Just talked to GOP congressman who said most under-covered story of convention is how Trump aides changed GOP platform to be more pro-Putin.
— Ryan Lizza (@RyanLizza) July 20, 2016
No, Putin's events are far better organized. Surprised Trump didn't invite Putin's thugs to run the GOP convention! https://t.co/vqWG3vaCUY
— Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) July 18, 2016
Conventional Wisdom is that Corey Lewinski Lewandowski was Donald Trump’s favorite political manager, but Paul Manafort was the Trump kids’ choice. (They are, after all, the spoilt spawn of a tinpot autocrat, and Manafort has many years experience dealing with clients who think “but I wanna!” should have the weight of law.) Lewandowski’s “firing” was supposed to signal Manafort’s triumph in the struggle. But now Corey is safely embedded in CNN’s hide, somebody’s got to be held responsible for the RNC clusterfvck, and it sure ain’t gonna be The Donald…. or any of his offspring.
Jon Chait, of NYMag, is a man exquisitely attuned to every shift in the prevailing CW currents:
Donald Trump is not a Russian agent in the sense that Philip and Elizabeth from The Americans are Russian agents. There’s no hidden radio in his laundry room where he transmits secrets to the Kremlin. But his relationship with Russia is disturbing and lends itself to frightening interpretations.
Franklin Foer has detailed the connections between the Republican nominee and the Kremlin. In short, it includes a long series of economic and social ties, which fit the pattern Vladimir Putin has used to infiltrate and undermine governments elsewhere — including in Ukraine, a coup Putin pulled off through Paul Manafort, who is now Trump’s campaign manager. Michael Crowley and Julia Ioffe have both described how the Russian propaganda apparatus has thrown itself behind Trump’s campaign. As Foer notes, Trump’s lack of creditworthiness makes him unusually reliant on unconventional sources of financing. This makes him vulnerable to financial leverage by an unscrupulous foreign entity.
Open Thread: Paul Manafort Has / <em>Is</em> A ProblemPost + Comments (124)