Denial and Appeasement
By
Leonard Zwelling
The news conference was shocking even if Mr. Trump is trying to walk it all back reading from notes today.
The President of the United States (I know, it’s still shocking that the title belongs to Donald Trump) stood side by side with the President of Russia and claimed that the Russians had not hacked into our election process. With these words, Mr. Trump throws his support for the truth behind that of the Russian dictator rather than that of his own intelligence services. This is frightening enough. Like an infant, Mr. Trump is still touting his defeat of Hillary Clinton 20 months after the fact and the testimony of an FBI agent with political opinions as being a disgrace. The disgrace is Mr. Trump.
At some point, the members of Congress, particularly the Republican members like John McCain will have to determine if this display of capitulation to a true enemy of freedom is sufficient to warrant the drafting of articles of impeachment. Although, I must also add, I would wait for the results of the Mueller probe because I really believe that there will be unearthed high crimes and misdemeanors of a clear nature by members of Mr. Trump’s inner circle, including his own children.
I think the scenario is starting to take shape and the end game is afoot.
First, there can be little doubt now that the Russians have something on Trump. It could be dirty pictures. It could be loans of a huge nature with exorbitant interest rates. Hell, Putin may have his tax return for all I know. Regardless, Putin has something on Trump.
Second, there can be little doubt that the Russians were working hand in hand with members of the Trump inner circle to undermine the candidacy of Hillary Clinton and that this work may well have been determinative in the election. It is true. It shouldn’t have been close. But it was for a whole host of reasons, not the least of which is that Hillary was a lousy candidate who probably broke the law herself. I believe another one of those reasons was help for Trump from the Russians.
Third, there is no longer an American presence that can offset the Russian drive for power in Europe and the NATO alliance is nervous and ought to be. American leadership is everything to the continuing freedom of Western Europe. This is no time to allow Russian land grabs to go unopposed.
America has reached a new low in its relationship with the rest of the world. The New World Order President Bush 41 referred to is over. It’s everyone for himself now and Trump is convinced this is good for the United States. It is not.
The Trump performance is reminiscent of that of Neville Chamberlain. Trump is treating Putin as Chamberlain treated Hitler. This cannot stand and will not. Either this continues and Russia becomes even more aggressive or a Winston Churchill will arise in the west and oppose the “Evil Empire” once again as Ronald Reagan once did.
Many people find me an alarmist. I recall that when the new president of MD Anderson declared his vows to cure five cancers in 2011 and I said that this was dangerous and delusional, members of the Board of Visitors swooned at the daring of the new leader. I cringed at his naivite.
I am cringing again. Mr. Trump has set us on a dangerous course of denial and appeasement that will only lead to greater Russian aggression. Congress needs to step in—Democrats and Republicans alike. Impeach him now or wait for Mueller. I am just afraid that Trump’s next move will be to fire Mueller, have Rosenstein resign and put in place Trey Gowdy as the new Attorney General.
You heard it here first.
