In the incessant flood of violations and desecrations, I usually feel obliged to move onto the next horror after spotlighting the previous one. Sure, I try to spotlight the larger concepts and the deeper realities that cut across these events. But I’m always concerned that what gets lost are the fundamental points of connection that can illuminate this nightmarish period in our history.
Of course, each piece of writing is discrete, yet concepts reoccur. Regular readers will recognize that certain psychological concepts repeat (malignant narcissism, sociopathy, sadism, cognitive decline, derangement, mental illness), as do certain political terms to explain what we’re facing at a systems level (authoritarianism, fascism, despotism) as well as particular words to capture the people who’ve facilitated this criminal horror show (sycophant, enabler, accomplice, henchman, operative).
I try not to be hyperbolic, that is, to undermine my assertions with language that is overly exaggerated or bombastic.
But that caution needs to end now. Because Donald Trump is a traitor.
And he’s not simply a traitor in the loose sense of someone who commits an act of betrayal that makes clear they are not only not on your side but actively working to undermine your side. (“You traitor,” said the kid to his best friend after he started hanging out with the class bully.) Donald Trump is a traitor in the very particular sense laid out in the U.S. Constitution written and agreed to in 1787.
This can be found in the clause pertaining to treason, Article III, Section 3, as follows: "Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.”
I inched up to this notion of a traitor in my essay “We Are Under Attack From an Enemy Within” on October 5. But this was more concerned with the ways in which Trump was ignoring the Constitution by defying court orders, rejecting Congress’ power to control spending and pursuing myriad tactics to subvert the outcome of our federal elections.
All serious, to be sure, but unlikely to rise to the specifics laid out in the Constitution.
But then came Trump’s appalling announcement last week that he was doing a deal with Vladimir Putin to buy diesel from Russia amid its murderous war against Ukraine. As I noted on Monday, this surely represented a “deepening betrayal” of our democratic ally in a life-and-death struggle to hold onto its independence and survive as a nation. And it was far from his first betrayal.
But what followed this “deal”—this explicit plot to side with Russia, an enemy of America—was the loss of the military-grade satellite internet service Starshield from SpaceX and battlefield intel-sharing with Ukraine at a time when Russia was escalating its ballistic missile attacks. Trump denied that Starshield or intel were cut, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensnky said expected early warnings didn’t happen twice. “Once again, no warning from our partners,” Zelensky posted Tuesday on social media
Who do you believe? In fact, according to new reporting from Reuters based on multiple sources, the order to limit Starshield came from inside the White House.
Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.
Please tell me how Trump making a deal with Putin that breaks Congress’ sanctions against Russia, provides potentially billions of dollars to fund its murder campaign and gives Putin a green light to expand its attacks—while demanding Ukraine to stop its attacks on Russia’s oil refineries and undermining the needed tools to sustain its defense—is not giving an enemy “aid and comfort”?
Yes, the pro-Putin crowd will try to say that Russia is not our enemy, just as they will deny that Russia interfered in our elections. They may also repeat Trump’s talking points, which is to say the Kremlin talking points, that NATO is an aggressor and poor Russia is just trying to defend itself against offensive Western nations. In so doing, they will refuse to acknowledge the duty of America to stand by its Western allies who are under attack.
They may also parse the question of whether Russia is an enemy of the United States because we are not at war with them. As if Russia’s various attacks on our cyber systems, election systems and those of our democratic allies are not attacks of an adversary. As if we are not made less safe by the expanding militarism of Russia in Europe.
“It's painful when President Trump chooses one side, not our side,” Zelensky said this week on behalf of his betrayed nation. He was choosing his words very carefully, perhaps with a dim hope that the diseased occupant of our White House will be persuaded to change his mind. But Ukraine’s leader also resumed attacks on Russian refineries.
And then there’s the august New York Times, whose headline writer could only muster this pale summary: “Trump Gives Putin a Hand in Russia’s Economic War with Ukraine.”
But these are not times for weak caution. Ukraine is fighting for its life, indeed defending against Russia’s march against democracy, both within and beyond its borders. A victory there will only empower Putin to keep going.
And these are times to pick sides in America, to tell the truth and stand up against the fascist march of Trump and his sycophantic operatives who mock our Constitution, ignore the rule of law and sidle up to our nation’s enemies.
That’s why I believe it’s necessary to call Trump a traitor and why it’s critical that Americans do their duty to save our republic from an enemy within who will burn it all down to enrich himself and avoid accountability for his crimes.
There are just 17 days until the midterms when we can prove that we will not be held hostage any longer by a traitor—and that we will begin a process of holding him and his accomplices accountable. It can’t come soon enough.
In case you missed it, you can listen here to my Six Questions interview with Indivisible’s Ezra Klein about Saturday’s No Kings events around the country and the goal of driving record levels of early voting and overall turnout.
As we near the midterms, it’s more important than ever to support the survival of democracy. I remain committed to raising my voice as vividly and fiercely as I can. I hope you’ll consider becoming a paid subscriber for just $50 a year or $5 a month to show your support and enhance your engagement—to share your thoughts in the comments sections and access all content.
Full stop. No longer even debatable, except for the cultists.
"The only people who are mad at you for speaking the truth are those who are living a lie." - Frida Kahlo
If you pull the thread even a microscopic amount, it is plain that Trump’s support of Russia in its latest iteration is a direct through line to Iran. Trump buys enough Russian oil to keep him in Putin’s good graces so that Putin can give Iran the weapons it needs to attack us. Sweet. Traitor 101. What I don’t understand is that, even if someone is pro-Putin, those sentiments do not erase, as you said, Steven, the traitorous aspect of all this. We may not be technically at war with Russia but we are certainly at war with Iran.
It amazes me that any President of this great nation could ‘1984’ us about who our enemies are. Democrats, journalists, immigrants…the list goes on and on…but Russia? No. Poor little mistreated Putin, who has plundered and murdered and invaded Ukraine. Poor little mistreated Putin, who has interfered with our elections non-stop and spoon-fed propaganda to this country’s propaganda-hungry citizens on behalf of Trump. Poor little mistreated Putin, who is helping to fund a war in Iran that should never have been started. And “the beat goes on”.