Donald Trump goes all the way down the rabbit hole
In every movie about a guy who’s in too deep, there’s a point where he has to decide whether to give up and come clean, or to throw any remaining pretense to the wind and go all the way down the rabbit hole. For Donald Trump, this week’s indictment of twelve Russian government hackers is his point of no return. He’s already making clear that he’s going all-in past the point of no return.
These indictments are such a damning incrimination of Russian President Vladimir Putin, even some Republicans in Congress – if only for the sake of appearances – felt compelled to call for Trump to cancel his upcoming summit with Putin. It’s that bad. Throw in the fact that Putin was working to rig the election in Trump’s favor, and that Trump’s oldest friend Roger Stone was allegedly in on it, and it makes the summit even more inappropriate.
If Trump were to cancel the summit because of the indictments, it would give him a modicum of credibility in the United States. When you’re accused of being the puppet of a known villain, the best way to defend yourself in the court of public opinion is to take a noteworthy stand against that villain. But Trump is nonetheless going ahead with the summit, because he’s in so deep, he’s past the point of being able to worry about appearances.
Donald Trump is taking things even further. He just referred to the European Union, which is made up entirely of U.S. allies, as a “foe.” This makes sense once you consider that it’s Vladimir Putin’s position. Now that Trump’s back is against the wall and forces are fast moving in on him, he’s more determined than ever to do Putin’s bidding. Either he’s under the delusion that Putin can save him, or he’s more afraid of punishment from Putin than he is of the jail cell that America will end up putting him in.
