"Goodbye to you my trusted friend".
So begins "Seasons in the Sun", the 1974 hit single from Terry Jacks. After today's performance by Donald Trump in Helsinki, it seems a prophetic send-off to the United States as a leader among democracies. This sad reality hit me today as the President of the United States stood side-by-side with the Russian president; an autocratic, ruthless, imperialistic ex-KGB agent who jails and kills dissidents; and cast doubt on the U.S. intelligence community's unanimous conclusion regarding state-sponsored Russian interference in the 2016 election. Trump deemed the Mueller probe to be a "disaster for our country" and noted that Putin was "extremely strong and powerful in his denial today". As a reminder, the Special Counsel has returned 35 indictments and 5 guilty pleas. Of those indictments, 26 are Russian citizens, 3 are Russian organizations, and 4 were members of Trump's campaign team including Paul Manafort, his campaign manager. The President's subservience to Putin and his denials of the obvious Russian interference are shameful, disgusting, and treasonous. In a bygone era, his defense of the Russian president would have been political suicide. However, we seem to live in an alternate reality where the European Union is a "foe" while ruthless dictators are "honorable"; white supremacists are “very good people” and immigrants are “animals”. The so-called leader of the free world is actually a follower of Vladimir Putin and other despotic rulers. The only fake news is the ludicrous notion that he is making America great again. On the contrary, Trump's presidency is the greatest challenge to our republic since the Civil War. My only hope is that Americans awaken from this fog of false patriotism and recognize that Trump does not serve their interests – he only serves his own.
So begins "Seasons in the Sun", the 1974 hit single from Terry Jacks. After today's performance by Donald Trump in Helsinki, it seems a prophetic send-off to the United States as a leader among democracies. This sad reality hit me today as the President of the United States stood side-by-side with the Russian president; an autocratic, ruthless, imperialistic ex-KGB agent who jails and kills dissidents; and cast doubt on the U.S. intelligence community's unanimous conclusion regarding state-sponsored Russian interference in the 2016 election. Trump deemed the Mueller probe to be a "disaster for our country" and noted that Putin was "extremely strong and powerful in his denial today". As a reminder, the Special Counsel has returned 35 indictments and 5 guilty pleas. Of those indictments, 26 are Russian citizens, 3 are Russian organizations, and 4 were members of Trump's campaign team including Paul Manafort, his campaign manager. The President's subservience to Putin and his denials of the obvious Russian interference are shameful, disgusting, and treasonous. In a bygone era, his defense of the Russian president would have been political suicide. However, we seem to live in an alternate reality where the European Union is a "foe" while ruthless dictators are "honorable"; white supremacists are “very good people” and immigrants are “animals”. The so-called leader of the free world is actually a follower of Vladimir Putin and other despotic rulers. The only fake news is the ludicrous notion that he is making America great again. On the contrary, Trump's presidency is the greatest challenge to our republic since the Civil War. My only hope is that Americans awaken from this fog of false patriotism and recognize that Trump does not serve their interests – he only serves his own.
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