't believe the President even knows that there is a problem
FJAG
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Altair said:
A major exception is VP Pence who:
https://www.mediaite.com/online/vp-mike-pence-on-putin-summit-trumps-putting-prosperity-and-security-of-america-first/
I guess the smartest move Trump ever made was selecting Pence as his running mate. Replacing Trump leaves Congress between a rock and a hard place.
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Altair said:
'President Donald Trump said Tuesday he accepts the conclusion by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia interfered in the U.S. presidential election, marking a rare reversal from comments just a day earlier.'
One
Can't
Make
This
Stuff
Up.
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Jarnhamar said:
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