Trump's Detention Club convenes for Putin's Ukraine invasion

[거사 주]: 트럼프는 푸틴과의 밀약이 있었고, 곧 기밀문서가 밝혀질 입장인데, 그는 푸틴을 존경하고 또 최근 우크라이나 침공에 대해서도 평화유지를 위해서 현명한 결정을 하였다고 아직도 칭송하고 있다니, 그의 정신 상태를 확실하게 의심해야 한다. 이제 공화당 내부에서도 그의 "거짓과 허풍"이 더 이상 약발을 주지 못하여 조만간 외톨이가 될 거라는 여론이 일고 있다고 한다.

 

백악관 베이츠 부보좌관은 트럼프와 푸틴에 대해 "미국이 상징하는 것을 증오하고 모든 행동이 자신의 나약함과 불안함에 의해 움직이는 존재들"이라며 "주둥이를 비비며 무고한 사람들이 목숨을 잃는 것을 축하하고 있다"고 비난했다.

전 대변인인 Sarah Sanders는 자신의 트위터에 "트럼프가 푸틴을 '천재'라고 칭송하는 것은 놀랍지도 않으며 어처구니없는 일"이라며 "푸틴은 트럼프가 되고 싶어하는 종류의 지도자"라고 지적했다. 

 

By Gloria Borger, CNN Chief Political Analyst

Updated 6:54 PM ET, Thu February 24, 2022

 

(CNN)Back in the day when Donald Trump was just a problem child, he wound up in detention so much after school that his classmates began calling it the DT's. The Detention Club became his special place.

Decades later, in 2016, when Trump was elected president, he automatically became a member of another club, the Presidents' Club.

 

That was not his special place. No one named it for him. In fact, his bombast and lying made him unwelcome with the ex-presidents, who couldn't believe they were in the same club with this guy. But not to worry. Trump is comfy again, back leading detention. He's happier with a fellow thug like Russian President Vladimir Putin than with the leaders of democratic nations. Happier to lie and accept lies rather than tell the truth and accept the truth.

And, above all, unconcerned about anything beyond himself and his money and some sort of perceived personal success, whatever that means. (It means not admitting you lost an election, for starters.)

 

Former President George W. Bush condemned the "unprovoked and unjustified invasion" of Ukraine, expressing solidarity with "our friend and democratic ally" against Putin's thuggery. Ditto for former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter. Former President Barack Obama said Russia acted "in violation of international law and basic principles of human decency."

Trump stood alone, outside, a caricature of himself (which, admittedly, is hard to imagine), calling Putin's xenophobic and dangerous actions "genius. ... Here's a guy who's very savvy. ... I know him very well."

Over the days and hours, it actually got worse. Trump's minions encouraged his geopolitical garbage and excuses to flourish. A favorite: This never would have happened during my administration.

Let's see: Well, maybe it wouldn't because you were already doing Putin's bidding. Maybe it's because you were very busy trying to destroy NATO as Putin happily watched. And could it be that you were too busy blackmailing the Ukrainian President to get dirt on Joe Biden so you could win reelection? Which, of course, you did not. Let's say that again: You did not win.

 

It would be comical if it weren't so pathetic to watch Trump describe recent events as the results of a rigged election. So now Trump fealty comes down to a three-legged stool: The election was rigged, the insurrection was fine and Putin is a genius. Oh, and Biden is bad. No matter what.

 

So Republicans who found countless ways to avoid commenting on Trump's genuflecting toward Putin (like famously saying in 2018 that he believed Putin over US intelligence that Russia had meddled in the 2016 election: "He just said it's not Russia. ... I don't see any reason why it would be.") are now calling for stronger sanctions. Um, has Congress passed the sanctions yet? Nope.

 

And those who remain in the do-nothing, isolationist camp will just stay there. Trump provides them comfort, too. It's never about democracy or leadership or responsibility. It's about an amoral sense of short-term gain. So root against America, because its morality has made it weak.

 

So that is now what it has come down to for all the worshippers of Trump's brand of political expedience: Do not worry about Putin or Ukraine. Just go ahead and win the House, maybe the Senate.

As for the ex-Presidents' Club, send them to detention.(-)