If we want to end inflation, we have to recognize how this dynamic is bound up in assaults on democracy around the globe and at home.
Opinion: Want to Stop Inflation? Fighting for Global Democracy is the Answer
Opinion: Amazon, Starbucks, and Other U.S. Workers Fight the Putins at Home, While Ukraine’s Fight for Democracy Rages On
We need to recognize the role of labor and collective organizing in achieving democracy.
NY Times Haberman: Trump Came to Realization He Wasn’t POTUS Anymore When He Saw Biden Meet Putin
Donald Trump functions in a very different way than most politicians. The 45th president was coddled throughout his entire life and it wasn’t very often that he faced consequences for his actions.
So Trump is having a very tough time coming to grips with the fact that he isn’t president anymore. In fact, he reportedly told friends that he expects to be put back in office once electoral fraud is proven.
It has to gall the former president to see Joe Biden meet with the same world leaders he’d been meeting with the last 4 years. In fact, Maggie Haberman says, Biden’s meeting with Putin was the moment Trump realized that he wasn’t president anymore.
The New York Times reporter made the comments to CNN‘s John Berman. She told the host:
“This is the event that underscored for people around Trump and the former president himself the fact that he’s not president anymore. This was the kind of event on the world stage, getting enormous attention, that he really enjoyed, that he saw as one of the trappings of the office that he thought spoke to a sense of power and strength… it was the real moment of, ‘Oh, someone else is president and not Donald Trump.'”
Frank Figliuzzi: The GOP and Vladimir Putin Are Pushing the Exact Same Message on 1/6 Insurrection
Joe Biden has spent the last week on the first major foreign visit of his presidency. The reviews, so far, have been very good. Boris Johnson called the new president a “breath of fresh air.” French president Emmanuel Macron said that the United States is “definitely back.”
Still, Conservative media and Republican lawmakers would have you believe that the meetings haven’t gone well. And to aid that effort, multiple GOP Reps (and Tucker Carlson) are pushing the idea that the FBI “murdered” insurrectionist Ashli Babbitt. During a Wednesday appearance on MSNBC, Frank Figliuzzi pointed out that Vladimir Putin and Republicans have the same message.
The former FBI agent told Nicolle Wallace, “Yeah. This is about preservation of power. They will do whatever they need to do to be re-elected to stick with the base as long as Trump is the primary influencer of their party. “
Figliuzzi continued:
“I can’t, from the national security perspective can’t let the opportunity go to not point out that, as recently as today, Vladimir Putin at his press conference regurgitated the very same message that we have U.S. Congressmen saying, which is that the people that breached the security at the Capitol were simply looking for their political voice. They were simply looking for some political solutions. Vladimir Putin said that today at his press conference and these members of congress who refuse to honor the bravery of the Capitol police officers, who protected those members of congress are echoing the same thing as Putin.”
https://twitter.com/politicususa/status/1405284740916080644
The Biden-Putin Summit is Underway and the Right Wants It to Fail
President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin are currently meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, for a high-stakes summit. The meeting comes as Biden criticizes Russia for its interference in American elections and for its role in recent cyberattacks, and as the Biden administration imposes sanctions on Moscow for its aggression.
The two leaders shook hands at the start of the summit, which is expected to last four to five hours.
WATCH: President Biden and President Putin shake hands at opening of hours-long summit in Geneva. https://t.co/cNVeg73njZ pic.twitter.com/cNb4hKKqu2
— NBC News (@NBCNews) June 16, 2021
Soon after, criticism rained down from high-profile Republicans, including Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who likened the summit to a “pipeline” that will further Russian interests over American ones.
The Biden-Putin Pipeline Summit has begun!pic.twitter.com/jckUGuf08m
Prior to Biden/Putin Meeting Russian State TV Aired Interview With Insurrectionist Who Put His Feet up on Pelosi’s Desk
Vladimir Putin already realizes that Joe Biden is going to be much tougher on him than Donald Trump ever was. While Trump acted life a fawning fan towards the Russian president, Biden has called him a killer to his face.
The two men will soon be meeting. And Russian State TV is working overtime to make Putin look strong and Biden look weak. As part of that effort, the Kremlin propaganda machine is promoting the Trump insurrectionists as patriots. One channel even interviewed Richard “Bigo” Barnett, a man famous for putting his feet up on Nancy Pelosi‘s desk during the riots. Barnett’s lawyer Andrew McBride also joined in on the talk.
