General Discussion

NRaleighLiberal

(60,014 posts) Mon Jul 16, 2018, 02:43 PM Jul 2018

NYT - Friedman - "Trump and Putin vs America"

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/16/opinion/trump-and-putin-vs-america.html?WT.nav=opinion-c-col-left-region&action=click&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-left-region&pgtype=Homepage&region=opinion-c-col-left-region

A few nuggets (not the beginning, and snips in between)

Everything that happened in Helsinki today only reinforces that conclusion. My fellow Americans, we are in trouble and we have some big decisions to make today. This was a historic moment in the entire history of the United States.

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.”

To watch an American resident dis his own intelligence agencies, blame both sides for the Russian hacking of our election — and deliberately try to confuse the fact that there is still no solid proof of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia with the fact that Russia had its own interest in trying to defeat the anti-Putin Hillary Clinton — actually made me sick to my stomach. I completely endorse the former C.I.A. director John O. Brennan’s tweet after the news conference:

I am not given to conspiracy theories, but I cannot help wondering if the first thing Trump said to Putin in their private one-on-one meeting in Helsinki, before their aids were allowed to enter, was actually: “Vladimir, we’re still good, right? You and me, we’re still good?”

And that Putin answered: “Donald, you have nothing to worry about. Just keep being yourself. We’re still good.”