Give Me A Break

I’m getting tired of the latest Democrat talking point that Trump is defending Putin as Russia stages an invasion of Ukraine. Virtually all the mainstream media have repeated this nonsense. Like the “deadly insurrection” and the “murder of George Floyd,” these are labels the liberals hang on events to color our understanding of what actually happened. Call it what you will: spin, misrepresentation, propaganda, or outright lies; it is a tactic they use repeatedly, from the grossly unqualified Lester Holt to the hilariously inept Morning Joe. And don’t even let me get started on the hosts of The View. Vacuous doesn’t even begin to describe the mental capacity of that cast of miscreants. But I digress. Examples of Trump defending Putin include such examples of him calling the Russian President “savvy” and once called him “ a genius.” When asked whether he thought Putin was smart, he responded, “of course, I think he’s smart.” When asked about the comment, Trump elaborated and stated the problem is “not that Putin is smart” the problem is our leaders are dumb…..Putin is playing Biden like a drum”. Not exactly comments I would classify as Trump endorsing Putin’s excursion into Ukraine, an action that Trump specifically condemned. Once again, spin with a distinct leftward rotation. Who can disagree with Trump’s statements? Putin successfully took advantage of the west’s preoccupation with climate change and took control of Europe’s access to fossil fuel. He waited out the Trump administration to allow Biden to approve the Nordstream pipeline. He took Biden at his word that the US wouldn’t put boots on the ground and would be willing to tolerate a “minor incursion.” And he has been working to shore up ties with a surging China to sanction-proof his economy. As stated in these pages before, while the world was playing checkers, Putin has been playing chess. Trusted by Bush, summarily dismissed by Obama and unleashed by Biden, at the least, Putin has to be regarded as a savvy statesman and a smart, if not opportunistic, aggressor. And it remains to be seen if the western coalition will remain cohesive or resort to their usual bickering and selfish policies. Otherwise, it is too early to determine if Putin is indeed smarter than his western counterparts or whether he grossly overplayed his hand. Meanwhile, as sanctions bite, the west, including the US, continue to buy his oil at $117 a barrel. Whose the dumb party here?