It’s embarrassing that it is so obvious that the way to manipulate Trump is by stroking his ego. And that he is so easily manipulated! We cannot trust that he will do what he says that he will do, because the next person in the room may make him feel even more self-important. How it is not immediately obvious to any rational person that Putin played him masterfully, but directly validating all Trump’s most self righteous lies is beyond me.
Thank you for honestly reporting on what transpired in Alaska and DC, and outlining why this is concerning.
At this point, when the whole election ran on ending wars, the way he negotiated ending the Afghanistan war, and the way he uses "peace" in his own country, we should all know better than to leave him in a room to negotiate peace. He bows to shallow compliments and says and does things to pump up his own ego (a red carpet and bomber flyover to show Putin how classy he is) and logic plays no part in the art of his deal.
The timing here is really surreal - Republican-led agencies are demanding Obama be jailed for treason with literally zero evidence. Gabbard and others are throwing around words like “treason” and “coup” without presenting a single document, recording, or witness testimony. Their entire case amounts to: Obama’s administration monitored contacts between Trump’s team and Russian officials - you know, literally the job of counterintelligence when foreign adversaries are attempting election interference. They’re treating standard FISA procedures and intelligence briefings as if they’re crimes, while refusing to explain what law Obama supposedly broke or what he should have done differently when presented with evidence of Russian interference.
Think about what they’re actually claiming: that Obama committed treason by… being concerned about Russian influence operations? By following established protocols for monitoring foreign contacts? They can’t point to a single illegal wiretap, a single falsified document, or a single abuse of power - just vague accusations that Obama was mean to Trump by doing his job. They’re burning government resources investigating Obama for actions that were not only legal but required by his oath of office, all while offering no actual reasoning beyond “he investigated our guy.” Meanwhile the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling means Obama couldn’t be prosecuted for presidential actions anyway, making this entire exercise performative rage.
Compare that evidence-free theater to Trump’s actual documented behavior with Putin. After Helsinki 2018, when Trump sided with Putin over the consensus of our own country that Russia interfered in our 2016 election, saying “I don’t see why he would have done it” in front of Putin, even Trump’s own party couldn’t stomach it. John McCain called it “one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory.” Lindsey Graham - who normally defends Trump reflexively - said it was a “missed opportunity” and that the president’s weakness was “doing a lot of damage.” Paul Ryan insisted there was “no question” Russia interfered and Trump needed to acknowledge it. Even Newt Gingrich said Trump needed to clarify whether he actually intended to prefer Putin’s word over our country. These were Trump’s own party leaders watching their president side with Putin over American intelligence agencies on live television. And then Trump sheepishly “corrected” with something like: “Oopsie I meant to say “wouldn’t” not “would” - I meant to call Putin out for just one sentence but I used the wrong word and therefore everything I said was in Putin’s favor, my bad.” Totally absurd and proves that Trump prefers Russia to America. We were totally justified in investigating this strange relationship Trump has with Russia.
Now Alaska proves nothing has changed. Within 48 hours Trump abandoned coordinated Western positions to parrot Kremlin talking points. The same president who brands himself as “no new wars” is blaming Obama for not bombing Russia over Crimea in 2014. So which is it: peace candidate or hawk? His supporters somehow hold both positions simultaneously without their heads exploding.
The podcast bros who sold Trump as anti-war have gone mysteriously quiet on Ukraine. I checked in yesterday, and it seems Trump’s base is still more preoccupied with their civil war over whether their president is a pedophile than with foreign policy reversals.
But here’s what should terrify everyone: Putin just demonstrated to every authoritarian on earth that a few hours of psychological manipulation can get an American president to abandon his allies and echo enemy propaganda. If this is what Putin achieves in one afternoon, what’s Xi Jinping learning about Taiwan? Putin published a how-to manual for exploiting American weakness that will be studied in Beijing, Tehran, and Pyongyang for decades.
Thank you, Timothy, for connecting the past, present, and future.
