Trump is trying to lose the Cold War
If Hillary Clinton orBarack Obama had said what President Trump did in the last week, Republicanswould be drawing up articles of impeachment.
Trumpled off his misadventure inEurope by again trashing the democratic alliance that helped theUnited States win the Cold War. After describing the EuropeanUnion as “a foe,” he cozied up to Vladimir Putin, who has called the collapse of the SovietUnion “a disaster.” Putin could not have scripted his meeting withTrump and the subsequent news conference any more to his liking.
Merely by appearing with Putin, Trump legitimized a murderous kleptocrat who over the last four years has madeRussia a rogue nation to the civilizedworld. Trump’s capitulation came a day before the fourth anniversary of the shooting downof a Malaysian Airlines plane over Ukraine. Nearly 300 people died. All evidence points toRussia.
Trumpthen sold out theUnited States by accepting Putin’s denial of interfering in the 2016 election.
Though he back tracked Tuesday, when he spoke at the high-profile summit, Trump undercut the conclusion of every American intelligence service, theU.S. Senate and every key national security official in his administration. Trump ludicrously blamed poorU.S.-Soviet relations not on Putin’s illegal annexation of Crimea and his support for awar criminal in Syria, but on Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
YetMueller’s indictment lastweek of12 Russians provides a detailed look at how Russian intelligence agents – who operate only with Putin’s approval – sought to help Trump, Putin’s preferred candidate. They hacked Democratic accounts and tried to penetrate state elections systems, including Florida’s. They released damaging emails about Clinton. They laundered money.
Further, the indictment makes clear that this threat to our national security continues.
YetwhenTrumphad the chance to confront Putin publicly, he backed down. As with evidence that contradicts his belief on every subject from global warming to the size of his inaugural crowd, Trump ignores what he doesn’t like.
FormerCIA Director John Brennan said Trump’s performance meets the standard for “high crimes and misdemeanors,” adding that theywere “nothing short of treasonous.” AnyRepublican who does not acknowledge the outcry such actions by Clinton or Obama would have produced is being dishonest.
Trumptried to characterize the Putin meeting as a responsible resetting of relations between the twomain nuclear powers. He noted thatAmerica and the SovietUnion kept up dialogue even during the ColdWar. Wewould make two points.
First, Trump is selective in his wish for dialogue. He has overturned Obama’s opening to Cuba, which has no nuclearweapons. We are a spectator to the island’s political future.
Second, all presidents have understood the need towork withRussia when necessary. Obama did so in crafting the Iran nuclear deal and the 2010 update to the arms limitation treaty. But no president until Trump has so recklessly embraced aRussian leader.
“Republican patriots, where are you?” Brennan asked onTwitter. Sadly, but not surprisingly, many self-proclaimedGOP patriots ran for cover.
Gov. Rick Scott, who is running for the Senate, criticized Putin, but did not criticize Trump by name.
RonDeSantis, whose ads tout his backing for governor from“the BigMan himself,” blamed the election hacking on Obama.
SenateMajority Leader MitchMcConnell backed the findings of the intelligence agencies. Like Scott, however, he didn’t call out Trump.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., backedTrump’s performance. OnJuly 4, of all times, eight Republican lawmakers visited Moscow and groveled beforeRussian officials. This from the party that for decades accused Democrats of being soft on communism.
Apparently, it is enough for mostRepublican congressional leaders thatTrump gives them what theywant – right-wing Supreme Court nominees, anti-consumer deregulation and tax cutsweighted toward corporations and the rich. They can forgive all else. Rep. PeterKing, R-N.Y., at least acknowledged that accepting whatTrump called Putin’s “incredible offer” of help with the Mueller investigation “would be like bringing ISIS into a joint terrorism task force.”
Trumpbegan helping Putin even before taking office. He advocated Britain’s departure fromthe EuropeanUnion. The split helpsRussia. Brexit backers then tried to helpTrump’s campaign.
As president, Trump has pulled the United States out of a key Pacific trade deal, the Paris ClimateAccord and the Iran deal. He has invented reasons to pick fights with Western allies, weakening theUnited States and raisingRussia’s potential influence.
At one pointMonday, Trumpwinked at Putin. One doeswonder what they said in private and what leverage Put in might have overTrump. Maybe that’s actually the leastawful explanation.
The other possibility is thatTrumpwants to end the alliance that has brought so much security and prosperity since the end of WorldWar II. Whatever the reason, Trump’s actions over the lastweek prove that he is singularly unqualified to be president.
Editorials are the opinion of the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board and written by one of its members or a designee. The Editorial Board consists of Editorial Page EditorRosemary O’Hara, AndyReid and Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson.