Sheila Markin is a former Assistant US Attorney. She helps people to understand in plain English what is going on in US politics today. Subscribe to the blog so you don’t miss a post!
Donald Trump went to the G-7 Summit in Canada and had a hissy fit. Smiles aside for the photo ops, Trump pointedly thumbed his nose at our allies. He arrived late to the morning meeting, then left the summit early to get to Asia for what he is hyping as the more important big reality TV event with Kim Jung Un. As the wheels went up on Air Force One, Trump tweeted out that he would not sign the agreement that had been worked on by his staff in conjunction with the other members of the summit. He claimed that Trudeau had dissed him. Even though that was not so.
People are beginning to catch on to the idea that Trump is doing Putin’s bidding. Not only did Trump say that Russia should be included in the G-7 meetings (Russia was kicked out of these summits after invading Crimea but pretending they didn’t), but he also wreaked havoc with our allies by showing up late, leaving early and then withdrawing support for the agreement they had reached. Trump is acting like a petulant baby for all the world to see. He is a total embarrassment. Someone needs to put this baby in the corner. We need a check on this self-proclaimed wannabe banana republic styled dictator.
We know that Republicans are too cowed and too bought by big money (some from Russian oligarchs by-the-way) to put a check on the president. Paul Ryan rose up briefly from his fainting couch to say that he agreed with Trey Gowdy that there was no spy in the Trump campaign. But after being attacked by a Trump loyalist on Fox News, Ryan lay back down in defeat. “No collusion. No collusion,” he said, falling in line again and returning to the talking points of the Trumpists.
Let’s get real here. There IS evidence of collusion. Seeking something of value from a foreign power to win an election is illegal. We do not yet know how extensive the criminal behavior was. But there were acts in furtherance of a conspiracy to defraud this country of a fair election. We have the Trump Tower meeting with Russians offering dirt on Hillary. We have the Papadopoulos’s meeting with the Russian offering dirt on Hillary. And we have Trump’s open behavior during the campaign, loving Wikileaks, asking the Russians to come up with more email dirt on Hillary. We have circumstantial evidence of corroboration in the timing of the release of damaging emails by Wikileaks. We have evidence of Cambridge Analytica weaponizing Facebook and targeting specific voters in key states. We have evidence of reciprocity with Manafort acting to change the Republican platform to go easy on Russia when it comes to the Ukraine. We have evidence of Flynn trying to lift sanctions on Russia. We have evidence of efforts to get a secret back channel to Russia.
Paul Ryan’s statement that there is no collusion is just plain WRONG. It is a lie. Republicans are failing to stand up to protect our country over and over again.
Remember how Mitt Romey had a moment of courage when he called out Trump during the campaign? Well, guess who just rolled over and played dead now? Mitt Romey just predicted that Trump will win in 2020 and asserted that the Dems will put up someone who is too far to the left for the American people to stomach. I cannot stomach this insanity. Can you?
Who will put this baby in the corner?!
There is a new Wall Street Journal poll that may be a leading indicator. 48% of voters say they are “more likely to vote for a candidate who would be a check on Trump” in the 2018 elections. 23% would be less likely to vote for someone who would be a check on Trump. In addition, 50% of voters now favor Democrats. 40% favor Republicans. That is a 10-point difference despite an apparently excellent economy.
Most Americans are sick of all this drama: his rage tweets, his mean girl melt downs. We are suffering from Trump fatigue. Americans may not be following every twist and turn in the Mueller investigation, but they do understand the rampant corruption, the endless disinformation and lies, the deep threats to our democracy and free press, the violations of international law at the Mexican border taking children away from their parents as a deterrent to immigration and refugees, the ruination of our environment, the corrupt influence of the NRA, and Trump’s horrible behavior on the world stage. All of this is taking its toll. More and more American voters are sick of the insanity we get with this administration every single day.
Americans voters are gearing up for 2018. It’s up to us. We know what we need to do. WE gotta put baby in the corner.