The Daily Beast reports, “
Barnett, a self-proclaimed white nationalist, was introduced as a ‘colorful’ individual, the same expression Putin frequently uses to describe Trump. McBride welcomed Rossiya-1 special correspondent Valentin Bogdanov into his office and FaceTimed his client, who appeared cheerful and at ease at his Arkansas
WATCH: CNN’s Kaitlin Collins Rips Trump For Attempting to Sabotage Biden’s Meeting With Putin
It should have been pretty clear to Donald Trump who the country’s allies were. Instead, the former president treated the country’s enemies like friends and alienated long term supporters.
And while Trump is out of office, he isn’t done hurting US foreign policy. Joe Biden is currently on his first major overseas trip and will be soon meeting with Vladimir Putin. Prior to that meeting Trump issued a statement siding with Russia over US officials.
Trump wrote, among other things, “Our government has rarely had such lowlifes as these working for it. Good luck to Biden in dealing with President Putin — don’t fall asleep during the meeting, and please give him my warmest regards!”
Former US president says he still trusts Russia more than the government he once led. pic.twitter.com/5Wkwj8KOwZ
— Andrew Feinberg (@AndrewFeinberg) June 10, 2021
CNN‘s Kaitlin Collins ripped Trump over the comments. She began, “The former president is putting out a stunning statement, essentially repeating his embrace of Putin at that summit, embracing him, of course, over U.S. intelligence. Instead framing it as siding with Putin over Obama officials, even though it was the president’s own intelligence officials at the time that said yes, they did believe interfered in the election.”
CNN's Kaitlin Collins accuses Donald Trump of attempting to sabotage meeting between Biden and Vladimir Putin. pic.twitter.com/LKBQ5wZ29A
Biden Says He Will Let Putin and China Know “That Europe and the United States Are Tight”
As President Joe Biden embarked on his first overseas trip since taking office, he told reporters that his trip, which will include a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, will serve as an opportunity to let Putin and China know “that Europe and the United States are tight and the G-7 is going to move.”
Asked whether he will address and come to understanding with Putin over the subject of Russian cyberattacks, Biden responded, “Who knows? We know it’ll be a subject of our discussion.”
Biden also added that he will announce a global vaccine strategy. “I have one and I’ll be announcing it,” he said.
Before President Biden departed for his first foreign trip, he said he will make it "clear to Putin and to China that Europe and United States are tight."https://t.co/bL0wrmnkJy pic.twitter.com/884FfYlJlO
Russia Bans Merrick Garland, John Bolton and Others From Entering Country
For 4 years, Donald Trump refused to respond to provocative actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin. In fact, Trump seemed to do nothing but praise the Russian leader.
Joe Biden, however, will be taking a much different tack with Putin. Biden has famously called the Russian President a killer and told him that, “he has no soul.”
And this week, the US President announced that he would be taking action against Russia for it’s Solar Winds hack on American federal agencies. When announcing the sanctions, Biden said, “
I was clear with President Putin that we could have gone further, but I chose not to do so. Now is the time to de-escalate.”
Putin Weakly Responds To Biden Calling Him A Killer
Russian President Vladimir Putin said “it takes one to know one” in response to a television interview President Joe Biden gave yesterday calling him a “killer.”
“I remember in my childhood, when we argued in the courtyard we used to say: it takes one to know one. And that’s not a coincidence, not just a children’s saying or joke,” Putin said. “We always see our own traits in other people and think they are like how we really are. And as a result we assess (a person’s) activities and give assessments.”
Biden Says Putin Will “Pay a Price” for Interfering in U.S. Elections
President Joe Biden said Russian leader Vladimir Putin will “pay a price” for interfering in United States elections after years of concerns from the intelligence community that Russian operatives meddled in the 2016 and 2020 elections to sow discord and spread disinformation.
“We had a long talk, he and I,” Biden said during an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopolous in an interview that aired today. “I know him relatively well. And the conversation started off, I said, ‘I know you, and you know me. If I establish this occurred, then be prepared.’”
Biden did not elaborate when asked what consequences Putin might face, only saying, “you’ll see shortly.” Biden also told Stephanopolous that he thinks Putin is a “killer” and confirmed that he once told Putin that he didn’t think he had a “soul.”
