Allegations that President Trump is secretly colluding with the Russians appear more and more ridiculous every day. On Monday, the Trump administration kicked 60 Russian diplomats out of the country. He also ordered the Russian consulate in Seattle to close.
The move is a direct response to Moscow’s rule in the poisoning of a former spy and his daughter. The pair were living in Britain when they were attacked.
“They hide behind the veneer of diplomatic immunity while actively engaging in intelligence operations that undermine the country in which they are hosted and the democracies they seek to minimize,” a White House official said of the expelled diplomats.
The 60 booted Russians were described as spies.
“To the Russian government we say: When you attack our friends, you will face serious consequences,” an administration official said.
“This reduces Russia’s ability to spy on American citizens, conduct covert operations on our soil and threaten our national security.”
Despite the bold retaliation, it still wasn’t enough to appease the left. CNN complained that Trump didn’t personally bash Moscow.
“I would love to hear (the President) talk about this expulsion himself. I think that would be powerful … but I don’t think we should get too fixated on it here,” former State Department spokesperson and current CNN analyst John Kirby said.
“This was pretty well-coordinated decision not just inside the inner agency — but internationally as well.”
Nothing that Trump does will be enough to please them.
A swath of Western countries followed suit and expelled Russian diplomats within their borders Monday. American Democrats may be blinded by politics, but the rest of the world understands what’s really going. The U.S. is showing its solidarity with the U.K.
“The United States calls on Russia to accept responsibility for its actions and to demonstrate to the world that it is capable of living up to its international commitments and responsibilities as a member of the UN Security Council to uphold international peace and security,” the State Department said in a statement.
Russia denies any involvement in the poisonings.
(Source: CNN, New York Post)