Two reports yesterday highlight Trump Derangement Syndrome
A snapshot of Trump Derangement Syndrome: the different responses to reports about Trump’s alleged insensitivity versus Hillary’s selling America to Russia.
Yesterday’s news broke two stories, one detailing massive national security infractions involving Russians during the Obama administration and one reporting the claim that Trump was insensitive to the widow of a Green Beret who died in the line of duty. The response to these two stories on my Facebook feed was predictable and depressing.
News story No. 1 was a fully-sourced report about the utterly corrupt way in which the Russians went about obtaining rights in American uranium during the Obama administration:
Before the Obama administration approved a controversial deal in 2010 giving Moscow control of a large swath of American uranium, the FBI had gathered substantial evidence that Russian nuclear industry officials were engaged in bribery, kickbacks, extortion and money laundering designed to grow Vladimir Putin’s atomic energy business inside the United States, according to government documents and interviews.
Federal agents used a confidential U.S. witness working inside the Russian nuclear industry to gather extensive financial records, make secret recordings and intercept emails as early as 2009 that showed Moscow had compromised an American uranium trucking firm with bribes and kickbacks in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, FBI and court documents show.
They also obtained an eyewitness account — backed by documents — indicating Russian nuclear officials had routed millions of dollars to the U.S. designed to benefit former President Bill Clinton’s charitable foundation during the time Secretary of State Hillary Clinton served on a government body that provided a favorable decision to Moscow, sources told The Hill.
The racketeering scheme was conducted “with the consent of higher level officials” in Russia who “shared the proceeds” from the kickbacks, one agent declared in an affidavit years later.
Although fully aware of these corrupt practices, including Hillary’s weighing in on a matter that personally benefited, the Obama administration still gave the nod to a deal that put increased Russia’s nuclear power at America’s expense. The story was buried. That it came out now was because of a whistle-blower.
The above story is uncontested, disgraceful, and not subject to any interpretation other than realizing that Obama ran a corrupt administration, one that benefited his cronies, and that he did so to America’s major detriment. It certainly explains, though, why Obama of all people has been relatively silent about the post-election anti-Russia hysteria (and highlights what an idiot Hillary is that she can’t let the subject drop).
And of course, this report ought to resonate strongly with all those people who’ve been terribly worried for the past year about Russia’s malevolent influence within America. That they cannot make themselves comment upon it says that they’re focus on Russia was driven by Trump Derangement Syndrome, not a concern about America’s well-being or about how Russia can endanger America.
News story No. 2 was a report that, when President Trump spoke to the widow of a fallen Green Beret, he insensitively stated that the Green Beret “knew what he was getting into”:
President Donald Trump told the widow of a US serviceman killed in the ambush in Niger that “he knew what he signed up for, but I guess it still hurt,” according to Rep. Frederica Wilson.
The body of Sgt. La David Johnson was returned home to the Miami area late Tuesday afternoon, with the plane receiving a water cannon salute as it arrived near the gate.
The call from the President to Johnson’s widow came shortly before Johnson’s casket arrival, Wilson, a Florida Democrat, said on “CNN Tonight with Don Lemon” Tuesday.
“Basically he said, ‘Well, I guess he knew what he signed up for, but I guess it still hurt,’ ” Wilson said, adding that she listened to part of the call on speaker phone while in a vehicle with the family.
“That’s what he said,” she added.N
Without context it’s impossible to make a judgment about Trump’s statement. Yes, it could have been a cold-hearted “whatever.” However, it equally well could have been a statement about Sgt. Johnson’s bravery: He knew what he was getting into — he knew he was facing death — but his bravery and patriotism were such that he went ahead and signed up anyway. With that understanding, while his death is painful to those he left behind, it helps to know that Sgt. Johnson died as he lived: courageously and doing what he loved. So, yes, he knew what he was getting into and we Americans are grateful to have produced such a man.
The above interpretation is unchanged by the fact that Sgt. Johnson’s wife is corroborating Trump’s statement. It also explains why Trump is denying that he said anything insensitive. If the context showed that he essentially stated “good riddance to bad rubbish,” well, in that case Wilson and Mrs. Johnson would be speaking the truth. But if the context showed that Trump was praising Sgt. Johnson’s courage and sacrifice, not just in battle, but in the way he lived his life, these two women are slandering him terribly.
Incidentally, Rep. Wilson (D. Fla.) likes to politicize things in the ugliest way possible. After Hispanic George Zimmerman’s self-defense shooting against Trayvon Marin, a drugged-out black man who was smashing Zimmerman’s head repeatedly into the pavement, something that can cause brain damage or even death, Wilson offered these words to the American public: Trayvon was “hunted down like a rabid dog.” That’s true, I guess — if the rabid dog is ripping your pants off and starting to shred your skin with his teeth.
In any event, no matter what President Trump did or did not say, a private conversation with a private citizen is not an issue of national consequence.
So what did I see on my Facebook feed yesterday and this morning from my Progressive friends? Well, what was most significant was what I did not see: None of my Progressive friends breathed a word about the illegal Russian meddling problem during the Obama administration. This silence was impressive given how these same people, for the entirely of the last year, have never stopped talking about the horrible danger to America because Russia! Russia! Russia! (When I wrote that, I’m thinking of this.)
This silence proves, as nothing else could, that it was never about Russia. It was always an effort to undo a legitimate election the Democrats and Never Trumpers disliked.
Meanwhile, when it comes to maligning Trump, there’s this:
“I am speechless. This is just appalling.”
“What is wrong with him?? He is incapable of exhibiting any empathy or even a normal, appropriate response.”
“He is a sociopath.”
“He is a vile human. I question the intellect and the moral compass of anyone who continues to support him.”
So next time you listen to those with Trump Derangement Syndrome, keep in mind their priorities — hating Trump will always come first, far away from America’s well-being. And yes, Sen. McCain, I’m thinking of you. If you play the spoiler to Trump’s proposed tax relief, simply because you’re not willing to allow him to have a legislative success, no matter that it benefits America, you’re no patriot. You’re a hate-blinded traitor.
I’ll close with this perfect tweet from James Taranto:
This tweet validates my intuition that NeverTrump is about taste far more than policy. https://t.co/4cZpFcrFip
— James Taranto (@jamestaranto) October 17, 2017
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