“I did say that to him, yes,” Biden said. “And his response was, ‘We understand one another.’ I wasn’t being a wise guy. I was alone with him in his office. That’s how it came about.”
EXCLUSIVE: Pres. Biden told @GStephanopoulos that he agreed Russian President Vladimir Putin is a "killer" and will "pay a price" for interfering in U.S. elections. https://t.co/rIe2ms8sSv pic.twitter.com/VtAGCvF9hp
Putin Critic Says Trump Damaged America’s Reputation Among Ordinary Russians
Speaking to NBC News in an exclusive interview, former oil magnate Mikhail Khodorkovsky said former President Donald Trump’s tenure damaged the United States’ reputation among ordinary Russians.
Trump was caught in the crosshairs of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 general election
Biden Says U.S. “Will Never Recognize Russia’s Purported Annexation” of Crimea
On the seventh anniversary of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, a move that Ukraine and the global community largely consider a violation of international law, President Joe Biden condemned Russian aggression, saying the United States does not consider Russia’s intervention legitimate.
“The United States does not and will never recognize Russia’s purported annexation of the peninsula, and we will stand with Ukraine against Russia’s aggressive acts. We will continue to work to hold Russia accountable for its abuses and aggression in Ukraine,” Biden said.
“The United States does not and will never recognize Russia’s purported annexation of the peninsula, and we will stand with Ukraine against Russia’s aggressive acts. We will continue to work to hold Russia accountable for its abuses and aggression in Ukraine,” he noted. “The United States still believes in the promise of Ukraine and we support all those working towards a peaceful, democratic, and prosperous future for their country.”
Biden’s statements represent a more aggressive stance against Russia. Biden’s predecessor, former president Donald Trump, was often criticized for an often deferential relationship with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, whose government been at the center of disinformation efforts that impacted both the 2016 and 2020 general election cycles.
The Biden administration is preparing to order sanctions against Moscow for a major cyberattack that breached parts of the United States federal government. The Washington Post reported earlier this week that the Biden administration “
is casting the SolarWinds operation, in which government agencies and private companies were hacked, as ‘indiscriminate’ and potentially ‘disruptive.'”
Nancy Pelosi: Trump Supporters Who Stormed Capitol Were “Doing Putin’s Bidding”
For the last two years, Nancy Pelosi has spent much of her time holding Donald Trump accountable for her actions. In just two short days, though, Trump will no longer be her problem anymore.
The Speaker of the House spoke about her experiences during an appearance on Hillary Clinton’s radio show. Of course, the main topic of conversation was the recent attack on the US Capitol and how happy it must have made Vladimir Putin.
Pelosi told Clinton, “
I would love to see his phone records to see whether he was talking to Putin the day that the insurgents invaded our Capitol. But we now know that not just him, but his enablers, his accomplices, his cult members, have the same disregard for democracy
Romney on Trump’s Election Theories: “Russia and China Have to be Laughing”
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have long had a symbiotic relationship. For Trump, who is not respected by most world leaders, Putin’s compliments and support are welcomed. For Putin, there mere presence of Trump in the White House helps lower America’s power and standing around the world.
And Trump’s presidential term continues to be a gift for the Russian leader. The president’s refusal to accept the results in a free and fair election surely please Putin.
Frequent Trump critic Mitt Romney made this point while speaking to Wolf Blitzer on Thursday. The Utah senator told the CNN host:
“The attorney general has said there’s no there there. The courts have all looked at the evidence and said there’s no evidence there. Now, of course, there will be circumstances where one or two, or a handful, maybe even 100 ballots were incorrectly sent in or counted, and those things get adjusted and get fixed. But the idea of widespread fraud is simply not been shown to us.”
He Would Explode: Ex-CIA Officer Says Intel Officers are Terrified to Brief Trump on Russia
Donald Trump is not a very big fan of briefings. He is not briefed anywhere near as much as his predecessors. The memos to Trump also have to be broken down in ways that he can more easily understand them.
And there are some subjects that Trump isn’t briefed on at all. And these are subjects that would make him especially upset. Chief among these is the actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
During a recent interview with GQ correspondent Julia Ioffe, 26 year CIA veteran Marc Polymeropoulos tried to explain why this was the case. He told Ioffe, “No one’s going to brief anything on Russia to the president.”
