No matter how much it cost Putin to first bribe and then install Trump in the White House, it has paid off for him... in spades. Trump's first disastrous foray into Europe couldn't have gone better for Russia if Putin scripted it himself. Since the late 40's, Russia's top strategic goal in Europe has been to break up the German-American alliance. Nothing the Soviets tried worked but then Putin unleashed his secret weapon, a moronic, greed-driven TV game show host, on the world. On Joy Reid's MSNBC show yesterday, David Frum pointed out that "Putin could not have achieved out of this trip more of what he wanted if he had paid for it." Later in the day, Frum wrote that "Trump is doing damage to the deepest and most broadly agreed foreign-policy interests of the United States. He is doing so while people associated with his campaign are under suspicion of colluding with Vladimir Putin’s spy agencies to bring him to office. The situation is both ugly and dangerous. If it’s to be corrected, all Americans... must at least correctly name it for what it is."As the ugly American was flying back to Washington after his widely reviled few days in Europe was finally over, headlines all over the continent was German chancellor Angela Merkel's statement about Europeans no longer being able to depend on the U.S. because of Putin's American puppet.
Speaking at a campaign event in Bavaria, Ms Merkel emphasised the need for friendly relations with the US, Britain and Russia, but added: "We Europeans must really take our destiny into our own hands."She said that, as the traditional western alliance is threatened by the new US presidency and Brexit, "the times in which we can fully count on others are somewhat over, as I have experienced in the past few days."While Germany and Europe would strive to maintain relations with America and Britain, Ms Merkel said Europeans "have to fight for our own destiny."
by Nancy OhanianIts not all about Trump's undermining of the Paris accords on Climate either. It's worth reading Axios' Sunday morning report though about how Señor Trumpanzee has been gossiping with his cronies that he's taking the U.S. out of the agreement. The disgusting Trumpanzee "has privately told multiple people, including EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, that he plans to leave the Paris agreement on climate change. Publicly, Trump's position is that he has not made up his mind and when we asked the White House about these private comments, Director of Strategic Communications Hope Hicks said, 'I think his tweet was clear. He will make a decision this week.'"
Caveat: Although Trump made it clear during the campaign and in multiple conversations before his overseas trip that he favored withdrawal, he has been known to abruptly change his mind — and often floats notions to gauge the reaction of friends and aides. On the trip, he spent many hours with Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, powerful advisers who back the deal.Behind-the-scenes: The mood inside the EPA this week has been one of nervous optimism. In a senior staff meeting earlier this week, Pruitt told aides he wanted them to pump the brakes on publicly lobbying for withdrawal from Paris.• Instead, the EPA staff are quietly working with outside supporters to place op eds favoring withdrawal from Paris.• The White House has told Pruitt to lay off doing TV appearances until Trump announces his decision on Paris. (In past weeks, the EPA Administrator has gone on TV to say the U.S. needs to quit Paris, but Pruitt told aides he'll be keeping a lower profile. He doesn't want a Paris withdrawal to be seen as his victory. "It needs to be the President's victory," one source said, paraphrasing what Pruitt has told aides.)• Pruitt's aides have told associates in recent days that they remain confident the President will withdraw from Paris but they've been worried about him being overseas and exposed to pressure from European leaders and the environmentalist views of his top aides like Ivanka and economic adviser Gary Cohn. Top EPA staff were relieved when Trump refused to join the other six nations of the G7 in reaffirming "strong commitment" to the Paris agreement.
Merkel told reporters that "The entire discussion about climate was very difficult, if not to say very dissatisfying. There are no indications whether the United States will stay in the Paris Agreement or not." The other G7 leaders-- "other" meaning everyone but Señor Trumpanzee-- issued a statement that included "The United States of America is in the process of reviewing its policies on climate change and on the Paris Agreement and thus is not in a position to join the consensus on these topics. Understanding this process, the heads of state and of government of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom and the presidents of the European Council and of the European Commission reaffirm their strong commitment to swiftly implement the Paris Agreement."
