The Art of Sucking Up and Selling Out

President Donald Trump has just come back from Europe, burning bridges with America's remaining allies while kissing up to a dictator to whom he owes his job.  Is this the beginning of the end of the Trump presidency, or is this just another day at the office?

Trump's summit in Helsinki, Finland with Russian president Vladimir Putin was an excellent display in the art of sucking up and selling out.  After meeting one-on-one with only interpreters present, the news conference that followed saw Trump going on and on like a teenage crush about what a great guy Putin was, and how he didn't believe his own government's intelligence concerning Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election and their latest cyber attack on the U.S.  Putin didn't have to say a thing.  He was content to let Trump act like a fawning idiot in front of the whole world.

For some time now, Trump has been hollering "no collusion" in the face of Robert Mueller's ongoing investigation into the matter (which now includes indictments against 12 Russians) in the same way Richard Nixon insisted during Watergate that he was not a crook.  But the President wasn't ready for the barrage of criticism from both sides of the political aisle (even--horrors!--Fox News) for his summit performance, which ranged from "disgusting" to "treasonous".

Trump tried to correct himself by claiming he "misspoke" about his support for American intelligence agencies, and walking back other such comments as the week went along.  But it's too late.  We heard you the first time.

Earlier, in another gathering with European leaders, Trump walked all over them when he briefly considered getting the U.S. out of NATO and for calling the European Union a "foe".  In England, as a giant blimp of "Baby Trump" sailed (or is it soiled?) over London, he dissed Prime Minister Theresa May and broke protocol with Queen Elizabeth II.

After all this, Congress is still at their wits' end in figuring out what (if anything) they should do about the President's apparent betrayal of his country.  For the Republicans who currently control both houses, they keep getting burned by the man they say they support.  It's going to take more than the midterm elections for the GOP to get it through their thick skulls that Trump is a national security risk.  Short of impeachment (which nobody really wants to deal with in an election year) or voluntary resignation, does he need an intervention by party officials?

And then there's The Base, Trump's loyal followers who still blame Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama for their problems, and who have more or less shamed their GOP representatives into supporting the President if they want to get re-elected.  Will they still love him, even though he's sold them out?

The more Donald Trump lies and deceives his fellow Americans and their allies, the more he paints himself into a corner.  The more he paints himself in a corner and someone calls him out about it, the more ways he finds to get out of that corner.  Dissing your country while patting the dictator's back should (among other things) be grounds for removal under the U.S. Constitution.  But nobody has the guts to use it.

So it is just another day at the office.