The former CIA Officer continued, “
They’re terrified of doing that. I know that from the briefers. Because he’ll explode and the whole thing will get derailed, because he has this weird affinity for Putin.”
Trump Reportedly Had a “Public Meltdown” Over Missed Call from Vladimir Putin
Donald Trump publicly berated his former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn because of a missed call from Vladimir Putin, according to former senior figure in the British government.
Nick Timothy, a senior adviser to former British Prime Minister Theresa May, claimed in an interview that the President had a meltdown in front of May and others because of a missed call with the Russian president.
“
Somebody just mentioned in passing that Vladimir Putin had asked for a call with him, and right in front us he absolutely shouted down Mike Flynn,” Timothy told a podcast.
Trump Lashes Out at U.S. Officials, Disputes Claim He Trusts Putin Over U.S. Intelligence
President Donald Trump lashed out at government officials and disputed claims that he trusts Russian leader Vladimir Putin over United States intelligence agencies.
“John Bolton, one of the dumbest people I’ve met in government and sadly, I’ve met plenty, states often that I respected, and even trusted, Vladimir Putin of Russia more than those in our Intelligence Agencies,” Trump said of his former national security adviser.
“While of course that is not true,” he continued, “if the first people you met from so called American Intelligence were Dirty Cops who have now proven to be sleazebags at the highest level like James Comey, proven liar James Clapper, & perhaps the lowest of them all, Wacko John Brennan who headed the CIA, you could perhaps understand my reluctance to embrace!”
John Bolton, one of the dumbest people I’ve met in government and sadly, I’ve met plenty, states often that I respected, and even trusted, Vladimir Putin of Russia more than those in our Intelligence Agencies. While of course that is not true, if the first people you met from….
Mary Trump: President Trump Is ‘Drawn’ to Vladimir Putin Because He’s Like His Father
Mary Trump thinks the President is drawn to Vladimir Putin because the Russian leader is like his father. Donald Trump’s niece suggested he was primed to seek out people like Putin.
Mary Trump spoke to MSNBC’s Joy Reid on Wednesday about her uncle’s relationship with strongmen like the Russian president. She drew parallels to her grandfather, Fred Trump Sr.
“Fred had also primed Donald to be drawn to men such as [Roy] Cohn, as he would later be drawn to authoritarians such as Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un or anyone else, really, with a willingness to flatter and the power to enrich him,” she said.
Ms. Trump said the President might be trying to gain something from his relationship with Putin, but couldn’t say what that might be.
“I think there are plenty of reasons to believe that’s the case,” she said.
“But, you know, I can speak to the resemblance that Putin may have to my grandfather.”
“One of the things my grandfather did was, you know, through neglect, abuse, and pressure, was turn Donald into somebody who was eminently useful to smarter, and more powerful men.”
“And I think part of the charm, although, again, I am not privy to any conversations with them — I imagine Putin understands exactly how to manipulate Donald, you know, whether or not there are financial incentives.”
Trump recently defended Putin’s Russia arming the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Trump Never Asked Vladimir Putin About Russian Bounties on U.S. Soldiers
Donald Trump has not discussed reports of Russian bounties on U.S. troops in Afghanistan. The President admitted he hadn’t confronted Vladimir Putin about the issue.
The President gave an interview to Axios on HBO on Tuesday where he downplayed the intelligence on Russian bounties paid to the Talbian. He also confirmed he hadn’t mentioned them to his Russian counterpart.
Trump spoke to Putin by phone on Thursday and said of the call: We don’t talk about what we discussed, but we had plenty of discussion.”
“I have never discussed it with him,” Trump told Axios.
“That was a phone call to discuss other things, and frankly that’s an issue that many people said was fake news.”
The President claims intelligence agencies never briefed him on the bounties because they found the information less than credible. However, it later emerged the intelligence was contained in the Presidential Daily Briefing (PDB).
Several news outlets suggested that Trump simply doesn’t read the PDB and there’s plenty of evidence that he doesn’t like to read. In the interview he said he did read it.
“[T]hey like to say I don’t read, I read a lot,” Trump said.
However, he said the Russian bounties intelligence “never reached my desk” because agencies “didn’t think it was real.”