As someone else already said, there is functionally no difference in terms of what he’s doing to our country. But if we elevate unverified nonsense about Trump being a secret sleeper agent, it makes credible evidence of Russian influence seem less credible.
I mean, I’m sure the KGB was interested in influencing prominent Americans, and it’s very likely they were using Russian businessmen (and mobsters) to influence Trump. The CIA plays similar games with foreign business leaders. But do I believe that KGB directly recruited Trump, asked him to be their spy, gave him a codename, and kept him on as a sleeper agent through the fall of the Soviet Union? No, it’s going to take more than one guy’s Facebook post to make me believe that. It’s very possible there is some truth in what he’s saying, but I would take it with several grains of salt.
LOL, you’re literally doing the thing I’m describing. You’re making an outlandish claim (that I am a paid Russian agent) that’s going to make a real issue (Russian online disinformation campaigns) seem less credible. If your reaction to someone saying, “Trump is clearly in Russia’s pocket, but you should be wary of outlandish claims with unverified sources,” is, “you must be a Russian propagandist,” you need to touch grass.
“I can’t believe it so it’s likely untrue,” is a fundamental misinterpretation of what I’m saying. “There is enough evidence of a Trump/Russia connection without unreliable sources,” would be more accurate.
Believing unverified claims has consequences. Remember the Steele dossier, with its wild allegations of blackmail and urinating prostitutes? It’s now pretty much entirely discredited due to unreliable sources, and the very real, very clear connection between Trump and Russia lost credibility with it.
Similarly, the Mueller investigation was also undermined by outlandish claims. Left-leaning grifters like Louise Mensch and the Krassenstein brothers made predictions of imminent arrests and treason charges. When the Mueller Report was finally released, it stated that, while there wasn’t enough evidence to say Trump definitively colluded with Russia, there was no evidence to clear him of that charge, and he committed criminal obstruction of justice during the course of the investigation. That should have been a damning conclusion, but after months of wild speculation and overhype, it was labeled a nothing-burger.
So, I’m going to remain skeptical of an old KGB agent’s Facebook post about a 38 year plot to recruit Donald Trump as a spy, and instead stick to what is known: Trump has long had business dealings with Russian oligarchs, the Russian government supported him through online propaganda, there were credible accusations of collusion between his campaign and Russia, and he is now promoting a pro-Russia foreign policy. That’s significant enough.
And that is not saying, “I can’t believe the world is round so Occam’s razor it must be flat because that I can understand.” That’s saying, “I can see the Earth is curved, and while some people claim we’re actually on the back of giant turtle, Occam’s Razor says it’s probably just round.”
I’m always skeptical of claims like this. Don’t get me wrong, Trump is actively working to advance the Russian agenda, and Russia has actively supported him financially and through propaganda. But I’m wary of tales of kompromat or clandestine, decades long KGB plots.
Occam’s razor, I think Trump is a piece of shit that would destroy his own country to make a quick buck, and Putin offered him a quick buck. Honestly, elaborate Manchurian Candidate conspiracies would probably be less scary than the idea that our entire democracy can collapse because one real-estate conman was willing to sell us all out.
I mean, yeah, if you want to have a populous movement, you can’t do it without half the country. Also, sure, hardcore MAGA voters are fragile, racist, white working class folks, but the majority of people in these districts aren’t that type of voter. Most of them are low information voters who pulled the lever for Trump because they liked one or two things he said in a speech. Even more of them are people who just didn’t like either candidate and decided their vote wasn’t important. We need to activate those people and get them to scream at their Senators and Congressmen if we want to stop Trump and Musk from gutting our democracy.
Jefferies was hand-picked by Pelosi, and I have to assume, given how much power she still exerts over the House (for example, blocking AOC from the Oversight Committee) that he is simply her figurehead. He is also a truly terrible public speaker, which is not an ideal trait for someone who wants to be Speaker of the House.
First of all, good riddance, glad we won’t have to see this old ghoul anymore. I hope whatever neurological condition he has kills him before he can enjoy his retirement.
Second of all, a lot Democrats should follow suit. Congress is ancient, but the Democrats are, on average, even older than the Republicans, and that’s one of the main reasons they keep getting their asses kicked. If we’re going to stop the fascists that have seized our government, we need people with fresh ideas and the energy to fight. Schumer has demonstrated over the last month that his is in no way capable of meeting this moment, and he should set an example for his fellow geriatrics by stepping down from leadership and not seeking reelection, just like McConnell did.
Reminder that Bannon is an ethno-fascist who’s just pissy that he’s been sidelined for techno-fascists. If his goals align with anti-fascists for the moment, great, but don’t for a second think that he is any less vile or dangerous than Trump, Musk, or any of the other chittering goobers that are gnawing away at our democracy right now.
Yeah, I think that’s about it. I think Russia has been encouraging oligarchs and mobsters to make contact with prominent Americans they thought they could influence, and a lot of those connections went nowhere. When Trump started winning the primary, Putin probably realized he could use him, so he had some oligarchs cut a deal. But this KGB agent’s Facebook post about making direct contact with Trump, recruiting him as a spy, and giving him a codename, as well as his claim that he may be assassinated for sharing this? It seems like it’s either some sort of disinformation campaign or just some old man embellishing a story for attention.