Be careful crying ‘traitor’
Treason accusation tossed around again
Traitor!
Few words are defined so narrowly in law and used so commonly in anger, from politics to the playground.
Every nation has an infamous traitor. In Norway, he’s Vidkun Quisling, the Nazi collaborator. In Britain, he’s Kim Philby, the Soviet mole. In America, he’s Benedict Arnold, the Continental Army officer who plotted to turn West Point over to the Redcoats in the Revolutionary War.
After a news conference Monday in Finland, the term is being used in relation to the 45th president of the United States. Donald Trump, master of the political insult, finds himself on the receiving end.
“It’s the word that comes to mind after what he did, with Vladimir Putin standing next to him,” said Eric Arnesen, a George Washington University political historian. “It was so jaw-dropping that people are grasping for words to capture their sense of disbelief.”
Others are more cautious. “When I think ‘traitor,’ I think Benedict Arnold. There was evidence – letters, witnesses,” said Phillip Henderson of the Catholic University of America, an expert in political leadership. “To use the term so loosely discredits people. We should be more careful how we use it.”
After a private meeting with Putin, Trump accepted Putin’s insistence that Russia was blameless of meddling, to Trump’s benefit, in the 2016 election – contrary to findings by Trump’s intelligence agencies.
Although Trump tried Tuesday to