Quid pro quo

Trump is now repaying Putin for helping him win the presidency

The events of the past few days — culminating in President Trump’s meeting today with Russian President Vladimir Putin — have rendered this interpretation inescapable: 

Trump is currently in the process of repaying Putin for helping to deliver him the presidency.

Whatever comes of this meeting — even if Trump does, in fact, gain some concessions from Putin, and even if Putin does not get what he wants out of Trump — that storyline will remain operative. 

The known facts have now established it beyond any reasonable doubt, and the only alternative interpretations of that now-established basic bargain that make any sense are actually more nefarious than that one.

. . . .

In blaming only previous U.S. leadership and the current Mueller probe for bad relations with Russia — and not Russia’s attack on our democracy, which is particularly galling, now that this attack has been described in great new detail — Trump is not merely spinning in a way that benefits himself. 

He’s also giving a gift to Putin, by signaling that he will continue to do all he can to delegitimize efforts to establish the full truth about Russian interference, which in turn telegraphs that Russia can continue such efforts in the future (which U.S. intelligence officials have warned will happen in the 2018 elections). 

In a sense, by doing this, Trump is colluding with such efforts right now.

Putin eats Trump's lunch in Helsinki

When asked if he would hold Russia accountable for any of its past actions, Trump deflected and deferred. 

President Trump’s unwillingness to stand up to Russia on this issue only serves to weaken the Western alliance and encourage further Russian incursions into the territory of sovereign nations now that Putin knows Trump will give him a pass.

Most importantly, on election meddling, Trump refused to stand with U.S. intelligence and charge Putin with interference, saying he doesn’t “see any reason why it would be” the Russians carrying out the illegal meddling.

For a sitting U.S. president to say publicly that he believes a foreign leader over his own intelligence team is shocking and admonishable. 

At a time when our democracy faces grave threats, it is deeply troubling that the president would side with the very country who attacked us.

Additionally, Trump’s failure to distinguish between campaign collusion and Russia’s blatant attack on our democracy allowed Putin to sow more discord during the press conference.