AMERICA IS BEING MOCKED

Where have Trump’s storied dealmaking skills run off to? The Russia/Ukraine war, not ended but escalating, is another glaring example of bullying bluster masquerading as negotiation. And also a master-class in how to shame a US president to his face. Just recently, the Russians promised our president they would send him a “memorandum of peace” spelling out a plan for a ceasefire with Ukraine. Well, guess what? It’s more than a week since that promise was made. Has it been received? In recent days, Russia has launched large-scale drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian targets. According to officials in Kyiv, the latest offensive is the largest aerial assault on the country since the war began. This comes almost exactly a month after Donald Trump posted, “Vladimir, STOP!” — a directive obviously ignored. The WH is being pressed to impose new economic sanctions on Moscow. In theory, this would be in keeping with Trump’s past insistence on being tough. In practice, for reasons the administration hasn’t explained, it’s a step Trump seems reluctant to take. With pressure mounting, Trump posted Tuesday morning, “What Vladimir Putin doesn’t realize is that if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD. He’s playing with fire!” What exactly is this supposed to mean? Does he want us to think he’s quietly taking steps to prevent Russia from facing “really bad” consequences? If that’s the case why does he want to protect Russia from ‘really bad things’? Questions: What exactly is Trump doing to protect Russia from ‘really bad things’?” How is Trump protecting Russia from ‘really bad things’?” For how long has Trump been protecting Russia from ‘really bad things’?” Why has Trump kept secret actions he’s apparently taken to protect Russia from ‘really bad things’?” And how did Russia respond to Trump’s latest footstamping? Just eight minutes after Trump published his latest bleat, RT used its social media account to highlight the president’s message. By trolling him. RT is the Russian state television network, so there is little difference between RT publicly ridiculing Trump and the Putin regime doing the same. Between saying he’s having ‘emotional overload,’ not getting correct information or that he’s just plain wishy-washy, they are mocking him as an hysteric. Ask any woman about this tactic. It’s very effective in shutting down constructive conversation. But this is always Trump’s Achilles heel. It is impossible for him not to react hysterically. He has no diplomatic skills. Only a fragile ego. And that makes him weak. And easy to play. Russian security official Dmitry Medvedev responded with this social media post: “Regarding Trump's words about Putin ‘playing with fire’ and ‘really bad things’ happening to Russia. I only know of one REALLY BAD thing ‒ WWIII. I hope Trump understands this!” It’s obvious. He can’t win at this game. He’s making us look ridiculous.