A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version.
Russia, Russia, Russia
The challenge of the present moment is to continue to relentlessly observe, report, and document each of Donald Trump’s serial transgressions of democratic norms, the rule of law, and basic human decency. Challenging because the list is endless, the mind numbs, the body tires, and because the effort is not going to change his behavior or calm the fervor of his true believers. We do it not for him but for ourselves.
But even with Trump’s non-stop transgressiveness, certain episodes stand out as especially egregious, as the kind of thing no one, including the Republican Party, would have tolerated just a few years ago, and which no one should tolerate for a moment now.
Yesterday brought one such episode, when Trump baldly tied the release of WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich, illegally detained by Russian, to his own re-election:
Where to start? It’s not just how bad it is but the myriad ways in which it is bad.
As to Gershkovich himself, Trump absolutely jeopardized his release. Why would Russia now do Trump the disservice of releasing Gershkovich any time before the November election? Why would Russia release Gershkovich after the election if Trump loses? In what way do Trump’s remarks do anything but harm the ongoing efforts to secure Gershkovich’s release?
As to the larger picture, Trump remains a toady of Putin, an easily played neophyte in geopolitics who can’t distinguish his personal and political interests from the national interest. The GOP nominee for president happily places himself in the thrall of Putin, which was bad enough in 2016 and 2020 but now comes after Putin invaded and continues to occupy U.S. ally Ukraine.
It was as reckless a move as anything Trump has done since being booted from office.
Reax To Trump Dangling Gershkovich’s Release
- Former U.S. Ambassador to Poland Daniel Fried: “Since former President Trump brought it up, the question might be whether he is in contact with Russian authorities about Evan Gershkovich and, if so, whether he has pushed for Evan’s immediate release or suggested that the Russians keep holding him, perhaps to Trump’s advantage.”
- TPM’s Josh Marshall: “Trump seems to be saying pretty clearly that he has an understanding with Putin that Gershkovich will under no circumstances be released until after he is elected and if he’s not elected, well, sucks to be him. Could this have anything to do w Manafort again working with Trump’s campaign?”
- Luppe Luppen, channeling Trump: “Russia, Russia, Russia is a hoax but also I’m expressly working hand-in-glove with Putin’s regime to keep an American imprisoned in Russia until I am restored to power. Not anyone else, mind you; it has to be me.”
- Former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed: “As a former wrongful detainee in Russia, I would just like to remind everyone that President Trump had the ability to get myself and Paul Whelan out of Russia for years and chose not to. I wo
