June 30, 2020
“Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason,” (Source: 18 U.S.C.§2381). When Trump was impeached, many of us said that blackmailing a beleaguered ally by withholding military aid to boost his own political fortunes was traitorous conduct. When we pointed out that a weakened Ukraine helped Russia, our geopolitical foe, wags pointed out that we were not at war with Russia, so Trump’s alarming abdication of duty did not rise to the level of treason. It was a shockingly low bar for the President of the United States, but every Republican save for Mitt “Black Lives Matter” Romney decided it was sufficient for Trump to remain in office.
How do they explain Trump’s response to the alarming news that Russia was offering a bounty to Taliban forces for the murder of American troops? Friday, the news broke that Trump has known of the Russian bounties since at least March and was given a menu of option for how to respond, (Source: “Russia Secretly Offered Afghan Militants Bounties to Kill U.S.Troops, Intelligence Says,” by Charlie Savage, Eric Schmitt and Michael Schwirtz, The New York Times, 6/26/20). Trump reacted by claiming ignorance and The New York Times responded by reporting that the intelligence was in the President’s Daily Brief in late February, even earlier than initially thought, (Source: “Trump Got Written Briefing on Possible Russian Bounties in February, Officials Say,” by Charlie Savage, Eric Schmitt, Nicholas Fandos and Adam Goldman, The New York Times, 6/29/20).
No amount of scrambling or spinning by Trump and his staff of inveterate professional liars can obscure the facts. Trump, when confronted with reliable intelligence that Russia was paying for the murder of American troops did…nothing.
It is hardly surprising. Trump has never shown a shred of respect for the sacrifices made by American soldiers or a concern for the lives of any human beings. 126,161 dead Americans are the starkest testament to Trump’s deadly combination of amoral sociopathy and criminal negligence. Faced with these damning revelations, Trump retweeted geriatric racists yelling “white power” from a golf cart and gun-toting wannabe militiamen in powder pink polos, rather than doing the only decent thing and resigning.
Trump has never possessed a single quality required to be a decent President, or a decent human being, for that matter. He is, and always has been, a vulgar, corrupt and racist bully; a one trick pony whose only cause was white supremacy. It is a damning indictment of this country that Trump got any closer to the Oval Office than a White House tour.
As the pandemic body count rises and more damning proof emerges that Trump has more loyalty to Russia than to the country he swore an oath to protect, it becomes clear why he wants to protect Confederate statues. They were traitors too.