Friday, October 6, 2017

This TrumpWorld Grab-Bag Feels Nervous




Donald Trump's presidency rests in part on the idea that his basic position regarding foreign policy is "America First"--that he appreciates American interests and goals, and will work for them with his supposedly renowned deal-making skills. However, it sort of looks like Trump doesn't actually put the US first, and might, maybe, favor Russia, the country alleged to have helped him win his election.

Or maybe he just doesn't know what he's doing, and doesn't have an administration strong on the "doing things" scale either. It is hard to say. Maybe he just has so darn many business connections to Russia he's basically just corrupt in the old-fashioned "financially-compromised" sense.

There are a lot of open questions in the age of Trump. Did Manafort become Trump's campaign manager because a presidency is a kind of awesome-sauce collateral to put up against one's relative asset-poverty? Is a private email server, especially one hosted by one's fathers' business, and more than likely set up to avoid scrutiny (except of course it would garner scrutiny), seem like security clearance losses for Ivanka and Jared for just security-clearance losing stupidity, or for something actually more legally actionable? Where should we stand with respects to cutting off potential Russian influence campaigns? And can we start to resent their unique precision in placement?

I only know that Mueller is checking out the Steele dossier, and Steele himself. I feel like his investigation is going places.


The Red Line for Journalism

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