Yup, we definitely live in bewildering times.
The Senate on Thursday unanimously approved a resolution warning President Trump not to let the Russian government question diplomats and other officials, shortly after the White House released a statement backpedaling on a proposal to allow Moscow to help interrogate U.S. citizens such as former Ambassador Michael McFaul.
Senators voted 98-0 on the resolution spearheaded by Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Democratic Sens. Bob Menendez (N.J.), Dick Durbin(Ill.) and Brian Schatz (Hawaii).
“That President Trump would even consider handing over a former U.S. ambassador to Putin and his cronies for interrogation is bewildering. …This body must agree on the importance of protecting our ambassadors. We should pass it today, not wait, not show any equivocation,” Schumer said ahead of the vote, which was scheduled before the White House backtracked.
The nonbinding resolution comes amid growing frustration in the Senate over the White House’s warmer stance toward Moscow, especially after the joint summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump earlier this week.
Senators Richard Shelby of Alabama and John McCain of Arizona did not vote on this resolution. That it was felt necessary to pass this through the Senate today says a lot about where we stand in this country right now. I feel like this, from an anonymous but active State Department diplomat, is another good indicator:
The current U.S. diplomat said the openness to turning over McFaul capped off a shocking week for U.S. geopolitics.
“The president has first and foremost his interests at the top of his mind, as opposed to the government’s. That’s very clear over the past week and a half, between shitting on our NATO allies and kissing Putin’s ass,” the diplomat said. “He cares more about himself than the nation and any of us who serve it.”
The diplomat continued: “Either he’s compromised by Putin or he’s a pussy, in which case he should grab himself.”
And John McCain may be too ill to cast votes in the Senate, but it’s pretty clear where he stands.
Sen. John McCain blasted President Donald Trump’s joint news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday as “one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory.”
For some reason, Hunter S. Thompson’s observation that “when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro” come to mind. This presidency is worse than anyone could have reasonably imagined.
