PRESIDENT Donald Trump has yet again outdone himself in the past week in sowing contradictions, conspiracy theories and chaos in the United States. It’s a gift that keeps on giving to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who according to the findings of U.S. intelligence agencies, aims to sow chaos and discord among the people of the United States and among the member countries of the free world.
In the aftermath of his disastrous summit with the Russian dictator in Helsinki — which has left every American guessing what he discussed with Putin in private — and after another provocative storm of tweets (in all caps) warning Iran that continued threats would result in “consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before,” Trump addressed the annual convention of the nonpartisan Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) in Kansas City, Missouri, and converted it to be a political rally to lash out at his critics.
Many people at the VFW event were hoping the president would use the event as an opportunity “to listen — and we mean really listen — to some of the heroes who will be on hand to hear him,” as stated in an editorial published by the Kansas City ADD: Star. The editorial was in response to Trump’s provocative tweet to Iran, reminiscent of his “fire and fury” threat of war with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un a year ago.
“They surely will have something to say about the realities of war and the horrors of combat,” the newspaper’s editorial board stated. “Those insights would be good for Trump to hear now as he continues to rattle his saber at foes around the globe.”
Instead, Trump told the veterans, “Don’t believe the crap you hear from these people — the fake news.” With his ever loyal fan base watching on television, Trump added, “What you’re seeing and what you’re reading is not what’s happening.”
Such propaganda message is necessary in Trump’s universe to insulate his fans from the barrage of news reports that do not fit in his “version” of the truth, especially in light of the ongoing Mueller probe into the alleged collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign to damage Hillary Clinton’s campaign and help Trump win.
After siding with Putin in the dictator’s denial of interfering in the U.S. election, and after saying he does not believe Russia continues to hack into the 2018 midterm elections, Trump now revises his narrative and expressed concern about Russian interference in the 2018 ADD: midterm elections.
On Tuesday, July 24, Trump tweeted, “I’m very concerned that Russia will be fighting very hard to have an impact on the upcoming Election. Based on the fact that no President has been tougher on Russia than me, they will be pushing very hard for the Democrats. They definitely don’t want Trump!”.
Many wonder why Trump would have the audacity to spread such “conspiracy theory” when he, just like in his many conspiracy theories in the past, has no evidence to back up such crazy outrageous claim.
The problem with this narrative is the fact that in the recently concluded “summit” where Putin admitted during the news conference while he was there standing side by side with the U.S. president that he wanted Trump to win.
Let me quote that part of the transcript of the news conference:
Reporter: Did you want President Trump to win the election and did you direct any of your officials to help him do that?
Putin: Yes, I wanted him to win. Because he talked about bringing the U.S.-Russia relationship back to normal.
Who in their right mind would believe Trump when facts show that Putin hated Obama, Clinton, the Democratic Party and had interfered in the 2016 Elections to help Trump win by cyber warfare against the Democrats. This was based on the findings of U.S. intelligence agencies and the Senate Intelligence Committee, which has already warned about Russia’s continued attack in our 2018 election process, our power grid, and the state websites to steal voter data.
Who in their right mind and with open eyes would not see how Trump has been so friendly and meek as a lamb in front of Putin and has not personally called the Russian dictator out for Russia’s assault in our democracy, even inviting him for a second summit in the White House?
OF COURSE, there are people who will blindly believe all of Trump’s “version of truth” despite what actual real facts really say.
Could Trump be concerned about the defeat of Republicans this November because of his own doing that he is already conditioning the minds of his fan base that such victory of the Democrats in the midterm election was because of Russia’s interference — an attempt to turn the table and absolve him of the allegations of collusion with Russia whatever the conclusion of the Mueller investigation may be?
AND IF THE GOP wins and retains the majority in both the Senate and the House, could such “version of the truth” foster the narrative that he, indeed, is America’s “favorite president”? When could it be a result of Russia’s unbridled continued interference in our elections to help Trump keep his power?
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Gel Santos Relos is the anchor of TFC’s “Balitang America.” Views and opinions expressed by the author in this column are solely those of the author and not of Asian Journal and ABS-CBN-TFC. For comments, go to www.TheFil-AmPerspective.com, https://www.facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos
