Putin

Double Negative President

cjones07202018

Talk with Putin about Ukraine? Nyet. Talk about annexing Crimea? Nyet? Talk about shooting down a Malaysian airliner? Nyet. Take him to task for meddling in our election? Nyet! Nyet! Nyet! Roll over and kiss his ass? Oh, hell yeah.

During Trump’s summit with Putin, he backed the Russian dictator’s assertion that he didn’t meddle in the 2016 presidential election. In Helsinki, while standing next to Putin, Trump said, “My people came to me, Dan Coats came to me and some others, they said they think it’s Russia. I have President Putin; he just said it’s not Russia. I will say this: I don’t see any reason why it would be.”

Trump was proud of his statements and behavior at the summit. On the flight home aboard Air Force One, he turned on the television to find that most people didn’t agree with him. The term “treasonous behavior” was tossed around…a lot. Even Fox News wasn’t buying it and were highly critical, except Hannity. Even Newt Gingrich said it was the most “serious mistake” of the Trump presidency. According to unnamed sources, Trump’s mood got so dark that staffers were avoiding him on the plane. Do you know how hard it is to escape someone on an airplane? Even on Air Force One, it has to be difficult. I saw that Harrison Ford movie. Except Harrison was trying to kick Russians off the plane, where in reality Trump would probably hand them the keys.

Trump rarely apologizes or backtracks. This is a man who didn’t apologize or backtrack for saying John McCain, a POW, was NOT a war hero. He didn’t do it after attacking Gold Star Families. He didn’t apologize for saying he didn’t want people coming here from “shit hole countries.” He didn’t even apologize for defending Nazis. But then again, none of that stuff really upset Republicans that much. Treason while sharing a stage with Putin on camera, however, does upset a few members of the GOP.

It took over 24 hours and after two interviews on Fox News for Trump to realize he had to issue a statement explaining his statements. In the tradition of all things Trump, the statement was incoherent and stupid.

Trump didn’t backtrack on attacking the FBI, or his whataboutism deflecting about Hillary’s server, or calling an investigation that indicts Russians a “witch hunt,” blaming the victims who were hacked, thinking it’s a great idea for Russian to help investigate the meddling, or his total appeasement of Vladimir Putin. He focused on one word and told us he didn’t have sex with that dictator depending on your definition of the word “is.” Oops, wrong president.

No. Trump told us he meant to say “wouldn’t” instead of “would.” He thought it would be clear and understandable for most people that “would” meant “wouldn’t.” In saying he didn’t see why Russia “would” meddle, he meant to say He didn’t understand why Russia “wouldn’t” meddle. He explained it away as a “double negative.” I’m shocked he didn’t say Putin didn’t not do it.

He is overlooking the fact that his “would/wouldn’t” statement was sandwiched between praise for Putin. So, saying it was Russia who meddled doesn’t fit into the context. Even after his statement, he started riffing and went back to his old argument about others besides Russia doing the hacking.

Trump was reading off a script when he delivered his explanation, and on the script “no collusion” (with only one L) was written with a Sharpie.

The White House defense is that we don’t have to worry about treason, just incoherence. While I do believe Trump is incoherent, I’m not buying the explanation. Trump meant to say he believes Vladimir Putin over America’s intelligence agencies.

The real danger in this is that it takes us back to where we were last week. Republicans will go back to business as usual, which is defending Trump no matter what horrible things he says or does. Now they can say it’s not treasonous behavior because Trump changed one word. Even if you did buy it, that doesn’t change the rest of the summit or the fact Trump held Putin’s hand in private for two hours. It doesn’t change the fact that the president of the United States sided with a Russian dictator over the nation he’s sworn to defend and protect. His squirmful backtracking doesn’t change the fact he threw every single one of us under the bus.

Republicans and Trump sycophants can’t use this lousy excuse to deflect from the real danger that is Donald Trump. Donald Trump did engage in treasonous behavior. There is no way to walk around what Trump did in Helsinki. There is no way to overlook that Putin has something on Donald Trump, or that our president is enamored and afraid of Putin. But to be fair, Trump is afraid of a lot of people and things. Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren, vegetables, written text, shark week, stairs, etc.

