We grow weary of Trump’s blatant lies. But maybe John Kelly’s discomfort was with the protein shortage at breakfast.
Note in the transcript below that he defaults to his usual construction where an obvious falsehood is preceded by “You know, everybody is talking about it all over the world. ”
Remember that “the US intelligence community was correct to assess that Putin had tried to help Trump”
It may be ineffective or counterproductive to shout out each day, “Where’s the outrage?” Yet the public record remains: Trump and Putin have jointly worked to disappear perhaps the greatest crime ever committed against American democracy and their respective complicity in this villainy. And it is crucial for the Republic that they not succeed.
Eighty years later, a similar observation can be rendered concerning the United States. Much of the political and media elite and the citizenry seem to be sleepwalking past a horrific and fundamental fact: The current president of the United States has helped to cover up a serious attack on the nation. This profound act of betrayal has gone unpunished and, in many quarters, unnoticed, even as it continues. With Donald Trump about to meet Vladimir Putin on Monday—rewarding the thuggish authoritarian Russian leader with a grand summit in Helsinki—this is an appropriate moment to remember that their dark bromance involves a mutual stonewalling of wrongdoing.
Trump (still) simply doesn’t know what NATO does, as he confabulates military security and economic trade.
But maybe Trump as a stable genius, and not unlike any mobster, can see international alliances as only a neighborhood protection racket, complete with vigorish (выигрыш vyigrysh).
In times of war or crisis, power is easily stolen from the many by the few on a promise of security. The more elusive or imaginary the foe, the better for manufacturing consent."
PRESIDENT TRUMP:
Well, I have to say, I think it's very sad when Germany makes a massive oil and gas deal with Russia, where you're supposed to be guarding against Russia, and Germany goes out and pays billions and billions of dollars a year to Russia. So we're protecting Germany. We're protecting France. We're protecting all of these countries. And then numerous of the countries go out and make a pipeline deal with Russia, where they're paying billions of dollars into the coffers of Russia.
So we're protect you against Russia, but they're paying billions of dollars to Russia, and I think that's very inappropriate. And the former Chancellor of Germany is the head of the pipeline company that's supplying the gas. Ultimately, Germany will have almost 70 percent of their country controlled by Russia with natural gas.
So you tell me, is that appropriate? I mean, I've been complaining about this from the time I got in. It should have never been allowed to have happened. But Germany is totally controlled by Russia, because they will be getting from 60 to 70 percent of their energy from Russia and a new pipeline. And you tell me if that's appropriate, because I think it's not, and I think it's a very bad thing for NATO and I dont think it should have happened. And I think we have to talk to Germany about it.
On top of that, Germany is just paying a little bit over 1 percent, whereas the United States, in actual numbers, is paying 4.2 percent of a much larger GDP. So I think that's inappropriate also. You know, we're protecting Germany, we're protecting France. We're protecting everybody. And yet we're paying a lot of money to protect.
Now, this has been going on for decades. This has been brought up by other presidents. But other presidents never did anything about it because I dont think they understood it or they just didnt want to get involved.
But I have to bring it up, because I think it's very unfair to our country. It's very unfair to our taxpayer. And I think that these countries have to step it up not over a 10-year period; they have to step it up immediately. Germany is a rich country. They talk about they're going to increase it a tiny bit by 2030. Well, they could increase it immediately tomorrow and have no problem. I dont think it's fair to the United States.
So we're going to have to do something because we're not going to put up with it. We can't put up with it. And it's inappropriate.
So we have to talk about the billions and billions of dollars that's being paid to the country that we're supposed to be protecting you against. You know, everybody is talking about it all over the world. They'll say, well, wait a minute, we're supposed to be protecting you from Russia, but why are you paying billions of dollars to Russia for energy? Why are countries in NATO, namely Germany, having a large percentage of their energy needs paid to Russia and taken care of by Russia?
Now, if you look at it, Germany is a captive of Russia because they supply. They got rid of their coal plants. They got rid of their nuclear. They're getting so much of the oil and gas from Russia. I think it's something that NATO has to look at. I think it's very inappropriate. You and I agree that it's inappropriate. I dont know what you can do about it now, but it certainly doesnt seem to make sense that they paid billions of dollars to Russia and now we have to defend them against Russia.
publicpool.kinja.com/...
Because the Trump regime bears a family resemblance to a “transnational organized crime outfit”?