Tuesday, July 17, 2018
Meanwhile, in the category of 'you couldn't make it up if you tried'
Ronald Reagan will be spinning in his grave. The 45th President of the United States of America standing alongside the leader of what Reagan might still term the 'evil empire' or at least its successor, siding with Russia against his own intelligence agency.
This is the same US President who only five days ago accused Germany of being a 'captive of Russia.'
Now, after a face-to-face meeting with President Putin, Trump has stood up in front of the world's media and defended Russia over claims of interference in the 2016 presidential election. In doing so he contradicted US intelligence agencies, saying there had been no reason for Russia to meddle in the vote.
US intelligence agencies concluded in 2016 that Russia was behind an effort to tip the scale of the US election against Hillary Clinton, with a state-authorised campaign of cyber attacks and fake news stories planted on social media.
As the BBC report, this has proved to be a bit too much even for his allies:
In a strongly-worded statement, US House Speaker Paul Ryan said Mr Trump "must appreciate that Russia is not our ally".
"There is no moral equivalence between the United States and Russia, which remains hostile to our most basic values and ideals," he said, adding that there was "no question" Moscow had interfered in the 2016 election.
"The United States must be focused on holding Russia accountable and putting an end to its vile attacks on democracy."
Senior Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Mr Trump had sent the Kremlin a message of US "weakness".
He tweeted: "Missed opportunity by President Trump to firmly hold Russia accountable for 2016 meddling and deliver a strong warning regarding future elections."
Fellow Republican Senator Jeff Flake - a staunch critic of President Trump - called his words "shameful".
It is clear now that under Trump, the USA is not a reliable ally. We cannot afford to isolate ourselves by leaving the EU, and in so doing putting ourselves at the mercy of the USA for a trade deal and future influence.
If this episode does not underline that the UK's future lies with Europe, then nothing will.