During Trump’s explanation, the lights in the room actually went out for a few seconds. Someone has the right idea because the lights need to go out on this entire administration.

Watch me draw.

Thank you for your support. Reader contributions really do help and are appreciated in a time of dwindling revenue for political cartoonists. You will also be supporting free speech and the First Amendment, and independent journalism while those in power are doing all they can to suppress it. You can also support by purchasing a signed print for $40.00. Just look at the right of this page and click the PayPal button, or you can email and make other arrangements. Thank you!

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Submitting To Putin

cjones07192018

The best way to sum up where Republican position on Donald Trump, Russia, and America; they have a great problem with an FBI agent hating Donald Trump and none with a Russian president loving him.

Presidents are called upon to respond to a national crisis. Our current president is a national crisis. He proved it Monday as he rolled over and submitted to the leader of a hostile nation that assaulted our Democratic process.

All the rumors and accusations used to explain why Donald Trump is subservient and worshipful of Vladimir Putin sound like bad conspiracy theories even the worst Hollywood b studios would reject. But every time Donald Trump opens his mouth, he gives them credence. After his summit, meeting, get together, or whatever it’s being called by who you ask, the crazy conspiracies are the only explanation. On Monday in Helsinki, Finland, the president of the United States threw America, the foundations of Democracy, and the greatest institutions of our freedom under the bus for Russia and Putin. On Monday, Trump chose Putin over America.

Before Trump left for his trip to NATO, the United Kingdom, and the summit with Putin, Robert Mueller handed him a gift. He was told that 12 Russians were going to be indicted for meddling in our election. Mueller had the names, followed their keystrokes, and even knew which building they worked out of. Since Trump wouldn’t use this information as a great reason to cancel the summit, he could have taken those indictments and thrown them in Vladimir Putin’s face. Instead, he spent the week calling the investigation a witch hunt.

Trump was the one who called for the summit. He didn’t even have an agenda and didn’t even prepare. In fact, despite attending a NATO meeting the week before his trip to Finland, he didn’t know that Finland wasn’t a member of NATO. He was asked for his expectations of the summit with Putin, and he answered, “Ask me after.” How do you have expectations afterward? Putin, however, did come prepared. He had an agenda. He had expectations. Trump fulfilled every expectation Putin and every Trump critic had.

Putin brought pen and paper to his meeting with Trump. Trump brought his ass. Putin gave Trump a soccer ball and Trump handed Putin both of his.

Sharing a stage with Putin, Trump refused to challenge him on his denial of meddling in our election. He said he can’t see why Putin would meddle when his performance is every reason why they would. Trump continued to deny collusion with Russia while standing on a stage with Putin before the entire world colluding with Russia.

Trump blamed the United States for the hacking of the DNC. He even said blame went to both sides, which is what he said about Nazis and the people they attacked in Charlottesville. He blamed Obama because the meddling happened during his administration, though the meddling was done to create a Trump administration. Trump complained that the Russian investigation was driving a wedge between the United States and Russia, much like a murder will complicate the relationship between a murderer and the murdered.

It’s a shame our war in Afghanistan after 9/11 complicated our relationship with al-Qaeda.

In the past, Trump has argued that Putin really wanted Hillary Clinton to win and would have preferred dealing with her. He can’t make that argument anymore (but he probably will) because Putin explicitly stated he wanted Trump to win.

Putin was actually asked if he had anything on Trump. Trump later told Sean Hannity, who agreed, that Putin denied he had anything. Actually, Putin didn’t. He laughed at the question. He said he didn’t know when Trump was in Moscow as a private citizen and that he couldn’t have surveilled the 400 businessmen who were at the event, which is a huge lie. They monitor every foreigner. He finished the statement by telling the press, “Please disregard these issues and don’t think about this anymore again,” which I’m sure works really well on Russian journalists before they trip off a building.

