As each Donald Trump-related headline seems to outdo the last, veteran newsman and journalist Dan Rather always has a powerful analysis at the ready.
Responding to the Washington Post‘s bombshell report about Russia’s meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Rather took to his Facebook page and wondered “whether this will be a Trump Putin Administration or a Putin Trump Administration.”
“Trump can publicly diss the findings of the CIA all he wants – itself a worrying development for a President-elect seemingly allergic to intelligence briefings,” Rather writes. “But the reality is that America’s intelligence community has found solid evidence that Russia favored electing a President Trump. Tweeting in a post-fact world doesn’t change that.”
Rather acknowledges that news of Russia’s influence in the election is nothing new, but he points out that the CIA’s “assessment is different from conjecture.” Rather agreed with other pundits and politicians who are calling for a full investigation, adding that GOP officials “cannot be allowed to duck this issue.”
“I am struck to the point of extreme disappointment by the complicit silence,” Rather continued. “Ronald Reagan is rolling over in his grave. This is Russia; a newly aggressive and assertive Russia. Yes, we The People need new thinking and fresh approaches for dealing with the Russia of today.”
Rather warned that demonizing Russia and Putin can be “carried to counter-productive extremes,” but “this has to be weighed against the fact that Putin is a former KGB officer and has done things indicative of a demagogic strongman.”
“Throw in the evidence of serious tampering with the recent U.S. Presidential election and what you have is the making of a global strategic showdown over American ideals,” Rather declared.
“The Founding Fathers worried about a demagogue rising to power backed by a foreign adversary. That notion seemed to diminish to the point of a quaint anachronism over the centuries as our democracy solidified and our strength as a world power grew. No longer.”
You can read Rather’s Facebook post in full here.
Featured image via YouTube
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