Sanctions Against Russia Finally Signed

Posted by Douglas V. Gibbs
Author, Speaker, Instructor, Radio Host

Russia, Russia, Russia.  President Donald Trump is such good friends with Russia, says the Democrats, that he will do anything to make Putin happy.  If that's the case, then why did Trump sign legislation that slaps sanctions on Russia and limits his own ability to create waivers?

While the media is saying Trump wasn't happy about the bill, and couldn't do anything about it because it has passed Congress by such overwhelming margins that if he had vetoed it, Congress could have overriden a presidential veto, we should know President Trump well enough by now that he doesn't cower like that.  If he didn't like it, he would have vetoed it, if anything, to send a message.  That said, if he had any misgivings about it at all, it would likely be because he would see it as a hindrance in his ability to improve relations with the sort-of-ally in the Middle East.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters he shared misgivings with the president, as they try to improve relations with Russia.  Tillerson said that both he and Trump were not necessarily happy about the sanctions.  "We were clear that we didn't think that was going to be helpful to our efforts, but that's the decision they made."

Are we in the Twilight Zone?

It's a mixed up situation. We need sanctions to keep Russia in check, because deep down they are still bad guys.  But, we don't need sanctions because it might make them mad. Trump is handcuffed by nobody, yet we are being told here that Congress handcuffed Trump into signing the bill.

Something doesn't smell right.

Maybe it's me.

Let me go back to what I said, earlier.

Trump is a strong enough personality that he doesn't play games.  If he didn't like the bill, even if it was veto-proof, he would have vetoed it.  That's how he works.  He's brutally honest, sometimes to a fault.  But, we are being told by Tillerson and the media that he was cornered into signing it, and didn't want to. . . and the media is playing that news like it means he's trying to protect his buddy, Putin (which in their mind, proves the election was tilted by the Russians).

It's almost like we need to wade through the bull to figure out what the truth is.  Trump during the campaign repeatedly called for better relations with Russia, but that didn't mean he was in cahoots with them, it was just a common sense move that if we have to operate in a world with them, and we have at least a few things in common, we need to figure out a way to get along (while keeping one eye open and dedicated to watching them).  But, the liberal left Democrats have concluded that the Russian government backed a campaign to interfere in the presidential election, and therefore, anything and everything the President does that isn't absolutely against Russia is just more proof, in their eyes, that the President is rubbing elbows with the former-commies.

It's enough to make one feel schizophrenic over it all.

That said, Russia is not taking kindly to the idea of sanctions, stating that they are willing to expel more than 700 U.S. diplomats from Russia in retaliation for the sanctions legislation.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary