Character, not collusion, best explains the president’s bizarre deference to Vladimir Putin.
On Monday, we literally saw President Trump on an international stage, in Helsinki, and he seemed hell-bent on proving me right.
In a performance that should elicit some resignations from his administration, the president sided with Russia over America’s national-security community, including Dan Coats, the Trump-appointed director of national intelligence.
But for Trump these distinctions are meaningless. Even when his own Department of Justice indicts twelve Russian intelligence agents, the salient issue for Trump in Helsinki is that “they admit these are not people involved in the campaign.” All you need to know is: We ran a brilliant campaign, and that’s why I’m president.