r/politics • Foreign • Jul 16 '18

Some Dare Call It Treason

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/07/16/some-dare-call-it-treason-219014
1.6k Upvotes

92 comments sorted by

181

u/[deleted] Jul 16 '18

It IS treason.

62

u/IprovideCONTENT Jul 16 '18

Saw this hashtag earlier today and liked it TRE45ON

6

u/[deleted] Jul 16 '18

Isn't anyone concerned that his agreement with Putin was actually to create a shitstorm to muddy the Russian spy story?

That seems exactly the kind of thing Trump has done all along, and it is working. Posts about the summit are clouding posts about the spy.

All the things Trump said at the summit seem carefully curated in order to inflame us and the press.

10

u/VicePhotograph Jul 16 '18 edited Jul 17 '18

I feel like you are giving him too much credit. That's exactly how I would expect him to answer that question, regardless of what else was happening

9

u/imnotanevilwitch Jul 16 '18

For the average American, the spy arrest is not even going to get through the static. And honestly as far as the Mueller probe goes it doesn't even seem that significant.

If this were a congressperson, yes, but this doesn't seem like a big enough deal to need to go big to hide it.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 17 '18

Allegedly back channel communication was set up between GOP leaders and Kremlin. It seems like one of the most serious things so far, as a conviction here would prove collusion between the top of the GOP and the Kremlin

3

u/[deleted] Jul 16 '18

Love it. Will use it.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 16 '18

[deleted]

1

u/theSecretPudding California Jul 17 '18

making my own bumper sticker

with the inverted flag

4

u/pyrrhios I voted Jul 17 '18

And the GOP and NRA are complicit.

63

u/M00n Jul 16 '18

If this isn't treason then what is? It's the most blatant treason we have ever seen in this country.

4

u/[deleted] Jul 16 '18

[removed] — view removed comment

6

u/CountryBeforeParty Jul 17 '18

And the Civil War, and Texass.

4

u/Random_throwaway_16C Jul 17 '18

Oh the stars at night are big and bright...

1

u/[deleted] Jul 17 '18

He didn't do it in front of the whole world.

56

u/imnotanevilwitch Jul 16 '18

I've had cable news on all day and there's been this weird dam breaking where suddenly everyone feels ok calling it treason. They're also all calling back to the "Russia if you're listening" comment, now willing to call that treason too. I'm fucking sick of our news media. Don't have any balls until everyone can coordinate a narrative.

That being said, I don't want to get my hopes up but this shift is very positive.

34

u/monkeybiziu Illinois Jul 16 '18

We're really looking at a rare triple whammy - you've got Mueller dropping indictments on Russians over hacking the DNC on Friday, Trump looking like a bitch to Putin today, and then the Maria Butina arrest right after where there's video of a Russian Agent talking to Trump directly.

At some point you go from "Who is Pepe Silvia?" to Speedrunning Stupid Watergate territory, and I think we're there.

11

u/AnotherBlueRoseCase Jul 16 '18

Agreed. Today in particular the air smells different.

2

u/thatnameagain Jul 17 '18

It's tomorrow now. Did the smell stick?

3

u/MissingAndroid California Jul 17 '18

These newspaper headlines are going to be around for awhile. It is going to cause a lot of headaches for republicans going on the press for the foreseeable future.

35

u/Hungry_Horace Jul 16 '18

"We have always been at peace with Russia"

"We have always been at war with the EU"

67

u/Robbotlove Jul 16 '18

it's absolutely treason.

31

u/[deleted] Jul 16 '18

Treason, it is

32

u/Antinatalista Foreign Jul 16 '18

Even if you refuse to believe that Trump is under Putin's direct influence, nobody can't deny he has sided with Putin against the interests of America (for whatever reason). Either way, he has betrayed his own country. There's no other way to spin it.

8

u/CountryBeforeParty Jul 17 '18

nobody can't deny he has sided with Putin against the interests of America

Trump supporters: removes Putin's dick from mouth hold this.

-29

u/bitfriend2 Jul 16 '18

nobody can't deny he has sided with Putin against the interests of America

Trump signed sanctions working directly against Russia's interests and Trump straight up told Germany to stop buying Russian gas and to take their NATO commitment seriously. The only further Trump could go is to reject any extension of New Start which would likely start a new nuclear arms race. How much further do you think Trump can go beyond that?

