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"There Is a Reason We Tried to Kill This": After Helsinki, the Deep State Fears Trump Cannot Be Sav
There Is a Reason We Tried to Kill This: After Helsinki, the Deep State Fears Trump Cannot Be Saved
As John Bolton grapples with the fallout from the presidents harrowing performance in Finland, the analysts and experts who comprise the national-security apparatus brace themselves for what might come next. The president might think its us being Deep-Staters, but the reality is we were trying to protect him, says a Trump administration official. It was a bad idea from all sides.
by Abigail Tracy
July 19, 2018 4:28 pm
.
As much as official Washington has become numb to the daily offenses of Donald Trump, there was something uniquely disturbing about the presidents transgressions in Helsinki. After months of combating Trumps attempts to align himself with Vladimir Putin, the president was alone and unguarded with the man he had long sought to meet. National Security Adviser John Bolton, among other Russia hawks, had traveled with Trump to Finland in preparation for the summit. But when Trump and Putin entered the gilded Hall of State at the Presidential Palace for a joint press conference, the result was a shocking display of servility. Repudiating the hardline positions of his aides and advisers, Trump exonerated Putin for hacking the 2016 electionand put the blame on foolish Americans for driving the United States and Russia apart.
Days later, insiders who know Bolton are still struggling to explain how the man whos advocated violent regime change in Iraq, Iran, and North Korea could have allowed his boss to bend the knee before one of Americas greatest geopolitical adversaries. Im stumped, said a former high-ranking State Department official. The John Bolton I remember from the past was a strong hawk. So either hes changed, or the president isnt listening to him or taking his advice on how to deal with Russia. A second erstwhile colleague, also a former senior State Department official, concurred. The John Bolton I know would have been more horrified than I am over what happened, this person told me. I mean, he must just be pulling his forelock practically out of his head in order to maintain the Oh youre so great and Mr. President, oh youre the best. Thats the only thing that works with this birdbrain, and he must be doing it over and over and over again.
Bolton isnt the only senior Trump adviser who has been sidelined or subordinated. Defense Secretary James Mattis, an outspoken critic of Moscow, has not appeared in public or made any comments since Mondays press conference, and the Pentagon has been unable to answer questions about the summit. Top military officials remain largely in the dark about what Trump and Putin discussed. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said Thursday that he [doesnt] know what happened in that meeting and wouldve suggested a different way.
Meanwhile, in Foggy Bottom, the mood has only darkened since the president attempted to clarify his remarks made in Helsinki. It was so transparently false and done under duress, a current State Department official told me. This is uncharted territory in terms of figuring out how you proceed on a whole number of issues when the leadership has gone so completely awry. It is just so stupid and senseless. No one seems to have any idea what to do or pursue following the meeting. (A spokesperson for the National Security Council told me that they are still reviewing the discussion between President Trump and President Putin, considering possible next steps, and have nothing further to announce at this time.).......................
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"There Is a Reason We Tried to Kill This": After Helsinki, the Deep State Fears Trump Cannot Be Sav (Original Post)
riversedge
Jul 2018
OP
Who would've thought that so many are upset that a shadowy deep state would not have removed Trump?
gordianot
Jul 2018
#2
SamKnause
(13,043 posts)1. I don't want Trump to be saved !!!!
I want him to be totally destroyed !!!!
Fuck off and die Trump !!!!
gordianot
(15,226 posts)2. Who would've thought that so many are upset that a shadowy deep state would not have removed Trump?
Here is finally a real honest existential foreign threat with a compromised traitor in America's highest office that still consumes oxygen.
hlthe2b
(101,730 posts)3. What is the source (link) for the Abigail Tracey article? Not Vanity Fair it appears?
or at least not that linked in the tweet????
KY_EnviroGuy
(14,483 posts)4. See...
There Is a Reason We Tried to Kill This: After Helsinki, the Deep State Fears Trump Cannot Be Saved
by Abigail Tracy
July 19, 2018 4:28 pm
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/07/donald-trump-john-bolton-helsinki-summit-russia
...........
by Abigail Tracy
July 19, 2018 4:28 pm
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/07/donald-trump-john-bolton-helsinki-summit-russia
...........
hlthe2b
(101,730 posts)5. thanks!
lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)6. Thanks - was trying to figure that out myself.
lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)7. Some strongly worded anonymous opinions from ex-staffers.
Not enough to fix the problem, I'm afraid.
Midnight Writer
(21,548 posts)8. Bolton has his own Russia problem.