Russian President Vladimir Putin called his July 16 summit with 72-year-old President Donald Trump a success, not because he one-upped Trump because he saw a new beginning for U.S.-Russian relations. Putin commented that forces in the U.S press and opposing political party [Democrats] want Trump to fail for political reasons before the November Midterm elections. Unlike the U.S. press that does the bidding to the Democrat Party, Putin has no ax to grind other than finding ways to put U.S.-Russian relations on an even keel. When you consider the vitriol from Democrats and press following the July 16 summit, it shows how politicized the U.S. press has become in the era of divided government. Democrats and the press accuse Trump of “undermining democracy,” when today’s toxic political atmosphere does more to upend democracy than anything done by Putin.
When Special Counsel Robert Mueller indicted 12 Russian GRU military intelligence operatives for hacking the emails of the Democratic National Committee [DNC] and Hillary’s former campaign chairman John Podesta, Democrats cheered. Trump created an uproar when he said he didn’t know why Putin “would” meddle in the 2016 election. Trump clarified he actually meant “wouldn’t,” meaning relations between the U.S. and Russia were so bad, of course meddling could happen. But the real issue is whether Russia’s meddling had any effect on the 2016 election, something debated on both sides. Trump doesn’t disagree that Russian meddling took place in 2016. He disagrees that it had any measurable effect on the 2016 election. Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s July 13 indictments don’t mean that the Russian hacking changed the outcome of the presidential vote.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had plenty of credibility problems with her email scandal before-and-during the 2016 campaign. When she lost the election Nov. 8, 2016 to Trump, she blamed former FBI Director James Comey for reopening the email investigation only 10 days before the election. After the election, Hillary starting blaming Moscow, knowing how the GRU military intel unit hacked the DNC and Podesta emails. Putin told Chris Wallace July 16, in a one-hour interview, that all hacked information was factual about Hillary. Without outright admitting that the GRU did it, he acknowledged that the information hacked was accurate, including that the DNC sabotaged the campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and that former interim DNC Chairman Donna Brazille gave Hillary CNN debate questions before her debate with Trump.
Putin was brutally honest about the real culprits undermining democracy in the United States. “Certain forces [Democrat Party] are trying to disavow the results of the meeting in Helsinki,” said Putin, calling out the Democrat Party and press for sabotaging Trump’s summit. Calling U.S.-Russian relations “in some ways worse than during the Cold War,” Putin refused to take the wrap for undermining U.S. democracy. Democrats and the press accused Trump of “treason” because he seemed to question the findings of the U.S. intel community. Trump questioned the intel community in 2003 when the same agencies insisted that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein possessed a dangerous arsenal of biologic, chemical and nuclear weapons. Those same intel officials were 100% certain that Saddam possessed stockpiles of WMD. When that proved false, the U.S. intel community had egg on its face.
If Trump has difficulty trusting the intel community, it’s because they’ve had their share of blunders since the Iraq War. When you consider the intel community was wiretapping Trump’s campaign in 2016, it makes you wonder why. When the intel community, including the FBI, DOJ and NSA, cite Hillary’s opposition research called “the dossier” as probable cause to investigate Trump, it sounds as bad as its declarations about Saddam’s WMD. Many lawmaker call for Trump’s translator to be questioned under oath to ascertain the contents of Trump’s summit with Putin. While executive privilege will stop that from happening, it shows the extent to which, as Putin points out, forces seek to sabotage the summit. Putin agreed to help Trump’s efforts to disarm North Korea and provide a better buffer zone for Israel from Iranians and Hezbollah encroachment in the Golan Heights.
When you consider all the ways Putin can help critical parts of U.S. foreign policy, it makes you wonder what Democrats and press want trying to sabotage the summit. What Democrats and press can’t stomach is that former President Barack Obama had horrible relations with Moscow during his eight years in office. Hillary promised in the 2016 campaign to set up no-fly zones in Syria, threatening to shoot down Russian jets if they violate the air space. Hillary’s position was endorsed by Sen. John McCain (R-Az.), both backed the seven-year-old Saudi proxy war to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Trump said yesterday Democrats and the press seek WW III with Russia, expecting him to aggressively confront Putin. With all the belligerent talk against Russia on Capitol Hill, it makes you wonder what they expect to get by confronting the Russian Federation.