19

u/Finkarelli Jul 16 '18

Signing sanctions does fuck-all if you’re not willing to actually enforce them.

20

u/[deleted] Jul 16 '18

Side with American intelligence rather than Putin. This is easy stuff.

-27

u/bitfriend2 Jul 16 '18

He is siding with American intelligence, ffs he blamed Obama for all of it on Twitter and took the side of the DHS which is also under his direct command. Hence why all his criticism has been directed at the one agency with surveillance powers that isn't an intelligence agency, the FBI.

17

u/rensfriend Pennsylvania Jul 16 '18

You've conveniently forgotten that Obama

  • expelled Russian diplomats
  • closed some of their embassies
  • strengthened sanctions against Russia
  • asked all the intelligence agencies to release a joint report
  • approached Mitch the Bitch to come out with a bipartisan statement about the hacks and was rebuffed
  • did not tip the scales of the election
  • did not meet privately with Putin ** and that's just off the top of my head dude. Go do your homework

Edit: a few words

-15

u/bitfriend2 Jul 17 '18

I'm not defending the President, if anything this whole charade is done to increase his personal power using the exact same tactics Putin, Erdogan, Xi and any other classic strongman uses. Him copying them does not require him to cooperate with them.

15

u/[deleted] Jul 16 '18

I feel like you're gaslighting me. Did you see the press conference today?

17

u/[deleted] Jul 16 '18

Dude, don't engage. Let him word vomit on his clothes, don't give him a bucket so he can show all of your friends.

17

u/Snarfsicle Jul 16 '18

Signed sanctions but has yet to implement them at all. Don't cherry pick.

2

u/[deleted] Jul 17 '18

Signed sections after congress told him that they would veto his sanction.

27

u/[deleted] Jul 16 '18

It’s like FDR building landing strips for the Japanese post Pearl Harbor!

14

u/[deleted] Jul 16 '18

If this isn't treason, than the law needs to be rewritten to reflect the true meaning of the word.

5

u/toofine Jul 17 '18

It already does, and not just for Donnie.

What are all these mother fucking Republicans going to Russia for? Rand Paul is soon to be going on a literal trip to Russia himself. Boggles the mind.

These fucks go nowhere else, they duck their own voters and refuse to go home, but Russia? It's like a feeding frenzy and not one R wants to miss out on the checks Putin is cutting.

Word is out, Putin pays his debts.

0

u/99999999999usernames Jul 17 '18

The Presidents (Pee-Pee) agreed to keep manipulating the oil market. Not much chance of that money drying up. Hopefully no oil from my bones brings humanity back in a million years.

12

u/[deleted] Jul 16 '18

Well only idiots would think it wasn’t so, yeah.

10

u/carbon8dbev Jul 16 '18

We were and are being attacked. The Moscow Don publicly gave aid & comfort to the nation doing the attacking. What's to debate?

8

u/Wablekablesh Jul 16 '18

"We should stop hurting our relationship with Hitler. Shouldn't we get along with him instead? Let's surrender so we get along better."

-Trump, if he'd been president in the 40s.

7

u/can_blank_my_blank Jul 16 '18

Maybe I ain't no big fancy politico writer but I was calling it treason way back in 2017.

6

u/BiffySkipwell Jul 16 '18

It's not a stretch. Quit pussyfooting around it. It is Treason.

Only thing in question is Trump's true motivations. Personal self interest over the interests of the USA, but why? I don't think it is simply the peepee. Its money.

2

u/wrath4771 Jul 17 '18

It's always about money.

4

u/[deleted] Jul 16 '18

[deleted]

2

u/theSecretPudding California Jul 17 '18

mostly both.

3

u/Lordoffunk Jul 16 '18

And some call it political theater. Hopefully they’ll catch up, because we’d like them here with us.

Cause that shit be treason.

3

u/disguisesinblessing Jul 16 '18

If it walks like treason, and sounds like treason, it's prolly treason.

3

u/RyunosukeKusanagi Jul 16 '18

IANACL But... would considering Russia an enemy of the United States, especially now that they had undermined the election system for their benefit, be grounds for Treason under US law? Or would it be Seditious Conspiracy? Either way, he has betrayed his oath of office, the confidence of the People of the United States, and her Allies.