Sharing a stage with the Russian leader who attacked our nation, Trump took his side and attacked our nation. Donald Trump committed treason yesterday in front of the entire world. He openly colluded and cooperated with Vladimir Putin and pushed forward the Russian agenda. He even stated beforehand that the European Union was a foe, while Russia was more of a competitor. When Putin offered for Mueller to visit Russia and get assistance from the 12 Russians he just indicted in his investigation, Trump said, “that’s an incredible offer.”

Some Republicans criticized Trump, though most did it mildly. But, if Republicans are criticizing Trump, there is definitely a problem. It’s not a small one.

The American president isn’t just stupid, racist, narcissistic, and a con man. He’s a traitor who has committed treason in front of the world. This is not a secret anymore and the nation needs to remove him as soon as possible. He has gone from being a national embarrassment to a national threat.

For most Republicans who give Trump a 90% approval rating, they will keep chugging along. They did it after “I like heroes who weren’t captured,” attacks on Gold Star families, and even after he said there were good and bad people on both sides in Charlottesville while defending Nazis. Republicans used to claim they were the party of law and order, patriotism, respect for our troops and the flag, loving America more than the other guy, and would always be the first to defend it. Was it all a lie? Will Trump’s approval go higher than 90% after Putin has the keys to the Oval Office?

Thomas Friedman for The New York Times wrote, “There is overwhelming evidence that our president, for the first time in our history, is deliberately or through gross negligence or because of his own twisted personality engaged in treasonous behavior — behavior that violates his oath of office to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”‘

The best case scenario is that Trump has unknowingly become a Russian asset, which is possible by the display of his incoherence Monday. The worst case is that Trump is willfully doing Putin’s bidding. Either way, Trump is putting Russian interest before the United States, which he swore to protect and defend. Now, we need protection from him.

Donald Trump is a traitor. It’s not a theory anymore. The footage we have from his performance yesterday is much more disgusting than any pee tape.

Watch me draw.

Thank you for your support. Reader contributions really do help and are appreciated in a time of dwindling revenue for political cartoonists. You will also be supporting free speech and the First Amendment, and independent journalism while those in power are doing all they can to suppress it. You can also support by purchasing a signed print for $40.00. Just look at the right of this page and click the PayPal button, or you can email and make other arrangements. Thank you!

Sticky Fingers

cjones07162018

Yesterday, the Justice Department announced that Special Counsel Robert Mueller has indicted 12 Russians for meddling in the 2016 presidential election in an effort to support the candidacy of Donald Trump. The indictments bring the Russia investigation closer to Trump, and unfortunately for him, the only ones standing in the way to obstruct the investigation are the conspiracy-driven lunatics at Fox News and the Republican imbeciles in Congress.

The House Judiciary Committee dragged FBI agent Peter Strzok before them for a theatrical hearing to make the case that the FBI is part of the “deep state” gunning to take down Trump. Their argument is based on text messages he sent to his lover that were critical of Trump, while he was a part of two separate investigations of both presidential candidates.

Strzok argued that having a political opinion does not make someone biased. Biased is when you allow your opinion to get in the way of your work, which Strzok did not do. The evidence to that is, the FBI never leaked that they were investigating a possible Trump/Russia connection during the campaign, yet agents leaked information and there were multiple press conferences about the Clinton investigation.

There is a difference between being biased and informed. It is difficult to find a highly skilled, experienced, and intelligent professional who doesn’t have a negative opinion about Donald Trump. Don’t most investigators have a negative opinion of their subjects as they gain more information?

Democratic Congressman Ted Lieu said at one point during the showcase, “This is a stupid and ridiculous hearing.” Now, after yesterday’s indictments, we know why at least one Republican is desperate to stop Mueller’s investigation.

The indictments informed us that one Congressional candidate asked Gucifer 2.0, the Russian hackers, for stolen documents from Democrats, and received it. The report didn’t state if this candidate is presently in Congress or even what party they are a member of, but it’s kinda far-fetched to believe it’s not a Republican. If Mueller knows about this exchange, then he also knows who the suspect is.

