I was going to title this “Why?” or something more explicatory. Then I realized all I needed was the question mark and everyone would understand that the diary was about the post-Putin-Trump news.
“Why” is the question everyone is asking. Even the talking heads on Fox are puzzled about it.
Of course, there has to be a reason why Trump has sold out the United States to Putin. The facile dismissive explanation offered by the president that this is in the best interest of America is far beyond implausible.
While none of the reasons I could think of are necessarily mutually exclusive, I cannot think of any others. The first two are feasible, alone or in combination. The others have to be included because even though the last two are the stuff of TV shows like Scandal and other conspiratorial tales I’m trying not to rule out any possibility.
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Thomas Friedman in his OpEd in “Trump and Putin vs. America” in last night’s NY Times put it succinctly (emphasis added):
There is overwhelming evidence that our president, for the first time in our history, is deliberately or through gross negligence or because of his own twisted personality engaged in treasonous behavior — behavior that violates his oath of office to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
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I’ll break down what Friedman says further. Below are the alternatives I came up with Perhaps you can come up with other explanations. Regardless, please take to poll so we can all see what readers think.
1) Putin has something seriously comprising which he can use against Trump, something that is so damaging it would destroy his presidency, not merely besmirch his reputation. This could be damaging enough to assure impeachment. It could be so damaging that it could lead to criminal prosecution and prison. Something so horrendous that Pence wouldn’t dare pardon him, or it could be a non-federal crime which would land him in state prison.
2) Trump's personality is so disordered that he bends reality to conform to what he wants to believe even if there is strong factual evidence from the very most credible sources to contradict these beliefs.
3) For reasons the precise nature of which are open to speculation Trump is under some kind of thrall
(def. 2) to Putin.
4) Because of physical cognitive deterioration, Trump is unable to consistently think clearly and rationally.
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Moving into conspiracyland
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5) Trump was recruited years ago and has been a sleeper Russian agent. Who knows, like in
The Americans, perhaps his parents were the deep cover sleeper agents and initiated their son like
Elizabeth and Philip Jennings did with their daughter Paige.
Pressed on why his political enemies have been attacked, Putin quipped: “Well, first of all, all of us have plenty of political rivals. I'm pretty sure President Trump has plenty of political rivals.”
Wallace shot back: “But they don't end up dead.”
“Haven't presidents been killed in the United States?” Putin replied. “Have you forgotten about -- well, has [President John F.] Kennedy been killed in Russia or in the United States? Or [Dr. Martin Luther] King? What -- and what happens to the clashes between police and, well, civil society, and some -- several ethnic groups? Well, that's something that happens on the U.S. soil. All of us have our own set of domestic problems.”
Can you imagine what message this would send if Putin said something along these lines to Trump?
Tuesday, Jul 17, 2018 · 1:52:33 PM +00:00
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HalBrown
CJB’s comment gave me this idea:
We could even propose a Manchurian Candidate scenario where he was drugged and given post-hypnotic suggestions when he was with the prostitutes in Moscow. He could have been activated when he was meeting alone with Putin. Perhaps Putin showed him a queen of diamonds.