Stephanopoulos Pleads With Cotton to Denounce Trump for Saying ‘Putin Is Smart’ and ‘America Is Stupid’ – Opinion

While I have no way of knowing — or giving a damn — if ABC “This Week” host George Stephanopoulos woke up on the wrong side of the bed Sunday morning, I do know that by the time he got to the studio, he was ready to do battle with Arkansas Republican Senator Tom Cotton over his favorite target: Donald Trump.

Stephy’s fate was not good. Cotton was ready and willing to let him go. His stage four TDS absurdity.

As reported by NewsBusters, Stephanopoulos did his damnedest to frame Putin as an egomaniacal dictator, as seen through the ridiculous lens of White House Press Secretary Jen “Circle-Back” Psaki, his prior guest — while clearly on his way to trashing Trump.

We saw this announcement from Vladimir Putin this morning that he’s put his nuclear forces on a state of heightened alert right now. Jen Psaki was the one I spoke with. Are Vladimir Putin acting rationally? It is it mental there or, as Senator Rubio stated, something is wrong right now.

Cotton refused to do a psychological evaluation of the Russian strongman, but he did denounce him — strongly so.

Ms. Psaki claimed that everyone made the error of seeing Vladimir Putin only through international norms. George, that was not my mistake. Vladimir Putin is a brutal dictator that wants to rebuild the Russian Empire. […]

George is proud of the courage and determination displayed by the Ukrainian people. The Ukrainian people continue to put pressure on the leaders of the West. They need our support and the continued supply of weapons to help them fight back.

Stephy could contain his TDS no longer, derisively referring to Trump as the leader of the Republican Party, as he broached the issue of Trump’s controversial comments about Putin — and even more controversial comments about America — during his CPAC speech in Orlando on Saturday night.

You’ve never made that mistake, it is true. You’ve been stalwart in your opposition to Vladimir Putin. Donald Trump, leader of your party cannot say the same. He finally condemned the invasion last night.

However, he did not forget to praise Putin for being smart. He had earlier praised Putin for being very smart. He described him as savvy. He claims that NATO and the U.S. have no intelligence.

Is it possible to reject such rhetorical statements from your leader?

Cotton didn’t bite.

George, you’ve heard what I have to say about Vladimir Putin. That he is a ruthless dictator who’s launched a naked unprovoked war of aggression. Obama won’t provide anti-tank missiles to the Ukrainian military. We are grateful. Did supplyThe last time Washington had Republicans in power, they were the ones who ruled. That’s why it’s so urgent that we continue to supply those weapons to Ukraine.

Stephy, no doubt ready to cry: “Why can’t you condemn Donald Trump for those comments?”

Cotton deftly brushed off Stephy’s plea.

George, you can ask Donald Trump about Vladimir Putin. I don’t speak on behalf of other politicians. They are free to speak for themselves.

Arkansans, I am speaking on their behalf. This week I met with people who were appalled at the scenes in Ukraine.

Stephy reaching out for his blanky

You’re a senior member of the Republican Party. Donald Trump is leader of the Republican Party. Last night, he said again that he was considering running for president.

Fox News asked him whether he had any message for Vladimir Putin. He said that he didn’t. Why can’t you condemn that? I feel quite confident that If Barack Obama or Joe Biden said something like that, you’d be the first to criticize.

Cotton didn’t break a sweat.

Again, George. George, if you would like to speak with the ex-President about his ideas or message, you could have him appear on your program. Vladimir Putin has my message. He must flee Ukraine, or he will face his teenage friends and their molotov cocktails.

Grandfathers, grandmothers, and great-grandparents who have AK-47s throughout the years. I’m speaking on behalf of Arkansas who want me to send that message to him.

Cotton: 1, Stephy: 0. Final score.

Hypocritical Weasels will hypocritically weasel.

Stephanopoulos continued to attempt to persuade Cotton to answer whether he supports a Trump run in 2024. It is a God in heaven… never mind) but ran into the same steeled force the Arkansan used in refusing to condemn Trump, tossing Stephy like yesterday’s issue of Daily Kos.

What are you waiting for? Did Trump say about Putin and America at CPAC — and previously — that caused Stephy and the left to get their knickers in a wad? “The problem is not that Putin is smart,” Donald told the CPAC faithful: “The real problem is our leaders are dumb.” And then some.

C-SPAN transcribed:

It is hard to believe that this president has been so weak, incompetent and incompetent. And when you have a weak president who is not respected by other nations, you have a very chaotic world — and the world hasn’t been this chaotic since World War 2. … I have no doubt that President Putin made his decision to ruthlessly attack Ukraine only after watching the pathetic withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Yesterday, reporters asked me whether I believed President Putin to be smart. I said, ‘Of course, he’s smart,’ to which I was greeted with ‘Oh, that’s such a terrible thing to say.’ Yes, he’s smart. The NATO nations and indeed the world, as he looks over what’s happening strategically … they’re not so smart. They’re looking the opposite of smart.

‘If you take over Ukraine, ‘we’re going to Sanction you,’ they say. Sanction? Well that’s a pretty weak statement. Putin is saying, ‘Oh, they’re gonna sanction me — they’ve sanctioned me for the last 25 years. You mean I can take over a whole country and they’re gonna sanction me?’

The problem is not that Putin is smart — which of course he’s smart.The real problem is that our leaders are dumb. So dumb.

And here’s the kicker, classic Donald-style:

Our [his administration]Because America was strong, the world felt peaceful. You are smart, powerful, and cunning. Our country was a very smart one. We are now a dumb country. America was always our first priority. It was the only way to go.

Hoo-boy. While the majority of Trump’s commentary s correct, “America is a stupid country”?  Whether that was a somewhat veiled jab at voters who voted for Biden, Trump getting out over his skis, or purposely and literally said, you just don’t go there. Call me wrong and I’ll call you a Trump apologist extraordinaire. Respectfully.

Not to beat it to death, but can you imagine being OK with Biden saying “America is a stupid country” under Any circumstances?

As I have written more times than I can remember,  I voted for Trump, twice, and I will vote for him again if he is the Republican candidate in 2024. That said, I have always called him out — and will continue to do so whenever I believe he is wrong. And “America is a stupid country” is one of those times.

Let’s get to the bottom.

Donald Trump’s words and those of Tom Cotton are unquestionably right in that they respect any rational and sane person who pays attention to international and domestic destruction done by Trump Apple Sauce Brains™Joe Biden’s 15-month history cannot have led to any other conclusion.