Newspapers, TV pundits, NeverTrump Republicans, Democrats, SometimesTrump Republicans, and everyone else within shouting distance of a microphone weighed in this week with their fierce denunciations of President Trump after what appeared to be a very successful summit in Helsinki with Vladimir Putin of Russia.
From the Washington Post, we learn that even Trump’s own administration was dismayed by the president’s post-summit press conference, in which he said things that were “very much counter to the plan.”
From Anderson Cooper, we learn that it was “one of the most disgraceful performances” in American presidential history. John McCain also used language that echoed that remark.
From Hillary Clinton, we found out that “now we know” which team Trump plays for.
From Newt Gingrich, we learned that this was “the most serious mistake of his presidency.”
From John Brennan, we heard some nonsense about “high crimes and misdemeanors.”
Okay. Okay. Let’s all just calm down.
The wave of condemnation against Trump is based on a couple of very faulty premises. One, it’s based on this old idea of how a president “should” comport himself when on the global stage with an adversary. In this way, the criticism is really no different from the way the media rushes to bash Trump every time he has a friendly handshake with Kim Jong Un, Erdogan, or anyone else that isn’t 100% on the side of the United States. Nor is it really different than the criticism that abounds when Trump speaks harsh truths about Germany, France, Canada, and the rest of our allies. Trump’s critics can’t get over the fact that Trump…well, Trump is Trump. He’s going to do things his way. Throw out the playbook. Get used to it. It’s going to be all right.
The second faulty premise: That what Russia did to the United States in 2016 is tantamount to an act of war. We’ve seen comparisons to 9/11. We’ve seen comparisons to Pearl Harbor. We’ve seen Trump compared to Neville Chamberlain.
It’s silly beyond belief.
The truth is that Russia did literally nothing of significance to our country in 2016. They hacked a Democratic National Committee server and released some semi-interesting internal emails. Big whoop. We’re not saying we condone it, but to sit there on television and claim it was an “act of war” is a bridge too far. Do you really think for ONE SECOND that if it had been the RNC’s emails that were in all the headlines that we would be hearing all of this hysteria from the press? It’s absolutely ludicrous.
There’s no reason that President Trump should go out there and wag his finger at Putin and play Tough Guy President for the benefit of the media. That doesn’t do anyone any good, least of all the United States of America. Trump has placed severe sanctions against Russia and against a slew of Russian business interests in retaliation for the meddling. And that’s just what we know about. If there is more to be done, it will be done at a time and place of the president’s choosing. If there isn’t…then there isn’t.
And considering the rather minuscule nature of what actually happened, we’re not sure how much America is really supposed to do. Let’s get a grip.
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