The only clarification I would offer is the difference between what used to be referred to as Republicans and MAGAs.
We all know what Republicans used to stand for. They were never “Trump’s party.” They were the party in power during his first term. That’s why they called him out. They either no longer exist, or are no longer relevant.
The party in power is MAGA. We all know what they stand for. They are Trump’s party.
Hi Gina! You’re right that the party has fundamentally changed since 2018 and they won’t criticize Trump directly anymore. But their praise is so empty. In 2018 they could say “this was disgraceful.” Now they can only praise the red carpet and fighter jets (the theater that showed us as wanting to impress Putin) while carefully avoiding any mention of what was actually accomplished. MAGA knows it was a failure, even if they dont admit it.
This: "Putin just demonstrated to every authoritarian on earth that a few hours of psychological manipulation can get an American president to abandon his allies and echo enemy propaganda."
“American commitments are negotiable, Western unity is fragile, and patient manipulation can achieve what military confrontation cannot.”
This is nothing new. It’s as old as broken treaties with Native American tribes, and as recent as our abandonment of Afghan allies.
Ukraine, and the rest of the world, know there is no such thing as a security agreement. Ukraine gave up their nuclear weapons in exchange for one, and as the prescient Fiona Hill would say, “and here we are.”
I love Fiona Hill. The world would be a better place if she were our president. Heck, the world would be a better place if almost anyone else were our president.
Trump, no matter how he sees it, is bad at dealmaking. I mean, the pressure was on Russia - they're cash-strapped and unpopular, and Trump couldn't or wouldn't leverage any of that.
This does seem to demonstrate that Europe is now the primary democratic global power. America can earn back its leadership role but only if MAGA is out. I hope the Democrats can capitalize on this. I pray they can demonstrate that they have the leadership ability that trump does not.
It’s embarrassing that it is so obvious that the way to manipulate Trump is by stroking his ego. And that he is so easily manipulated! We cannot trust that he will do what he says that he will do, because the next person in the room may make him feel even more self-important. How it is not immediately obvious to any rational person that Putin played him masterfully, but directly validating all Trump’s most self righteous lies is beyond me.
Thank you for honestly reporting on what transpired in Alaska and DC, and outlining why this is concerning.
At this point, when the whole election ran on ending wars, the way he negotiated ending the Afghanistan war, and the way he uses "peace" in his own country, we should all know better than to leave him in a room to negotiate peace. He bows to shallow compliments and says and does things to pump up his own ego (a red carpet and bomber flyover to show Putin how classy he is) and logic plays no part in the art of his deal.
The timing here is really surreal - Republican-led agencies are demanding Obama be jailed for treason with literally zero evidence. Gabbard and others are throwing around words like “treason” and “coup” without presenting a single document, recording, or witness testimony. Their entire case amounts to: Obama’s administration monitored contacts between Trump’s team and Russian officials - you know, literally the job of counterintelligence when foreign adversaries are attempting election interference. They’re treating standard FISA procedures and intelligence briefings as if they’re crimes, while refusing to explain what law Obama supposedly broke or what he should have done differently when presented with evidence of Russian interference.
Think about what they’re actually claiming: that Obama committed treason by… being concerned about Russian influence operations? By following established protocols for monitoring foreign contacts? They can’t point to a single illegal wiretap, a single falsified document, or a single abuse of power - just vague accusations that Obama was mean to Trump by doing his job. They’re burning government resources investigating Obama for actions that were not only legal but required by his oath of office, all while offering no actual reasoning beyond “he investigated our guy.” Meanwhile the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling means Obama couldn’t be prosecuted for presidential actions anyway, making this entire exercise performative rage.
