BY VERN TURNER
July 16, 2018, a day which will live in infamy, saw the president of the United States give comfort to the enemy, an enemy that attacked our basic tenets of democracy. That enemy, Russia, wantonly hacked into our political systems to affect the outcome of our presidential election. That is proven fact.
Yet, our president, perhaps the most ridiculous person on Earth, sold out our intelligence community and openly floated conspiracy theories about Hillary Clinton’s e-mails in response to questions asking about resisting Putin’s directives. Besides being an utter disgrace and gross embarrassment for the good people of this country, Donald Trump showed the world how beholden he is to Vladimir Putin, a murderer and dictator.
When Putin was asked the direct question – “Do you have compromising evidence that you could use against Donald Trump?” – he actually giggled and responded with: “Now why would I do something like that?” Trump, meanwhile, stood their smirking.
I’m not making this up. It was there for all the world to see.
When asked if he directed activities to help Trump get elected president, Putin, unhesitatingly responded “Da.” He said that he directed the activity to interfere with our election. No evasive language. Just straight-forward, in-your-face arrogance from the man who is killing opposition politicians, opposition reporters and ex-patriots around the world who might be – or were – sowing the seeds of discontent and opposition to Putin’s tyranny.
This is the man that our president worships, adores and favors over our own intelligence community and every other citizen who opposes him. It is clear that Donald Trump is without a moral compass, absent any idea about our national values, has noidea about governing and is totally devoid of any glimmer of respect for any American not named Donald Trump.
Donald Trump is doing more every day to destroy relationships – both diplomatically and economically – with our longest-term friends and our largest and best trading partners. Why would he do that? Oh. Right. I remember. It’s all Obama’s fault.
Trump’s Obama Derangement Syndrome is now entering a new phase, it seems: Rebuke everything Obama even thought about doing and embrace the “strong and powerful” leaders who intend us harm. This isn’t deal-making. This is pure pathological narcissism taken to the criminal levels of treason.
The Trump family emulates something like the Corleone family from The Godfather. They are doing everything a criminal enterprise does and acting guilty without remorse with every utterance. They are employing more lawyers than can fill a sports complex. Why? Well, the old adage of where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
Trump’s refusal to show his tax returns is indicative of his complicity with shady or flat-out illegal dealings with a variety of other parties. His constant lie production is a clear indication that he is trying to weasel out of responsibilities, deflecting criminal investigations, simply exhibiting the depth of his pathology, or all of these.
Trump’s disgraceful performance in Helsinki was preceded by almost equally disgraceful performances at NATO and in England. But in Helsinki, Trump offered comfort to our enemy, thus constituting a treasonous act.
Witnesses? The whole damned world saw him suck up to Putin at the expense and debasement of his own country and its people. That’s what traitors do.
I titled this piece the “Surrender Summit” because it was our very own president who surrendered our national dignity, our place as a leader in the free world and our credibility with those countries who used to be our allies. He gave it up willingly and immediately. He didn’t even blink as he was giving us away and while Putin stood there doing is best to keep from laughing out loud. He and his cabinet did that afterwards.
So, here we are, my fellow Americans, in a unique international predicament and a national emergency – as Michael Beschloss said on Rachel Maddow’s show. Yes, our emergency is that our sitting president has lost control of his mind and his behavior such that the country is now at great risk of losing its ability to govern itself. The Republican-dominated Congress will do nothing [as usual] to correct this problem; the problem being the president himself.
So, who or what entity will emerge to grasp the reins of our government and lead us out of this horror show directed by Donald Trump? Who among us has the courage to fix the problem when the problem is the president himself? The cabinet? Not bloody likely. That collection of sycophants will nevereven think of invoking the 25th Amendment, because these are the best and last jobs they’ll ever have and are therefore beholden to this wretched president.
In a recent essay I put aside the thought and talk of impeachment because I thought it was best we concentrate on winning the November elections and removing as many Republicans as possible from as many offices as possible at every level of government. After Monday, I’m not so sure we will have elections if this president’s handler in Moscow tells him to suspend them.
Can you imagine the glee and joy from this piss-ant former KGB agent at fomenting an outright rebellion/revolution in the United States? Maybe that’s an over-the-top scenario, but nobody ever expected a president of the United States to blatantly and openly surrender our sovereignty so eagerly because his fragile ego drove him to it; he is sacrificing his country – our country – for his psychological disease and imbalance.
Boy, those Trump voters and supporters must be so proud of their patriotism. Those fools waving Confederate flags while wearing MAGA caps must struggle with what the word “great” means.
When you worship losers, traitors and criminals, I guess surrender isn’t so bad.
– Denver resident Vern Turner is a regular contributor to The Oklahoma Observer. His latest book, Why Angels Weep: America and Donald Trump, is available through Amazon.
