No you’re the puppet

| 3:02 am EDT July 9, 2017
Dear Palmer Report readers, we all understand the difficult era we're heading into. Major media outlets are caving to Trump already. Even the internet itself and publishing platforms may be at risk. But Palmer Report is nonetheless going to lead the fight. We're funding our 2025 operating expenses now, so we can keep publishing no matter what happens. I'm asking you to contribute if you can, because the stakes are just so high. You can donate here.

Here’s the part I can’t seem to figure out: why is anyone on either side acting shocked about how yesterday played out? Donald Trump held his first state meeting with Vladimir Putin, a Russian despot who long ago took full ownership of a pathetic puppet with a combination of psychology and blackmail. Trump spent the meeting kissing Putin’s ass, and made America look like a fool. Because of course he did. This day was written in stone from the start.

And yet I keep hearing anti-Trump voices expressing surprise today that Donald Trump went ahead and actually played the role of Russian puppet. Perhaps they were merely shocked at the sight of what they knew was inevitable, which is understandable. And on the other side I keep hearing from tepid Trump apologists who seem to have somehow convinced themselves that Trump would stand up to Putin during their meeting and act like a real American. For them, it’s Charlie Brown and the football all over again.

Maybe I’ve just become too sober and jaded about the era we’re now in, but yesterday didn’t faze me at all. I knew exactly what would happen when Trump sat down with Putin. It was like watching a movie when you’ve already read the book: there’s no real remaining mystery. Sure, yesterday was a devastatingly dark day for America. But we didn’t incur yesterday’s losses yesterday. We incurred them the day Trump was illegitimately named the winner of the election.

All these blows we’re now taking, to my mind, were factored in back then. Yesterday’s egg has been on our faces since November. For that matter we’ve known from the start that if Trump ever got into office, days like yesterday would play out exactly like they did. Donald Trump has been a puppet of the Russian government since long before he became a political figure. It’s not as if Hillary Clinton didn’t try to warn us. If you’re a regular reader, feel free to support Palmer Report

Dear Palmer Report readers, we all understand the difficult era we're heading into. Major media outlets are caving to Trump already. Even the internet itself and publishing platforms may be at risk. But Palmer Report is nonetheless going to lead the fight. We're funding our 2025 operating expenses now, so we can keep publishing no matter what happens. I'm asking you to contribute if you can, because the stakes are just so high. You can donate here.