President Trump refused to criticize Russian President Vladimir Putin during the Helsinki summit press conference. President Trump recognized that he missed an opportunity at the press conference, that he had allowed Putin a propaganda victory. He walked back his statements later that evening and again the following day, and made it clear that he has confidence in his intelligence and law enforcement officials.
Hysterics About Things Trump Says
That did not stop the hysterics from the Left side of the aisle. Democrats and the media rose up in chorus to condemn him as a traitor. George Stephanopoulos suggested breathlessly that we would tell our grandchildren where we were when the press conference took place. Hillary Clinton compared his remarks to both Pearl Harbor and Kristallnacht.
These reactions are of a piece with nearly all the criticisms of Trump since he descended the escalator. His critics focus always on things he says, and protest loudly that they are beyond the pale. Curiously, though, they steadfastly ignore the things he does.
Any neutral observer (are there still any neutral observers?) could be forgiven for believing the Leftist charges, if they see them only in isolation from what Trump has done. But a quick examination of his actions should dispel any lingering doubts. President Trump has increased American power, curtailed Russian influence, and repeatedly cut Putin off on the world stage.
The Worst Puppet Master in History
It is difficult to imagine that any of the following policies would be undertaken by someone acting as Putin’s puppet. Putin would have to be the worst puppet master in history.
- President Trump’s first action in office was to increase defense readiness.
- In the Koreas, Trump parried the Russian influence and shut them out of the peninsula in spite of a common border and somewhat shared ideology. Singapore was a humiliation for Putin, showing that he is powerless compared to Trump.
- The Trump administration is supplying Ukraine with lethal weapons for the first time since the Russian invasion, including M107A1 Sniper systems and Javelin anti-tank missiles.
- Trump has accelerated deployment of American and NATO forces to Cold War border regions, and is refurbishing the naval base in Iceland used to track Soviet/Russian submarines.
- In Syria, the American military destroyed the elite Russian mercenaries—the same ones that invaded Crimea and Ukraine—in a single battle.
- In energy politics, Trump is building a new U.S.-GCC axis of cooperation that blocks the Russian attempt to partner with OPEC.
- In Europe, President Trump turned expectations upside down and came out of the Brussels summit with a stronger NATO commitment than ever before.
- He also brought up the glaring security threat from Europe’s dependence on Russian gas. His pointed reminder that former German Chancellor Schroeder is on Gazprom’s payroll must have made current Chancellor Merkel squirm a little. He is expanding American energy production and encouraging the export of U.S. oil and gas.
- After the Helsinki summit, Trump’s trade negotiations with the EU just opened up a huge new market for American LNG exports. This will directly undercut Russian influence in the EU and reduce Russian hard-currency revenues.
- The Trump administration has put stronger sanctions on more Russian officials, oligarchs, firms, banks, and other entities than any prior administration.
- In response to the Novichok chemical poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury, England, Trump expelled 60 Russian diplomats and intelligence officers from the United States, and forced the closing of the Russian consulate in Seattle.
What Real Putin Puppets Look Like
On the other hand, anxiety about Vladimir Putin’s influence over President Trump would be understandable if we observed Trump making any of the following moves.
- Telling Russian Prime Minister Medvedev that he will have more flexibility after his next election.
- Standing idly by while Russia invaded Georgia, Moldova, the Crimean Peninsula, and Eastern Ukraine.
- Canceling plans for missile defense of Poland and the Czech Republic, without even notifying the pro-American governments who had won tough political battles to approve them.
- Inviting Russia into Syria to cover up the emptiness of his threat to stop the use of chemical weapons against civilians, thus allowing Russia back into the Middle East for the first time in nearly 50 years.
- Persuading the U.S. government to allow the sale of 20 percent of Uranium One to a Russian company.
- Accepting a $500,000 payment for a 40-minute speech in Moscow.
- Accepting tens of millions of dollars in donations to his foundation and his global initiative from Russian people and entities connected to Putin.
- Promoting policies that slowed American economic growth and weakened American resolve.
- Cutting back on military spending for personnel, readiness, fuel, ammunition, and reconnaissance.
- Accepting low defense spending by NATO partners.
The Lady Doth Protest Too Much
Inconveniently for Democrats and the mainstream news media who have worked so hard to create the illusion of Putin-Trump collusion, all of those policies were pursued by Barack Obama’s administration. They were planned and executed by the very people who have been shouting loudest that Trump was in thrall to Putin: Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, John Brennan, and other senior Obama officials.
There is a definite whiff of corruption in the air, and of collusion with Russia, but it isn’t coming from President Trump or his administration. It is coming from those who are talking about it most insistently. To paraphrase Hamlet’s mother, Queen Gertrude, “the lady (and men) doth protest too much, methinks.”
