"It's an honor to be with you."
That statement that President Trump said to Russian President Vladimir Putin alone is sticking in the gut of everyone in Washington while fueling united criticism from pols Republican and Democratic alike. In the context of what has been determining by the U.S. intelligence community about Russian meddling in the 2016 election, fmr. CIA Director John Brennan called it a dishonorable statement in his interview. No one's calling him out on it.
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said that the president's views on Russia are "undermining his entire presidency," and that he doesn't know anyone else in Washington who believes the Russians didn't meddle in the election. "I'm dumbfounded and disappointed," he said. Senator Graham explained that he agreed with the president's actions on several confrontational fronts from Afghanistan to North Korea, but called his stance on Russia a blind spot. Yes, indeed a blind spot; one brought into sharp focus by the in-over-his-head Secretary of State Rex Tillerson who explained that the U.S. president after speaking with the Russian president isn't going to relitigate the past. So basically, you attacked our democracy and denied it so we're all good now?
Also, something of note here: fmr. Director Brennan in response to an anonymous administration source being quoted that he felt like the [Obama] Administration choked, he flatly rebutted that statement explaining that he confronted his Russian counterpart. President Obama confronted Pution personally in September 2016, which Brennan said altered their behavior some.
As for the president, during his overseas trip while in Poland, he said that he wasn't sure if it was just Russia alone who meddled in the election, which projects that the president doesn't have confidence in his own intelligence agencies, but then again Mr. Trump doesn't seem to know the clear responsibilities and jurisdictions of each as evidence by his errant tweet about the CIA being authorized to operate domestically. They are not.
During the G20 meetings in Hamburg, Germany the big take away is how the other 19 countries involved isolated the United States on climate discussions, and by extension the economic opportunities that come out of those talks. On trade, the European Union cut a trade deal with Japan completely boxing out the United States. All this on top of the fact that the leaders of France and Germany among many other countries don't have the same kind of warm and fuzzy feelings for Russia that President Trump does.
Then the Trump Administration issues a statement of its intention to work with Russia on a joint cyber security plan. What? Senator Graham said it wasn't the dumbest idea he's ever heard, but it's pretty close. The column respectfully disagrees, that is the dumbest idea ever presented by an Administration.
Or there's Senator Marco Rubio's (R-FL) tweet:
On the home front, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has told the president and his staff to stay out of the way of the Senate's tax cut... uh, health care legislation. Just kidding as that is in all fairness yet to be seen though Republicans have signaled that tax reform would include a massive tax cut from the savings on the Medicaid rollback. But the president is out of the loop, out on limb fighting disputes of his own making. Whether it be with the press or his own intelligence services, he's alone in doing it. Americans know that picking petty fights with others isn't effective leadership, we know this. What we're not used to is looking away from the president, the presidency, because it not longer feels like the moral (leadership) center.
It's like the administration is constantly complaining about the criticism on how they're steering the ship, while at the same time not hearing everyone screaming back at them that the rudder's broken.
Weird.
When the president is isolated like this, the whole United States feels this, thus a further retreating to the corners, as it were.
Prime example: The two party chairs, Ronna McDaniel (RNC) and Tom Perez (DNC), appearing in their first joint interview. They just met and ended up talking over one another by the end of it (as Mr. Todd noted). Many would watch that interview and assess those individuals are part of the problem, but the problem is that if you cede one inch of ground on issue or statement, you'll feel the job ending scorn of your base. And because we know Mr. Perez better, he needs to be called here about saying that Republicans don't give **** about Democrats. Maybe true, but an individual in his position shouldn't say that. Also, when he likes a phrase, he definitely annoys you with it - We believe health care is right, not a privilege for a few - three times in three minutes. We're watching "Meet The Press" on a Sunday morning, we heard it the first time, we're not stupid, you don't have to repeat it, and we knew it before you said it.
Asking Democrats to participate in the repeal of the Affordable Care Act is like Democrats asking Republicans to raise taxes on the richest Americans to pre-Reagan era levels. It's unthinkable so to suggest that the opposing party would participate in such a thing is a little disingenuous at least.
As the panel gamely discussed, Senator McConnell threatened his caucus with having to possibly work with Democrats in a bipartisan manner to fix the Affordable Care Act to stabilize the markets if they all couldn't get on the same page in terms of voting for the bill, moderates and hardliners alike.
What a detestable thought that the parties would work together, but instead they retreat into their respective corners with the Administration ushering the way.
Panel: Ruth Marcus, The Washington Post; Kristen Welker, NBC News; Rich Lowry, The National Review; Robert Costa, The Washington Post
A couple more things...
Kudos to Robert Costa for the slight disgusting you could hear in his voice when he referred to the Republican party becoming the grievance party and that the base probably doesn't care if the health care bill passes out not. Interpret as you will, but either way kudos still apply.
Solid Panel today, actually starting to think that the fact of the Trump presidency has tempered Rich Lowry's rhetorical arguments a bit.
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