17 July 2018

The Trump Trap


It's fairly obvious now what was happening. The timing of the Mueller indictments was pretty suspicious, just days before the Helsinki Summit.
I think it's safe to say it was a trap, a set-up.
Trump was deliberately placed into a Catch-22. First he was denounced for meeting with Putin. This got everyone watching, even many people who don't pay a lot of attention to the news. Some tried to warn him but Trump is not one to listen to reason.
Repeatedly he was pushed to confront Putin on the collusion conspiracy narrative. Trump walked right into it.
Did he realise it as he stood at the podium?


Either he admits to the narrative and publically denounces Putin... leading to an escalation in tensions....
And the de-legitimisation of his presidency. If he admits that he didn't win under legitimate means, then he's lost his mandate and the rest of his presidency will be little more than battling the inquisitors.
But if he rejects the DNC/Mueller claims, then he's placed in an impossible position and even his allies have to turn against him which is what has happened. He's standing on the stage with Vladimir Putin, a figure the US media has sought to make the world's chief villain over the past decade, rivaled only by Kim Jong-un.
If he rejects the claim then Trump has to basically say the Mueller probe and FBI intelligence are wrong and even worse, they might be lying.
Treason! That's what we heard from John Brennan, a vile and immoral person rivalling Trump, who has been leading the charge to bring down his administration. His statements in light of the Helsinki summit were unequivocal. Trump has committed treason and is guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors. That's the language of impeachment and even many Republicans are effectively forced into a corner.
It's also the language of war though I'm not sure everyone is picking up on that.
Time will tell, but they may use this as the springboard to take Trump down. The Republicans needn't worry. Mike Pence is waiting in the wings. At the very least Trump will be marginalised. This moment is historical, not so much because of what Trump said but the way this whole episode is playing out. It's surreal what is happening. This vortex, this labyrinth of spin and manipulation has begun to exceed the Bush case for war in Iraq. And this time the stakes are much higher and I think it's only beginning.
Now am I sounding like a Right-wing radio talk-host at this point? Maybe. It doesn't matter. It doesn't legitimise them or their agenda. Trump is despicable and the DNC/Establishment could go after him on at least a dozen other points. He's already committed multiple impeachable offenses but this is the issue they want to push. They actually support much of his agenda despite their grandstanding. But what they really what is confrontation with Putin, they want to smash Russia into bits. Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.
There's an ethical lesson here and a very poignant one I think, especially for Christians. Trump is being lambasted because he didn't stand with foundational US institutions. Again, what could he do? He was trapped.
But the thing is, what's the truth? Pretend for a moment that Trump cares. Regardless of Trump and all that he stands for, I believe the Mueller indictments are essentially meaningless. I don't accept the narrative. I do not trust Mueller or any US intelligence agencies. Do I think they're lying? I think they live to tell lies. I think history proves it. I think the Mueller indictments should be looked at with suspicion... for the timing alone. It indicates more than anything else that this was a political stunt, part of a trap being set.
So what do you do? Do you stand with the tribe, the nation, or with the truth? Most Americans (whether they express it or not) think in terms of 'My nation right or wrong'. From their standpoint even if the FBI was harbouring Josef Mengele, you stand by the agency... no matter what. Loyalty before truth.
I can only say this to such people and I would say it to both 'Christian' politicians and Evangelical leaders. Many of them are in a dilemma at the moment and Trump probably lost a lot of allies today. Others will work to spin this and there will be lies upon lies. Listening to the news tomorrow will be all but unbearable.
If the truth is treason, then the kingdom you serve is one of lies. If loyalty means embracing a lie, then you're loyalties are not to Jesus Christ who is Truth.
Whether one believes Trump or not, contemplate this as a thought experiment. Suppose Russia did not collude and conspire with either the campaign or Wikileaks and that Hillary Clinton just plain lost the election.
Suppose Trump is right and taking it further suppose the FBI has fabricated the information for political reasons. As president should he tell the truth? Is he ethically bound to do so?
Or, is loyalty the paramount concern? Should he lie in order to stand by the FBI and other American intelligence agencies?
For Christians I would hope the answer is obvious and yet I believe that the vast majority of professing Christians, due to their higher loyalty to America, a loyalty that supersedes their loyalty to Christ... would argue that the president should lie and stand with the liars.... even if it meant war, death and destruction.
There is no more patent example of idolatry and the embrace of an ethical system rivalling and antithetical to Biblical Christianity.

1 comment:

  1. How this presidency ends, and resultant elections, will very likely be momentous. As Trump continues to fracture the RNC, the DNC seems to be doubling-down on its Clinton wing with a whole cache of phony-progressives who have backgrounds in the military-intelligence world, or are well connected in the shadow-world of the party machine. Here's an article on this phenomenon: https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/07/11/the-wisdom-of-serpents/

    It will be interesting if the DNC can outflank the RNC, becoming the cleaner establishment party, leaving RNC fractured between those who will be functional Democrats and those who will circle the wagons around Trump. And in some ways this whole procedure will embarrass and fracture the political world of Evangelicalism. Already now, there are those lining up on both factions, with many Evangelicals ready to join hands with Democrats. This shift is done indirectly, hence various articles attacking the "idolatry" of patriotic fervor, Republic party politics, and a politicized gospel. And yet the same authors will write about how open borders is a "gospel issue" and respectable and venerable leaders is a priority. Which is to say: the attacks on patriotism and politicized the gospel are mostly disingenuous or morally and intellectually confused. Hence, Trumpist Evangelicals are correct when they point out the above Evangelicals are trying to slide towards the DNC.

    Both groups are morally filthy, and are nothing more than propagandists and self-justifiers. But the fractures might ruin Evangelicalism into various political factions, destroying their public credibility. Maybe that kind of implosion might wake up some people to how obscene the process is, and they turn to Christ. But, in the broader spectrum, it only gives ample reasons for the "Nones" to mock God due to Evangelical blasphemy.

    And yet, I'm still more optimistic about the Trump phenomenon: he might wreck the American Empire and Evangelicalism sufficiently that their evil would be more manifest to American people. Trump is the wild pig running through the vineyard, unclean and polluted, with the Lord's hook in its snout. But the it's all too soon to tell.

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