Punchy in the Ring?

The daily news has become so odd, it's nearly impossible to keep up with.  I actually had a thread that I was working on that I abandoned as the things noted in it became so rapidly obsolete.

And a lot of that is due to our President.

It's probably clear that while I have my own theories on why Donald Trump was elected which don't really involve the Russians that much, although I'll concede that was certainly an element that played into his victory, we can now safely say, and while I try not to discount the legitimacy of the views that got him elected, I"m not a Trump fan.  I basically think he was the gasoline and match that disgruntled rank and file Americans of both parties chose to throw into Washington as they were legitimately disgusted with both parties.

And I also think, on that score, that the Democrats, who have acted like a bunch of spoiled brats, have probably hurt themselves more than the Republican Establishment, which for the most part simply acts befuddled.

And I'll even credit Trump for being right on some things others just don't want to admit.  Our NATO partners, for example, really have been paying a lot less for their own defense (originally by American design) than they should. Europe really is losing its culture.  Trump is correct on those things.

But this whole thing with Putin?

NPR has it right when they start off an article:

The Big Picture: Trump Sides With Putin. But Why? 

At this stage in the game, President Trump’s outlook on international questions and Russian interference in the U.S. election in 2016 is almost predictable. Even so, many found his comments at his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on Monday jaw-dropping.

Why indeed?

The Russians are an international menace to democracies and they're messing with western elections in a major way. What they were doing in our election, in my view, is an act of war.  Poisoning people in the United Kingdom, if not an act of war, is a criminal act.  It's impossible to believe that these things do not come at the direction of the Russian state and a person has to be charitable in the extreme not to believe that Putin knows about them.

So what's wrong with Trump here?

Something sure is.

His statements on this are so bizarre that they lend credence to the accusations against him in this arena, accusations that are becoming more credible each day.  If he isn't actually outright favoring Putin as he owes him something, he's discrediting himself enormously by acting like he does.  Is this a punch drunk boxer reeling in the ring because he's punchy, or a stumbling poorly acted pro taking a dive?  It has the appearance of one or another.

Anyway you look at it, people close to the Administration have to come out at this point and put a stop to this utter nonsense.

And Trump would do well at this point to remember that Nixon's downfall didn't come because he ordered the plumbers to break into the Watergate Hotel. . . he conspired to cover it up.

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Note:  I wrote this the morning of July 17.  Since that time President Trump backtracked on this stuff.

Not that that makes me feel that much better about his performance here.