Earlier today CNN was reporting that President Trump was seriously considering an offer by President Putin of Russia to permit interviews with the Russian military offers indicted by Special Counsel Mueller for interference in the 2016 Presidential Election IF the Russians could interview a set of Americans they purport have been up to shenanigans – including the former American Ambassador to Russia.
This caused quite the uproar among the diplomatic crowd; according to the Daily Beast, the general reaction was negative.
Current and former American diplomats are expressing disgust and horror over the White House’s willingness to entertain permitting Russian officials to question a prominent former U.S. ambassador.
One serving diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he was “at a fucking loss” over comments that can be expected to chill American diplomacy in hostile or authoritarian countries – a comment echoed by former State Department officials as well.
“It’s beyond disgraceful. It’s fundamentally ignorant with regard to how we conduct diplomacy or what that means. It really puts in jeopardy the professional independence of diplomats anywhere in the world, if the consequence of their actions is going to be potentially being turned over to a foreign government,” the U.S. diplomat told The Daily Beast.
Now CNN is reporting an abrupt about-face:
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders just issued a statement that says President Trump disagrees with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposal to question Americans, including the former US ambassador to Russia.
“It is a proposal that was made in sincerity by President Putin, but President Trump disagrees with it,” she said. “Hopefully President Putin will have the 12 identified Russians come to the United States to prove their innocence or guilt.”
This is the sort of flailing you get from incompetent amateurs. If we were serious about our leaders, Trump would not be one after the last couple of weeks. Trump, and the United States, has so much egg on our face you might as well call us the Frittata States of America.
And the eggs have gone bad.
