Both Putin and Trump share compatible goals: Putin to re-establish the glory day of the old USSR by invasion and subversion of their former satellites like Ukraine, Baltics, Poland, and Romania and smaller entities, and Trump sabotages the one force standing in their way, NATO, with US leadership and armaments, and 100 thousand troops in countries bordering Ukraine.. Trump's dangerous policies he will carry out if elected again are waiving in the banner of isolationism. Both Putin and Trump have found their goals have backfired, resulting in the opposite of what they intended. NATO has never been stronger, more determined to block Russian aggression, and with more members than it was when Trump left office. Putin is now facing a renewed, rearmed, refunded Ukraine, not just temporarily, but resolute in the long haul. Germany has reversed 75 years of demilitarization and is now re-establishing its military. Nothing like looking down a Russian gun barrel to get a jolt of reality.
Trump, who ignores, forgets or must have slept through any history or civics class he attended in his early education, touts the same movement of appeasement and isolationism, America First, that Japan and Nazi Germany misread. And just "let them have whatever they want; we'll have peace" policies sent the wrong signals, led to Pearl Harbor, Hitler declaring war on the US, and US involvement in World War II.
Trump is an ignorant fool and an extreme danger to national security. He, a court-convicted con man, a fraudster, a great salesman, has sold his followers a package that will blow up in their faces. Aggresors, from Nzai Germany to current Russia and China, are not seeking peace, but those who belly up to them are seen as weak and unwilling to resist them for the picking. That posture is extremely dangerous to the US's national security. He once again wants to lead them down the dark alley, repeating the mistake of thinking that America is an island. It is not, economically and militarily. Together with Europe's economic and military might, we can stop any aggressors before they reach our shores.
Instead of NATO has never been strong er since its founding, and it is now firmly committed to supporting a Ukraine win, stopping Putin in the long term. Aside from Trump's adoration of dictatorships as his preferred role model of governance or his own lust for power, both achieved the opposite they had tried. Trump's disdain for his own intelligence services, praise of Russia, his pitch at his first NATO meeting when he became president that they had not paid their dues of 2% of GDP (there are no dues for membership in NATO, just a commitment to invest in their own militaries) so US should ditch coming to the aid if Russia invaded them, as they came to the US aid in 9/11. When Trump left office, nine countries had met that pledge. Under Biden, 23 now do, and two once forever neutrals, Sweden and Finland, have formally joined NATO. Trump's policy: end the war in Ukraine in 'one day", only accomplished by letting Russia have Ukraine, parts now, completely later., leaving the rest of Ukraine defenseless and the pat clear for Russia.
Defeating Trump has never been more critical. However, is Biden able to lead us? No other person in the Democratic party who could gain the support polls better in a matchup with Trump. Most do not even have broad name identification. Only VP Harris comes close, but even the caucus of black leaders support Biden as they check in this past week.
On the other hand, a sociopath narcissist goes off the teleprompter and just begins nonsensical word salads and is only 3 years younger than Biden, gets a free pass? Give me a break. Neither is at their best. However, the dangerous one, Trump, just keeps repeating the same hyperbolic racist and crowding phrases that work so well in a crowd of his loving believers, and we just ignore it. Biden is safer. We know where he is and what he supports, and he has a track record to illustrate it. He has a team and a political on the same policy tracks. We know where he is going. Trump's team has been revealed in Project 2025, chocked full of white Christian nationalists fondest unpopular, unsupported by the majority, dreams and a plan to replace all levers of government, including 50K civil servants, with their loyalists pledged to an extreme ideology instead of the rule of law. We also know where he is going this time, and it is continuing a democracy we have known for 250 years.
This fight over whether Biden can beat Trump has now given Trump more ammunition with this self-defeating shot in our own feet. The focus is no longer on democracy vs. dictatorship. We need to resolve this immediately, now. Once decided, Democrats need to put up or shut up.
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