Ok, so I don't even really know where to begin with this blog. What happened yesterday during the Trump/Putin Summit, was, in a word, expected....to a point. I think we all expected to some extent that the President would find ways of speaking highly of President Putin, just as he did in North Korea with their dictator. What we saw yesterday, however, was much worse than I think any of us could have imagined.
The President was given ample opportunities to condemn the actions Russia has taken over the years, demand they stop, and clearly state that if they do not stop there will be sanctions and other things put into place as a result, because the world will not put up with the types of horrible acts Russia has performed.
Trump not only refused to condemn the actions of Russia in the face of all of the facts gathered by every United States Intelligence Agency and the 12 new indictments set forth last Friday by the Mueller Investigation citing 12 specific, high level Russian military personnel who meddled in the 2016 election, he doubled down and blamed the United States for much of what is wrong between Russia and the USA.
Trump stood next to an absolute foe of the United States and lifted him up while he denigrated his own country. There are simply no words to describe how horrible a day in history it truly was. What Trump did and said was so bad, his own Director of National Intelligence put out a personal statement after the press conference, without clearing it through the White House, stating the following:
"The role of the Intelligence Community is to provide the best information and fact-based assessments possible for the President and policymakers. 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." - Dan Coats.
Probably the most memorable of statements made yesterday came from none other than John McCaine, who said the following:
"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. But it is clear that the summit in Helsinki was a tragic mistake.
John McCaine was not the only person on the Right to speak up. Paul Ryan and many others put out statements speaking out against Trump's actions during the summit. The world took a deep breath before the summit, knowing that Trump would likely do and say things that would surprise us all and give us great pause, but what the world didn't know coming into yesterday, is that Trump would throw all that the United States holds dear out the window and stand in front of the world with a tyrant, agreeing with the tyrant over his own country's intelligence agencies.
Trump refused to condemn anything Russia has done, even when very straight-forward questions were asked of him. It was disgraceful, humiliating for the United States, and is probably the greatest setback we have seen as a nation on the world scale in a very long time politically.
I cannot say anything more that would better encompass where yesterday went wrong than the words above from John McCaine. Our country is broken, and we are at a point in history where the Right and Left NEED to stand up and provide one very unified and resounding voice.
Stop denigrating the Mueller Investigation, stop denigrating the Department of Justice, and stop denigrating everyone who disagrees with you Mr. President. You are a disgrace to your office and to this country at this point, and you don't deserve to carry the title you carry. Either change your mental makeup and be presidential; standing up for this country and what makes this country great, or resign and save us from the next 2 plus years of misery and constant turmoil.
Shape up or ship out Mr. President, because right now, you are being written into the history books in a way I am sure you don't want to be remembered.
Tip of the Day to all my readers: Start every day with optimism, no matter how dire it may seem. If we start with positivity there is a much greater likelihood of positive outcomes than if we start with negativity.
'till next time!
DUNK
The President was given ample opportunities to condemn the actions Russia has taken over the years, demand they stop, and clearly state that if they do not stop there will be sanctions and other things put into place as a result, because the world will not put up with the types of horrible acts Russia has performed.
Trump not only refused to condemn the actions of Russia in the face of all of the facts gathered by every United States Intelligence Agency and the 12 new indictments set forth last Friday by the Mueller Investigation citing 12 specific, high level Russian military personnel who meddled in the 2016 election, he doubled down and blamed the United States for much of what is wrong between Russia and the USA.
Trump stood next to an absolute foe of the United States and lifted him up while he denigrated his own country. There are simply no words to describe how horrible a day in history it truly was. What Trump did and said was so bad, his own Director of National Intelligence put out a personal statement after the press conference, without clearing it through the White House, stating the following:
"The role of the Intelligence Community is to provide the best information and fact-based assessments possible for the President and policymakers. 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." - Dan Coats.
Probably the most memorable of statements made yesterday came from none other than John McCaine, who said the following:
"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. But it is clear that the summit in Helsinki was a tragic mistake.
“President Trump proved not only unable, but unwilling to stand up to Putin . He and Putin seemed to be speaking from the same script as the president made a conscious choice to defend a tyrant against the fair questions of a free press, and to grant Putin an uncontested platform to spew propaganda and lies to the world.
“It is tempting to describe the press conference as a pathetic rout — as an illustration of the perils of under-preparation and inexperience. But these were not the errant tweets of a novice politician. These were the deliberate choices of a president who seems determined to realize his delusions of a warm relationship with Putin’s regime without any regard for the true nature of his rule , his violent disregard for the sovereignty of his neighbors, his complicity in the slaughter of the Syrian people, his violation of international treaties, and his assault on democratic institutions throughout the world.
“Coming close on the heels of President Trump’s bombastic and erratic conduct towards our closest friends and allies in Brussels and Britain , today’s press conference marks a recent low point in the history of the American presidency . That the president was attended in Helsinki by a team of competent and patriotic advisers makes his blunders and capitulations all the more painful and inexplicable.
“No prior president has ever abased himself more abjectly before a tyrant. Not only did President Trump fail to speak the truth about an adversary; but speaking for America to the world, our president failed to defend all that makes us who we are — a republic of free people dedicated to the cause of liberty at home and abroad. American presidents must be the champions of that cause if it is to succeed. Americans are waiting and hoping for President Trump to embrace that sacred responsibility. One can only hope they are not waiting totally in vain. ”
John McCaine was not the only person on the Right to speak up. Paul Ryan and many others put out statements speaking out against Trump's actions during the summit. The world took a deep breath before the summit, knowing that Trump would likely do and say things that would surprise us all and give us great pause, but what the world didn't know coming into yesterday, is that Trump would throw all that the United States holds dear out the window and stand in front of the world with a tyrant, agreeing with the tyrant over his own country's intelligence agencies.
Trump refused to condemn anything Russia has done, even when very straight-forward questions were asked of him. It was disgraceful, humiliating for the United States, and is probably the greatest setback we have seen as a nation on the world scale in a very long time politically.
I cannot say anything more that would better encompass where yesterday went wrong than the words above from John McCaine. Our country is broken, and we are at a point in history where the Right and Left NEED to stand up and provide one very unified and resounding voice.
Stop denigrating the Mueller Investigation, stop denigrating the Department of Justice, and stop denigrating everyone who disagrees with you Mr. President. You are a disgrace to your office and to this country at this point, and you don't deserve to carry the title you carry. Either change your mental makeup and be presidential; standing up for this country and what makes this country great, or resign and save us from the next 2 plus years of misery and constant turmoil.
Shape up or ship out Mr. President, because right now, you are being written into the history books in a way I am sure you don't want to be remembered.
Tip of the Day to all my readers: Start every day with optimism, no matter how dire it may seem. If we start with positivity there is a much greater likelihood of positive outcomes than if we start with negativity.
'till next time!
DUNK
Comments