Now, we get to play the game of guessing which Kool-Aid drinking, cultish, treasonous, Putin’s puppet of a Republican goon is going to prison. My candidates are Devin Nunes, Jim Jordan (who has other issues to answer for), Trey Gowdy, Steve King, Darrell Issa, Matt Gaetz, Louie Gohmert, and Bob Goodlatte. There are other contenders but this is my candy store. It’s really hard to pick just one sycophant.

If they all can’t go to prison, perhaps the voters can keep each of them from returning to Congress.

Watch me draw.

Thank you for your support. Reader contributions really do help and are appreciated in a time of dwindling revenue for political cartoonists. You will also be supporting free speech and the First Amendment, and independent journalism while those in power are doing all they can to suppress it. You can also support by purchasing a signed print for $40.00. Just look at the right of this page and click the PayPal button, or you can email and make other arrangements. Thank you!

Stinky Little Friend

cjones07142018

If you’re a Trump supporter and firmly believe he did not collude with, or is indebted in any way to Russia, then your best case scenario is that he’s madly in love with Vladimir Putin. It’s burning and it won’t go away.

Donald Trump is doing Putin’s bidding. He’s argued for Russia to be readmitted to the G-7. He refuses to criticize Putin in regard to any matter. He congratulated him for winning a sham election. He refuses to answer if he’ll recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea. He freaking gave Russians secrets in the Oval Office.

Trump is going the extra mile to politically weaken Theresa May and Angela Merkel, leaders of two nations Putin has meddled with. He’s trying to destabilize NATO, even questioning “what is it good for?”

On the first morning of the NATO Summit, Trump and his staff had a breakfast meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, where Trump badgered him about Germany purchasing gas from Russia, claiming they were captive and “controlled” by Russia. That brought back memories of his debate with Hillary Clinton, where he projected himself on her by saying she was Putin’s puppet.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, NATO Ambassador Kay Bailey Hutchison, and Chief of Staff John Kelly all appeared uncomfortable sitting through Trump’s boorish tirade. Kelly appeared the most squirmish as he had difficulty sitting still. But, we found out later from the White House that his displeasure wasn’t with the president displaying his ignorance and bullying on an international stage, but with the fact that he didn’t get the Denny’s Grand Slam for breakfast. A statement from the White House, most likely concocted by Sarah Huckabee Sanders, said all he got was pastry and cheese. Why hasn’t someone in Europe figured out how to make a decent cheese yet? Fortunately for Kelly, their next stop is England, who are known for their exceptional cuisine.

Trump doesn’t really care about Germany buying oil from Russia except that they’re not purchasing it from us. Trump was lying, as usual, about the extent of Germany’s dependence on Russian oil. Trump said, “They will be getting between 60 and 70 percent of their energy from Russia and a new pipeline.” The truth is, Germany isn’t that dependent on oil and only gets nine percent of their supply from Russia. If that’s being controlled, then the Canadians have us in a vice grip, who supply 15% of our oil. Another factor in this issue is that trade is an entirely unconnected issue from NATO. What, are we gangsters?

Trump continued his tirade on how the majority of NATO members don’t spend 2% of their GDP on defense. He even said they need to up it to 4%, never mind the fact that we don’t spend that much of our GDP on defense. According to the World Bank, only nine nations in the world spend 4% or more on defense, and they’re all in Africa and the Middle East.

Later, Trump said his bullying got the members to agree to raise their spending to 2%, which means Trump jumped into his time machine (it only goes backward) and went to 2010 when they made that agreement. Also, the agreement is that they’ll meet that goal by 2024, and in case you’re a Republican, it’s still 2018.

Trump said NATO was stronger now than it was two days ago, just like our nuclear stockpile being larger now than before he went into office. Trump took personal credit for the purported spending increase, saying all the NATO allies congratulated him. “Everybody in the room thanked me.” France’s Emmanuel Macron shot that down. He pointed to a communique published Wednesday by NATO: “It confirms the goal of 2 percent by 2024. That’s all.” He also denied that Trump ever threatened to leave NATO.

Trump argues that NATO gets more from us than we get from them, despite the fact the only time the alliance has gone into combat to protect an attacked member was after 9/11 when they joined the U.S. to fight in Afghanistan.

Everyone knows Trump lies. But I’m sure people worldwide don’t pay attention to his dribble on a daily basis, where we in the States are subjected to it with every tweet, from the mundane to the serious, to the absurd. Now, with all of Europe watching the freakish carnival he brought to Brussels, our shame and embarrassment are fully documented for all to see. While Trump Baby is going to fly over London, mainland Europe got to see the real thing in the orange flesh.

Trump doesn’t care about NATO. He doesn’t care about our alliances, the history, or the institutions we help build. He doesn’t care, as the leader of the free world, about being a champion for democratic institutions. His real agenda is to help Putin, and during his trip to Brussels, he was performing for two audiences; his rabid racist base and Putin.

The highlight for Trump during his Eurotrip is his meeting with Putin, who must be enjoying watching his investment pay off. Even Russian state TV was commenting how Trump was accomplishing in two days the destabilization of NATO that they couldn’t do in 70 years.

Discussing the meetings with European leaders beforehand, Trump said hanging out with Putin would be the easiest, and they even plan to be alone and off-the-record. What’s really infuriating about Trump’s obedience and preference for Putin is that he doesn’t even try to hide it.

It’s doubtful Trump actually wants Europe to beef up their military, as that would be a forceful deterrent to Russia. Unless of course, Europe is dumb enough to spend themselves into dissolving their governments, like the USSR did. If our allies actually start spending more on defense, does that mean we, a nation with ten aircraft carriers and plans for a space force, will start spending less?

I seriously doubt Trump has any influence on Europe spending more on their defense. He couldn’t even get John Kelly a croissan’wich.

Watch me draw.

Thank you for your support. Reader contributions really do help and are appreciated in a time of dwindling revenue for political cartoonists. You will also be supporting free speech and the First Amendment, and independent journalism while those in power are doing all they can to suppress it. You can also support by purchasing a signed print for $40.00. Just look at the right of this page and click the PayPal button, or you can email and make other arrangements. Thank you!

Sullying The Office

cjones04062018

Donald Trump is stupid. An excellent example of this is his belief that submitting to an interview with Robert Mueller will clear his name and end the Russia Investigation. Stupid. Perhaps the only people dumber and more gullible than Trump are those who voted for him.

While it’s fun to make light of Trump’s stupidity when he tells us what uranium is, or that healthcare is hard, or about the history of China and Korea, or that nobody knows the difference between community colleges and vocational schools, it is actually dangerous to our nation. It’s especially dangerous when Trump deals with Putin.

Combine Trump’s stupidity with his man-crush for Vladimir Putin, and the next thing you know the Russian dictator will be sitting in the Oval Office with his feet on the Resolute Desk.

Trump claims he’s been tougher on Russia than Obama.

Trump refused to accept our intelligence agencies’ analysis that Russia tampered in our election. He took Putin’s word over the FBI and CIA’s. He’s worked to discredit our Justice Department while they look into his collusion with Russia.

Trump refused to enact sanctions against Russia, and when he finally did it was only because he was forced by our allies when they placed their own sanctions and expelled Russian diplomats after the poisoning in England of a former Russia spy.

Trump talked to Putin after the sanctions were placed, and he failed to mention those or the poisoning, but he did congratulate Putin on winning his sham election.

Shortly after assuming office, Trump had the Russian ambassador and foreign minister in the Oval Office, at the request of Putin. No American press was allowed, but the Russians were able to bring in their photographers and recording equipment. They even told Trump the photos wouldn’t be published. Stupid and gullible. Now, Putin is playing that for his own invite.

