CNN Cripples Own Russia Narrative, Admits Trump's Tougher on Putin Than Obama
For the past two years, the consistent narrative put forward by the liberal media and Democrats is that President Donald Trump is a “puppet” of Russian President Vladimir Putin — with whom he “colluded” to “steal” the 2016 election — and thus has been exceptionally “weak” toward Russia in regard to foreign policy decisions.
CNN has unquestionably been at the forefront of those pushing that narrative — when they aren’t obsessively talking about porn star Stormy Daniels — so it was a bit of a surprise when a CNN host took the time to detail just how tough Trump has actually been toward Russia while interviewing an anti-Trump Democrat member of Congress.
According to The Daily Caller, the surprising admission that undermines the network’s own narrative came during the Wednesday episode of “CNN Newsroom with Poppy Harlow,” during which Harlow confronted Democrat Florida Rep. Ted Deutch about the current reality of U.S.-Russian relations.
“I get the rhetoric, we all hear how the president sort of ‘appeases’ Vladimir Putin, and we don’t hear him criticize Vladimir Putin,” stated Harlow.
“But would you concede that his administration’s actions against Russia — be it the sanctions, be it the selling of anti-tank missiles to Ukraine — are tough actions on Russia; arguably tougher actions on Russia, some would say, than the Obama administration’s?” she asked of Deutch.
“Poppy, we had to drag the White House kicking and screaming to impose sanctions on Russia,” replied Deutch.
“If I could clarify, of course having a good relationship with a country is always in our interest, but it’s not in our interest to go on the world stage and to suggest that we’re rolling over for a country that hacked our election, that commits cyberwarfare, that interferes in governments all throughout the world,” he continued.
“And to do so next to a murderous dictator like Vladimir Putin, no, that is absolutely not in our interest at all,” he added.
Later, on the same program, Harlow brought on CNN’s senior national correspondent Alex Marquardt to “fact check” Trump’s claim that “nobody has been tougher on Russia” than him and his administration.
Marquardt ran through a litany of just some of the significant actions taken by the Trump administration — by no means all-inclusive — that would obviously be deemed as “tough” on Russia by anyone with a bit of intellectual honesty, a list that was accompanied by a graphic that spelled it all out for CNN’s viewers.
Those tough anti-Russia actions would include arming Ukraine with lethal weapons — something the Obama administration steadfastly refused to do — the indictment of 13 Russian nationals and affiliated entities accused of meddling in the 2016 election and the expulsion of 60 Russian diplomats in response to a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy living in the United Kingdom.
In conjunction with the expulsion of diplomats, the Trump administration also forced the closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle. Later, another seven Russian oligarchs in Putin’s inner circle were sanctioned, as well as 12 companies they either controlled or owned outright, along with some 17 senior Russian government officials.
Left unmentioned by CNN, but certainly well within the realm of “tough” actions against Russia, was the absolute destruction of a Russian mercenary unit in Syria, in which an estimated 200 Russian soldiers were believed to have been killed or wounded in the battle.
And who could forget Trump’s insistence that NATO allies increase their defense spending to guard against potential Russian military escapades?
Furthermore, Trump has hit Russia hard financially by dramatically increasing American energy production — Russia’s only real profitable and exportable resource — and has worked diligently to get European nations to make deals to obtain their energy needs from America instead of Russia.
President Trump may not publicly criticize Putin and Russia as much as his detractors would like, but there is no denying that his actions have been exceptionally tough on Russia, so much so that even CNN now has to admit as much.
This admission of Trump’s tough action — in conjunction with the lingering lack of tangible evidence to support allegations of “collusion” — pretty much lays to rest the whole “Trump is soft on Russia” nonsense that the media has been pressing as a narrative for the past two years — and good riddance.
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