Tag Archives: Helsinki

Putin polls better than Trump after Helsinki

I’ve been reading news reports out of Russia that suggest the following: Vladimir Putin’s performance in Helsinki has place far more favorably among his constituents than Donald Trump’s has among his own home folks.

Imagine that. For once, I agree with the Russians.

Putin came to the same summit as Trump that had no clear agenda. The Russians’ penchant for secrecy, though, apparently has played well back home. Thus, the Russian public opinion survey machine — if such a thing actually exists — has determined that Putin’s standing is elevated.

Trump’s standing back here in the United States? Not nearly so good. Indeed, the president has been pounded and pilloried, not just by the so-called “liberal” media, but by many in the conservative media as well. Republican politicians have been taking aim at the president, too, although in somewhat tepid terms.

The president’s base? Those folks — the 38 to 40 percent of Americans who support Trump no matter what — is still all in.

What now?

Just think: The two men are now heading for a second summit in Washington, D.C., later this year.

Are you scared yet? I certainly am.

Still trying to process that bizarre joint appearance

Nearly a week later and that mind-blowing press availability with Donald J. Trump and Vladimir Putin is still the talk of the town.

Or the nation. Maybe the world.

I’m still trying to make sense of it. I’m trying to determine what in the world is rattling around in the president’s noggin. I’m trying to figure out why in the name of bilateral relations he didn’t call Putin out for what damn near everyone on Earth knows he did: the Russian president orchestrated the cyber attack on our electoral system in 2016.

I’m still not ready to say that Trump has broken the law and committed an act of treason for which he could be prosecuted, convicted and given the ultimate sentence … of death.

But damn! As former acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates said this week, Trump might be the first president in history who isn’t “all in” with regard to standing up for the United States of America.

I believe she is correct. Trump’s hideous disparaging of our intelligence agencies and his acceptance of Putin’s denial that he attacked our electoral system spoke volumes about the president’s commitment to the nation he governs. It’s not there!

Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised. As many of us have noted — and I’m one of them — Trump entered the 2016 campaign after never run for any public office of any kind. Public service is a totally foreign concept to this guy. He gauges every move, every decision, every action on its impact on his poll standing, or his “ratings.”

Then we have that Helsinki event. The president who vowed to “get tough” with our adversaries has gotten soft. The president who said he would “make America great again” has made America the world’s laughingstock. The man who vowed to “put America first” has now put our foes first, starting with Russia.

All the while he keeps yapping and yammering about “rigged witch hunts” while getting angry when his Cabinet doesn’t fawn over his every pronouncement.

And he keeps lying.

My head is about to explode.