Warning: This is a conspiracy theory that subsumes U.S. conspiracy theories. William of Ockham would approve.
Lying about the predicted severity of a pandemic that has left 250,000 dead Americans. Clearing protestors with tear gas for a photo op with a Bible. Lacing the White House administration with white nationalists. Welcoming Q-anon and other wild conspiracy theorists into the GOP. Telling people to rise up against Democratic governors instituting public health measures. Calling American elections rigged in advance of the elections, then refusing to acknowledge a one-sided election loss. Deciding to take no federal action as the pandemic reaches its worst stages, increasing exponentially. Trying to circumvent an American election by leveraging mid-management state officials into his corner. Inserting his loyalists into key Pentagon positions in the last 60 days of his presidency, then firing his election cybersecurity chief. Withdrawing troops against most military recommendations.
Mainstream media asks why, as if it all isn't obvious. Doesn't Trump realize the permanent damage he has done to American institutions? Doesn't he realize how he is compromising American security, both here and abroad? Well, of course he does. That's the point. There's no real mystery to any of this. If you simply apply Ockham's Razor, all evidentiary roads lead to Rome, or in this case, Russia.
Tom Nichols, a specialist in Russian relations and author of The Death of Expertise, has already spelled it out many times. He says it gently, explaining that he has always considered Trump compromised by the Russians.
To put it more directly, the simplest explanation for Trump's behavior is that he's a Russian asset. Now some people argue, and it's true, that one doesn't need to know that one is a Russian asset to indeed be a Russian asset. That's correct, of course, but I'm not going to tap dance with the verbiage. The only logical conclusion is that Trump is a Russian asset, and he knows he's a Russian asset.
This is Manchurian candidate stuff. Trump has managed to do maximum damage to the United States in a very short period of time. He's created racial divides at each opportunity, stepped aside as we're en route to a half million Covid-19 deaths, and has worked to compromise everything from the democratic process to military leadership to cybersecurity.
If you'd been planning to destroy the United States and cripple its international capabilities, these are exactly the actions you would take. Trump has been executing a Putin wish list every step of the way. Yes, it's possible that this is all accidental correlation of Putin's wish list and Trump's actions, but realistically, with Ockham's Razor perspective, how likely is that?
What I don't understand is why "Trump as Russian asset" isn't getting serious airplay on every network.
Arguments Against Trump as Russian Asset
The usual pushback to the Trump as Putin lapdog frame is that not every international decision made by the U.S. has favored Russia unequivocally, especially those directly involving Russia. This argument misses two points. First, it presupposes that Putin's goal would be to make every single decision go in Russia's favor during Trump's presidency. Putin, however, would not be so baldly obvious, especially regarding near-term minutia.
Second, this argument assumes that the goal of Putin's Trump puppetry is short-term Russian gain. If, however, the actual goal is to destroy the United States long-term, not boost Russia short-term, then Trump's decisions all fall into place. To put it bluntly, if you're competing with someone for resources, stealing a few loaves accomplishes far less than injecting them with a cancer.
I think that Tom Nichols is correct. Putin's possession of Trump has come to a head with Trump's recent actions. If Vladimir Putin were the man in the Oval Office doing what Trump is doing today, Putin would be arrested immediately for espionage. Trump will not be arrested today. Or tomorrow.
Putin has, by any measure, won. He is to be commended, as he has pulled off a stunt worthy of all Bond villains combined, and in full view of the world.
Bob Dietz
November 20, 2020
