Steve Livingston

@soilmaker-steve.bsky.social

94 Followers 55 Following

Frighteningly serious about life and living, passionate and outspoken about politics and spirituality, endlessly grateful for the opportunities, adventures, and relationships that have led me to believe I'm the luckiest guy on the planet.

JM: Well let's turn to another point, thank you very much, since you're now off the topic I was raising. Mr. [Nathan] Whitaker [nominee for ambassador to NATO], these five things that the President has done that are so favorable to Putin and so damaging to Ukraine and to our partnership with Europe — do you approve of them? NW: Well, Senator, thanks for that question. I'm just going to have to politely disagree with you on those five things and the way you've framed them. You know, the war in Ukraine would have never happened if President Trump was president in 2022. The war in Ukraine happened because of Joe Biden's weakness. JM: I don't think that was the question I asked, but maybe you could some other time go on television and express those points of view, but do you mind just answering the question I asked? Do you agree with the five things that President Trump has done, starting with him expressing Russian propaganda from the Oval Office? NW: Well, you know, again, as I mentioned to your colleague, I am not here to assign labels. We're in the middle of a very important peace negotiation. JM: Okay, thank you, thank you. I do hope that we have an administration that works to get the very best deal for Ukraine. But what a Russian asset would do would be to work to get the very best deal for Russia, and that appears to be exactly what Donald Trump is trying to accomplish.
SEN. JEFF MERKLEY (D-OR) I wanted to ask you, Mr. Landau, is President Trump a Russian asset? DEPUTY SEC. OF STATE NOMINEE CHRISTOPHER LANDAU: Absolutely not, Senator. He's the President of the United States, duly elected by the American people. JM: Well, the reason I ask is that many people back home have been asking me this question. They say if he was an asset, we would see exactly what he's doing now. For example, he proceeded to forward or express from the Oval Office propaganda that has been Russian propaganda—that Ukraine started the war, that Zelensky is a dictator. JM: Second of all, he gave away key things on the negotiating table before the negotiations even started, ensuring the US would absolutely oppose any possibility of NATO membership for Ukraine. JM: Third, he's cut off the armed shipments to Ukraine, completely undermining their ability to resist a massive neighbor next door with short supply lines and huge resources. JM: Fourth, he's undermined the partnership with Europe, which has been essential to security over the last 80 years — a major goal of Putin's. JM: And then, he's done everything to discredit and demean Zelensky on the international stage, including a shameful press conference in which he teamed up with the Vice President to attack Zelensky. JM: I can't imagine that if he was a Russian asset, he could do anything more favorable than these five points. What else could a Russian asset actually possibly do that Trump hasn't yet done? CL: Senator, the President has made it absolutely clear that his top priority is to try to bring peace and end an absolutely savage war. I know you're familiar with the savagery; this is turning into World War I-style trench warfare now in eastern Ukraine. The President is an exceptionally gifted dealmaker. He is probably the only individual in the entire universe that could actually stop this. The President understands as part of his deal— see first comment for remainder of transcript.
PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP: Yeah, I would, and I think anybody should. But I — I mean, according to all the reports, I don’t want to — where’s wood? Is this a wood where I can knock on wood? But my reports are very good, very strong. PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP: Sure, no problem with it. President-elect Donald Trump interviewed by "Meet the Press" moderator Kristen Welker, 12/8/2024