As anyone who has even glanced at the internet this week couldn’t help but notice, the level of fervor over Trump and Russia reached a new pitch.
In this essay, I am setting aside any discussion of the veracity of the myriad charges being leveled at Trump and “the Russians” regarding the election, business dealings, “treason,” etc. Of more interest, and ultimately importance, are the social phenomena of how these issues swirl through social circles and what they say about people in the USA in general and Democrats/liberals and radicals in particular.
Photographs from an anti-Trump rally in front of the White House on Tuesday (July 17th), show Neera Tanden speaking. Tanden is president of the Center for American Progress and was a “policy aide” to Obama when he was president. At this event she called Trump a “traitor,” characterizing his behavior as “commonly understood as treasonous.” [source: After Helsinki, Dems struggle over Trump, the term ‘treason’ ]
Behind Tanden in the photograph is a sign that reads: “I HOPE THEY USED CONDOMS WHEN TRUMP TOOK IT UP THE ASS FROM PUTIN.” It’s my understanding that Tanden “disavowed” the sign when asked about it, but regardless I wholly agree with Black Agenda Report Editor and Senior Columnist, Margaret Kimberley, who said that “the issue is bigger than this one instance.”