Usually, when we discover a new twist in the Trump/Putin relationship, we learn it from Russia. Once again, Russia has reported that Trump invited Putin to the Oval Office during the congratulatory phone call.

You can’t say you’re tough on Russia, place sanctions on them, then invite their leader over for a playdate.

What better photo-op for Putin than from inside the Oval Office? This will be a huge sign to his people, and the world, that he won the American presidency.

Is Trump dumb enough to let Putin sit at the Resolute Desk for a photo? Yes.

Here’s the video.

Please consider making a donation to keep the cartoons, columns, and videos coming. Reader contributions, small and large, really do help and are appreciated in a time of dwindling revenue for political cartoonists. You will also be supporting free speech and liberty while those in power are doing all they can to suppress it. You can also support by purchasing a signed print for $40.00. Just look at the right of this page and click the PayPal button, or you can email and make other arrangements. Thank you!

Do Not Congratulate

cjones03242018

If I invited you to come to a party with me, I don’t think I’d be required to preempt you from causing a disaster. You’re not so stupid that I’d have to warn you beforehand, do not pee in the punch bowl. That’s not the sort of thing I’d foresee happening.

Donald Trump, the guy who is currently president of the United States, is stupid. He is so stupid, his staff tries to prevent potential disasters by giving him note cards with instructions on what not to do.

Unfortunately for them, and the rest of us, Trump is such an idiot that it’s impossible to predict his next act of stupidity. Sure, you can predict he’ll say something racist, sexist, or childish. But there are some things that nobody could have predicted. A normal, semi-intelligent individual would not have to be given note cards saying “do not throw paper towels at hurricane survivors,” or “do not defend Nazis,” or “do not endorse a pedophile,” or “do not talk about sex to Boy Scouts.” There’s always some stupid you don’t see coming. Right after you think Trump can’t surprise you any more a year and two months into his presidency, the guy surprises you with a 6:00 AM tweet about beating up Joe Biden. Seriously. He did that this morning.

Even when you successfully predict the very exact stupid act Trump will pull, and you put it on a note card for him written in all caps, like “DO NOT CONGRATULATE,” it’s to no avail. Trump will be holding that card in his hand while he congratulates Vladimir Putin for winning a sham election. In addition to ignoring the warning, he’ll fail to bring up Russia poisoning a British citizen or meddling in our election. But, he will throw in another stupid surprise, like try to schedule a playdate with the Russian authoritarian without discussing it with his foreign policy team beforehand.

But, Trump is stupid. Fran Lebowitz said, “You do not know anyone as stupid as Donald Trump.”

Someone at the White House leaked the information to the press about the note cards with the warning in all caps. Trump and his chief-of-staff, John Kelly, are said to be very upset, though Kelly is suspect number one for many. Another suspect is National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, who is said to be on the chopping block and hasn’t been getting along with Trump.

Trump has made everyone working in the West Wing sign a hush-clause to prevent them from talking about what happens in the White House. Why would Trump force people to sign a clause that can’t be enforced and probably isn’t legal? Because he doesn’t have any more respect for White House staffers than he does for porn stars. And, he’s really stupid.

I used to debate with colleagues about the intelligence of George W. Bush. While none of us thought he was the smartest man to ever occupy the Oval Office, there were arguments among liberals if he was misunderstood, maybe just a little slow, or an idiot without a village. With Trump, there is no disagreement among informed people (those who are paying attention) that he is an extremely stupid person.

Trump is so stupid, he doesn’t know how to cut-and-paste. He tweeted a quote from Alan Dershowitz criticizing the Special Counsel, and Trump misspelled “Counsel” three times.

One problem with giving Trump notes is that he can’t really read. He’s semi-literate. He probably didn’t sign his pseudonym on the porn-star-hush contract because he can’t spell “David.”

The one fortunate thing about Trump’s stupidity is that he’s going to indict himself if he hasn’t already.  I am looking forward to the day when someone who cares about Trump hands him a note card saying, “DO NOT DROP THE SOAP.”

