From the midweek edition of the Morning Jolt:
Yes, There Is Such a Thing As ‘Too Dumb for Government Work’
We don’t know that there was any collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government during the 2016 presidential campaign. What we do know now is that if given the opportunity to collude with the Russian government – in the form of an offer of “some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia” that is “obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump”, Donald Trump Jr. would say, “I love it especially later in the summer.”
This is really bad. This may or may not be a crime, because there was, as far as we know, no actual “damaging information” offered at the meeting. But this is nuclear-level bad judgment.
For starters, did Donald Trump Jr. really not recognize the danger here? Does he think the Russian government does much that Vladimir Putin and the FSB doesn’t know about? At any point, did it ever cross his mind that he might be stepping into a blackmail plot on the part of the FSB?
And why didn’t it disturb, bother, worry, or unnerve him to hear that the Russian government was “supporting” his father? Vladimir Putin is not any American’s “friend.” He doesn’t just want to help. He’s not a nice guy, and he never gives something away for free. Whatever kind motivations he may appear to have at a given moment, his nature, ambitions, worldview, and modus operandi does not change. Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes: “I fear the Greeks, even when they bring gifts.” *
“Trust me, comrade, I am from the Russian government and I am here to help.”
When the Russian government offers you secret help in American domestic politics, you nod, smile, and attempt to leave the room as quickly as possible.
I keep seeing Trump defenders bringing up Ted Kennedy’s efforts to reach out to the Soviet Union during the Cold War, citing mutual opposition to various anti-Soviet efforts in the American government, including the Reagan administration. I thought we hated that. I thought we on the Right thought that was a textbook example of letting partisan passions overrun good judgment and loyalty to one’s country. On what planet is citing Ted Kennedy exculpatory?
The editors: “No campaign professional would have accepted such a dodgy meeting the way Trump Jr. did, and no person with a strong sense of propriety — Russia is a hostile power run by a deeply corrupt regime — would have wanted to.”
The New York Post editorial board is not subtle in its assessment, declaring in a headline, “Donald Trump Jr. is an idiot.”
* There’s a long tradition of Latin phrases in National Review; I’m probably the lone contributor who thinks of them in the context of Michael Bay movies.
You can tell Rep. Trey Gowdy’s patience has run out: “If you had a contact with Russia, tell the special counsel about it! Don’t wait until the New York Times figures it out! … Someone needs to get everyone in a room and say, from the time you saw ‘Dr. Zhivago’ until the moment you drank vodka with a guy named Boris, you list every single contact with Russia.”