Rachel Maddow Calls Trump A Russian Loyalist In Crushing Takedown Of His Presidency

Rachel Maddow delivered a crushing assessment of Donald Trump on Monday, saying no president in American history has ever betrayed the country quite like he has.

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The MSNBC host pointed to the fact that Trump doesn’t appear to care that his buddy, Russian president Vladimir Putin, is paying to have U.S troops killed in Afghanistan.

“The implications of the president’s loyalties and what he has done here have never been more stark or serious than this story about the president knowing about and ignoring the Russian government paying for American deaths,” Maddow said. “It’s astonishing.”

Video:

Maddow said:

Vladimir Putin is paying for the murders of American soldiers. Does the president of the United States consent to that? ‘Sure, Vlad! You know, pay bounties for the deaths of Americans. I’m the president. I don’t mind. That’s cool. Is there anything else you might want or need from me?’ I’ve covered national security stuff for a long time. I wrote a book about civil military relations, I’m fascinated by international politics of this kind. I have never, ever, ever come across a story that has the implications that this one has. Of all the things, the terrible things that American presidents have done when it comes to national security to serve their own interests instead, up to and including Nixon, arguably, extending the war in Vietnam because he thought it would be better for his election efforts. Up to and including that, the implications of the president’s loyalties and what he has done here have never been more stark or serious than this story about the president knowing about and ignoring the Russian government paying for American deaths. It’s astonishing.

Trump still hasn’t condemned Vladimir Putin

Since this shocking story about Russian bounties broke on Friday, Donald Trump has been in full-on damage control mode, only caring about defending himself instead of American troops.

The White House says that neither Trump nor Vice President Mike Pence were even briefed on the matter – a highly dubious claim.

But here’s the thing: both Trump and Pence – as well as the American people – are completely in the loop now. The cat is out of the bag about Russia’s efforts to pay cash for the killing of American troops.

Yet Donald Trump – a man Vladimir Putin helped win the presidency in 2016 – refuses to condemn it.

As Rachel Maddow said, that’s astonishing – even for this president.

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Sean Colarossi

Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.