Here’s the video.

Please consider making a donation to keep the cartoons, columns, and videos coming. Reader contributions, small and large, really do help and are appreciated in a time of dwindling revenue for political cartoonists. You will also be supporting free speech and liberty while those in power are doing all they can to suppress it. You can also support by purchasing a signed print for $40.00. Just look at the right of this page and click the PayPal button. Thank you!

Putin Has Gas

cjones03212018

No one respects women more than Donald Trump.

Donald Trump is the least racist person he knows.

Donald Trump is a stable genius.

Donald Trump has been much tougher on Vladimir Putin and Russia in one year than Barack Obama was in eight.

Each of those statements (and many others) is laughable and contrary to facts, but none may be more so than saying Trump has been tough on Russia.

It’s a claim Trump and Sarah Huckabee Sanders have both made.

During the presidential campaign, Trump said Putin was a leader while Obama was not. When informed that Putin had journalists killed and arrested, Trump replied, “you think our country’s so innocent?”

Trump spent over a year downplaying Russian meddling in our election. He allowed Russians into the Oval Office at Putin’s request where he disclosed classified intelligence to them that we gained from an ally. Russia has continued to spread “fake news” through social media in further attempts to meddle in our upcoming midterm elections.

After Congress passed veto-proof sanctions against Russia, Trump signed them but failed to enact. That is until pressure from our allies after a nerve agent was used against a former Russian spy and his daughter in the United Kingdom. Many are blaming Russia for the attack.

Sergei Skripal and his daughter were found on a park bench in Salisbury, England. They remain in critical condition and several of the rescue personnel attending them were also contaminated. Prime Minister Theresa May says the UK government has identified the poison as a Russian-made Novichok agent. May told Parliament, “Either this was a direct action by the Russian state against our country, or the Russian government lost control of its potentially catastrophically damaging nerve agent and allowed it to get into the hands of others.” The UK expelled 23 Russian diplomats after that nation refused to meet a deadline to explain the use of the substance.

The United States has joined Britain and other European allies in condemning Russia. The Trump administration has finally enacted some of the sanctions Congress authorized, but not all of them. Max Bergmann, a former Obama administration official who heads the investigative Moscow Project at the Center for American Progress called the sanctions “a mirage to make it look like they have implemented sanctions.”

Sarah Huckabee Sanders refused to say whether Russia was a friend or a foe, but she was able to say Andrew McCabe was a “bad actor” a couple days before he was fired from the FBI.

While Trump has slightly criticized Russia, he hasn’t said one negative word regarding Russian President Vladimir Putin, who just won another six-year presidential term.

Retired four-star Army general Barry McCaffrey tweeted, “Reluctantly I have concluded that President Trump is a serious threat to US national security. He is refusing to protect vital US interests from active Russian attacks. It is apparent that he is for some unknown reason under the sway of Mr Putin.”

Trump publicly asked for Russia to help him win the presidency. His campaign invited Russian spies into Trump Tower. Members of the Trump team were meeting Russians overseas and in the states to establish back channels to communicate with Putin’s government.

Yes, Putin has something on Trump and Republicans say they don’t see any evidence of collusion.

The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI issued a report describing sophisticated Russian government attempts to target American and European power plants, nuclear facilities, airports and other critical infrastructure for cyberattacks. Trump has yet to address these attacks, instead opting to attack the FBI, Robert Mueller, and others in our law enforcement.

Politifact rates Trump’s statement of being tough on Russia than Obama as “mostly false.” The majority of everything Trump says is mostly false. His defense of our nation and loyalty should be rated nonexistent.

Here’s the video.

Please consider making a donation to keep the cartoons, columns, and videos coming. Reader contributions, small and large, really do help and are appreciated in a time of dwindling revenue for political cartoonists. You will also be supporting free speech and liberty while those in power are doing all they can to suppress it. You can also support by purchasing a signed print for $40.00. Just look at the right of this page and click the PayPal button. Thank you!