Compare that evidence-free theater to Trump’s actual documented behavior with Putin. After Helsinki 2018, when Trump sided with Putin over the consensus of our own country that Russia interfered in our 2016 election, saying “I don’t see why he would have done it” in front of Putin, even Trump’s own party couldn’t stomach it. John McCain called it “one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory.” Lindsey Graham - who normally defends Trump reflexively - said it was a “missed opportunity” and that the president’s weakness was “doing a lot of damage.” Paul Ryan insisted there was “no question” Russia interfered and Trump needed to acknowledge it. Even Newt Gingrich said Trump needed to clarify whether he actually intended to prefer Putin’s word over our country. These were Trump’s own party leaders watching their president side with Putin over American intelligence agencies on live television. And then Trump sheepishly “corrected” with something like: “Oopsie I meant to say “wouldn’t” not “would” - I meant to call Putin out for just one sentence but I used the wrong word and therefore everything I said was in Putin’s favor, my bad.” Totally absurd and proves that Trump prefers Russia to America. We were totally justified in investigating this strange relationship Trump has with Russia.
Now Alaska proves nothing has changed. Within 48 hours Trump abandoned coordinated Western positions to parrot Kremlin talking points. The same president who brands himself as “no new wars” is blaming Obama for not bombing Russia over Crimea in 2014. So which is it: peace candidate or hawk? His supporters somehow hold both positions simultaneously without their heads exploding.
The podcast bros who sold Trump as anti-war have gone mysteriously quiet on Ukraine. I checked in yesterday, and it seems Trump’s base is still more preoccupied with their civil war over whether their president is a pedophile than with foreign policy reversals.
But here’s what should terrify everyone: Putin just demonstrated to every authoritarian on earth that a few hours of psychological manipulation can get an American president to abandon his allies and echo enemy propaganda. If this is what Putin achieves in one afternoon, what’s Xi Jinping learning about Taiwan? Putin published a how-to manual for exploiting American weakness that will be studied in Beijing, Tehran, and Pyongyang for decades.
Thank you, Timothy, for connecting the past, present, and future.
The only clarification I would offer is the difference between what used to be referred to as Republicans and MAGAs.
We all know what Republicans used to stand for. They were never “Trump’s party.” They were the party in power during his first term. That’s why they called him out. They either no longer exist, or are no longer relevant.
The party in power is MAGA. We all know what they stand for. They are Trump’s party.
Hi Gina! You’re right that the party has fundamentally changed since 2018 and they won’t criticize Trump directly anymore. But their praise is so empty. In 2018 they could say “this was disgraceful.” Now they can only praise the red carpet and fighter jets (the theater that showed us as wanting to impress Putin) while carefully avoiding any mention of what was actually accomplished. MAGA knows it was a failure, even if they dont admit it.
Timothy, it’s almost like they’re two different parties.
And what does failure even mean to them?
We see Trump abdicating to Putin (autocorrect typed sputum). But they see European leaders scrambling to Washington.
It’s two competing visions. It’s almost like a global civil war has already begun.
You are so accurate about China, North Korea, etc., rubbing their hands in glee.
This: "Putin just demonstrated to every authoritarian on earth that a few hours of psychological manipulation can get an American president to abandon his allies and echo enemy propaganda."
“American commitments are negotiable, Western unity is fragile, and patient manipulation can achieve what military confrontation cannot.”
This is nothing new. It’s as old as broken treaties with Native American tribes, and as recent as our abandonment of Afghan allies.
Ukraine, and the rest of the world, know there is no such thing as a security agreement. Ukraine gave up their nuclear weapons in exchange for one, and as the prescient Fiona Hill would say, “and here we are.”
I love Fiona Hill. The world would be a better place if she were our president. Heck, the world would be a better place if almost anyone else were our president.
Trump, no matter how he sees it, is bad at dealmaking. I mean, the pressure was on Russia - they're cash-strapped and unpopular, and Trump couldn't or wouldn't leverage any of that.
This does seem to demonstrate that Europe is now the primary democratic global power. America can earn back its leadership role but only if MAGA is out. I hope the Democrats can capitalize on this. I pray they can demonstrate that they have the leadership ability that trump does not.
Theresa, that’s a big ask for hope and prayers.