Connecting the Dictatorial Dots
Dots have been linking this past week regarding the relationship between Vladmir Putin, Donald Trump, and more.
The BBC headline on Wednesday: “Vladimir Putin: Russia’s modern-day tsar sworn in for fifth term”.
British online newspaper The Independent and its Friday headline: “Trump’s defense secretary called him ‘a madman in a circular room screaming’, new book reveals”. The article noted that Jim Mattis, one-time defense secretary under Trump, “spent 43 years in the Marine Corps, and rose to commander at US Central Command before retiring in 2013 as a four-star general.” Mattis resigned after two years of constant disagreements with Trump over military policy.
Those two headlines also led me to recall Trump’s 2017 two-hour private meeting with Putin – only their two interpreters present. Trump took away his interpreter’s notes afterward, “instructing the linguist not to discuss what had transpired with other administration officials, current and former U.S. officials said.” (Washington Post)
What do you think Putin and Trump discussed during those two private hours?
Did Trump encourage the Russian dictator as he did this past February? “Trump says he would encourage Russia to ‘do whatever the hell they want’ to any NATO country that doesn’t pay enough,” CNN’s February headline stated.
We don’t know. Trump took his interpreter’s notes – which could be considered federal government property – and no one’s seen them.
Did Trump encourage Putin to invade Ukraine? We know when Putin did, Trump voiced support for him. But did he discuss it in the two-hour meeting? We don’t know. Trump hid the notes.
Nukes and Mar-a-Lago
Did Putin encourage Trump to share U.S. nuclear and military information with him? Maybe keep classified info after leaving office?
We don’t know. Trump hid the notes. But we know Trump absconded with boxes of classified nuclear and military documents when he left office, piling the boxes at Mar-a-Lago. Did a Putin contact have any access to those documents? We don’t know. Meanwhile, Putin has constantly threatened to use nuclear weapons during his Ukraine siege.
Did they discuss using nuclear weapons in space? We don’t know. We know Trump told Bob Woodward the U.S. had a new secret nuclear weapon system, but didn’t say what. And we know Putin recently threatened to use nukes in space as part of his ongoing geopolitical conflict with the West.
Will we learn more about Trump’s privately holding the federal classified documents in Mar-a-Lago? We don’t know. Federal District Judge Aileen Cannon has postponed his criminal trial indefinitely.
We do know that Cannon was appointed to her position by Trump, but she has seen fit not to recuse herself for conflict of interest. Just as the three U.S. Supreme Court justices appointed by Trump have also not recused themselves in Trump cases before the high court.
Trump in Contempt
Meanwhile Judge Juan Merchan in Trump’s felony hush money trial has fined the real-estate businessman $10,000 so far for being in contempt of court: breaking the judge’s gag order, continuing to speak out publicly about the trial. That’s a pretty inexpensive price to pay for global publicity when you’re running for President of the United States.
Will he go to prison by keeping it up? Trump was quoted last week as saying, “I’ll do that sacrifice any day.” That is, take on a martyr’s image.
That immediately leads to connecting the dots between Trump and Adolph Hitler. Exactly 100 years ago, Feb. 26 to April 1,1924, Hitler was tried for high treason in his attempt to overthrow the German government.
But his sentence was reduced to five years after he loudly voiced his selfless dedication to the German people, and the bold action needed to save them and return Germany to its former greatness.
The pro-Nazi assistant judges wanted to acquit Hitler. The presiding judge refused, leading to the five-year prison term.
Hitler, meanwhile, used that trial and prison time to catapult his reputation nationally, and to pen his maniacal book Mein Kampf (“My Struggle”) while jailed.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Vladimir Putin: Russia's modern-day tsar sworn in for fifth term (bbc.com)
Mattis resigning as Pentagon chief after clashes with Trump | AP News
4 things to remember about Trump, Ukraine and Putin | CNN Politics
Milley acted to prevent Trump from misusing nuclear weapons, war with China, book says (nbcnews.com)
Trump Showed How a President's Total Nuke Control Is 'Dangerous': Experts (businessinsider.com)
Threat from nuclear weapons and missiles has grown since Trump entered office - The Washington Post
Putin orders tactical nuclear weapon drills to deter the West (msn.com)
Aileen Cannon news & latest pictures from Newsweek.com
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