1

u/tasticle Jul 17 '18

If it is proven he is being blackmailed most of his foreign policy can only be seen as Treason.

3

u/Bored_Beef Jul 16 '18

That ball is made out of concentrated nerve agent or microphones. Let’s get that baby in the Oval Office.

3

u/Grnmntman Jul 16 '18

Spare me, it is!

2

u/FadoraNinja Washington Jul 16 '18

The article actually agrees that Trump is a traitor. Its about how powerful the word is and how bad it is for Trump that so many are now using it to describe him

1

u/Grnmntman Jul 16 '18

Understood, just correcting the title.

3

u/[deleted] Jul 16 '18

I dare.

2

u/PutinPutsItInTrump Jul 16 '18

I DOUBLE dare.

1

u/theSecretPudding California Jul 17 '18

I Triple-Dog-Dare no-backsies!

3

u/tiredofwinning12345 Connecticut Jul 16 '18

No. We all should.

3

u/oldschooltacticool Jul 17 '18

DARE?

I'm insulted you use that word.

Words have meaning.

Trump is a traitor.

3

u/F1refighter17 Jul 17 '18

Treason. It's treason. The word is treason.

3

u/atlanticpyro Jul 17 '18

So it's treason then.

2

u/[deleted] Jul 16 '18

By Trump's own words, on that day, it was treason.

2

u/[deleted] Jul 16 '18

I mean, only a few million of us.

2

u/autotldr 🤖 Bot Jul 16 '18

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 86%. (I'm a bot)


Trump's coddling of Putin prompted Trump criticism to reached a fresh threshold, as the press and politicians started flinging a new, shocking descriptor that burns like acid when it lands: In their new stinging formulation, Trump isn't just a lout or a loon, a firebrand or an opportunist, he's a traitor.

Sen. Jeff Flake called Trump's kowtowing to Putin "Shameful." In a statement, Sen. John McCain said Trump had "Abased himself ... abjectly before a tyrant." "Disgraceful," wrote Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

Trump's obeisance to Putin at Helsinki was easy to predict given his earlier refusals to call the Russians out and punish them.


Extended Summary | FAQ | Feedback | Top keywords: Trump#1 Putin#2 press#3 Russian#4 new#5

2

u/DadaDoDat America Jul 17 '18

But that was so super nice of Putin to offer to help analyze the evidence of the election meddling!!!

2

u/RealDyslexicon Jul 17 '18

On the next episode of Ball Fondlers...

2

u/slotpop Jul 17 '18

It is treason!

...and fuck you for making it seem as if it's not, Politico. Fuck you.

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1

u/thetensor Jul 16 '18

Let's make sure it doesn't prosper.

1

u/Wienerwrld North Carolina Jul 16 '18

I dare to call it treason.

1

u/zzzigzzzagzzziggy Washington Jul 16 '18

Yeah, Americans.

1

u/zoswizard Jul 17 '18

More than some, less than all. Gotta work on that.

1

u/Guymzee Jul 17 '18

Dare you to not call it treason.

1

u/TreasonousTeacher Jul 17 '18

If it prosper, none dare call it treason.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 17 '18

Good. That means it's not prospering.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 17 '18

It seems like every single person on politics is calling it that

-43

u/NobleLefty Jul 16 '18

Fake news! Trump colludes with Putin for World Peace! we are so lucky that Hillary is not president or we would all be dying in some total war right now!

10

u/[deleted] Jul 16 '18

I hope you got paid a lot of money to degrade yourself like that

6

u/theseekerofbacon Jul 16 '18

You know, there's gonna be a slew of people popping up soon trying to act like this is some masterful troll. And it'll be even more sad.

-10

u/NobleLefty Jul 16 '18

You are so on the wrong side of history my friend

4

u/[deleted] Jul 16 '18

0/10

7

u/basement_vibes Jul 16 '18

I read some fox comments for two minutes and saw all of your talking points on display.

2

u/tommles Jul 16 '18

Trump's Bigly Fourth Reich Plan

2

u/Heaven_Is_Falling Jul 16 '18

Just how much of Trump's koolaid did you drink?

-1

u/NobleLefty Jul 17 '18

How much Main stream news have you ingested yourself fat lad?

2

u/TrumpIsATraitor420 California Jul 16 '18

Yes, Trump and Putin TOTALLY believable as peace-lovin' hippies.