Stooge!!!

I suspect that no one with any sense is holding their breath waiting for the heavily redacted, entirely uninformative version of the Mueller report that will likely be released to the public.  Here are a couple of ideas that might relieve the ennui while we wait.

First, don’t expect the Mueller report to show any direct link between Trump and the Russian interference in the election.  Even if there was massive collusion, Trump is almost certainly going to have “plausible deniability.”  This is what Nixon lost when the tapes became public, what Reagan lost when the Iran-Contra scam finally unraveled, and what Clinton lost when the stained dress surfaced.  Trump may lose it too, but I wouldn’t count on the Mueller report accomplishing this all by itself.  Trump has been a successful con artist all his life.  If he was directly involved in collusion with the Russians, we can be reasonably sure that others will suffer the consequences, just as others have suffered the financial consequences of his various scams.

Second, and more important, we don’t need the Mueller report to know that Trump is a stooge for Vladimir Putin.  His public actions confirm that beyond any reasonable doubt, even if it is unclear exactly why he is such a bootlicker.  When Putin invaded Ukraine, Trump resisted international efforts to impose sanctions.  In the face of Putin’s publicly acknowledged desire to reestablish the Soviet empire, Trump has moved to destabilize NATO which, for all its faults, is a significant obstacle to Putin’s aspirations.  And Trump unilaterally suspended a nuclear arms control treaty with Russia, allowing Putin to deploy openly missiles that threaten Europe.

And it’s not enough for Trump simply to advance Putin’s agenda.  He has been quite vocal about his willingness to believe Putin over US intelligence agencies and the governments of our (former) allies.  Putin assured Trump that he had nothing to do with murdering his critics in other countries.  Putin insisted that he had nothing to do with interference in the US elections.  And Putin’s word—the word of a KGB thug who makes no secret of his efforts to destabilize the world order—is good enough for Trump.  So much for putting America first.

And just in case all this left anyone in doubt about where his loyalties lie, Trump took advantage of a globally televised press conference to plant a big smooch on Putin’s ass.  We can speculate about why Trump is so determined to be a stooge for Putin, but the more pressing concern is why the GOP and the Trumpettes seem so utterly untroubled by this.  If Mueller actually has the goods on Trump, it will be entertaining to watch his supporters try to defend him.  Entertaining, but frightening as well.  When the President’s party and his supporters simply do not care that he is obviously the instrument of a foreign power, and one that is clearly hostile to US interests, the future begins to look a bit dark.