Duck Duck Goose !

Reverse Conspiracy Theory

Our current President came to political prominence by espousing the convoluted conspiracy theory that President Barack Obama was born in Kenya, and thus was not eligible to serve as President. He went to great lengths to investigate this supposed conspiracy to cover up the President’s real birthplace, including alleging the complicity of state officials in fabricating a phony birth certificate, and in the process, was able to convince between a quarter to a third of the American population that he was onto something. When that theory no longer served his purpose, he dropped it like a hot potato, and simply went on to campaign, successfully, for the prize of the Oval Office itself.
     Fast forward three years, and we now have a kind of reverse conspiracy theory developing that this same man, Donald J. Trump, may be acting as an agent of or stalking horse for our chief geopolitical enemy, Russia, and its leader, Vladimir Putin. Is that theory in any way believable? Is there any empirical evidence that exists that would make sane people seriously entertain the notion? The answer , clearly, is yes. And you don’t have to be a crazed conspiratorialist to believe it. His answer to the charge? “I never worked for Russia. This whole Russian thing is a big fat hoax!” We might eventually expect him to add, “ I am not a crook either.”
     Meanwhile, let’s examine the facts underlying this theory. First, all of our intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia attempted to interfere in the 2016 election in furtherance of Trump’s candidacy in a myriad of ways. Trump pays lip device to the conclusion of those agencies, and chooses to defer to Putin’s denial instead. Second, in meeting between Trump and Putin, the number of participants has been limited, and even the notes of a translator were personally impounded by the President so that there is no clear record of what promises were made and what was discussed. This is a total abrogation of normal procedure. Why would anyone go to such lengths to obscure what was said between two heads of state unless they were trying to conceal something.?
      Third, why would the President defer to Russia on Syria, defend Russia’s original invasion of Afghanistan, and back off on criticism of Russia’s conduct toward the Ukraine?
     Why would he criticize everyone else, make up names to label many other world leaders , but as to Putin, only be effusive in his praise of his strong leadership?
Why would this President undermine NATO and many of our longest standing allies?
And what about that “dossier”? . Does Putin hold compromising evidence over Trump’s head? Also, why would he totally disrupt the ordinary processes of the American government , sowing further seeds of discord and discontent and undermining our democratic institutions?  Why would he persistently criticize our rule of law by  undermining the credibility of our courts, the FBI, and the Justice Department?
     This fact pattern impregnates the conspiratorial theorists , and as the old saying goes, “ If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and acts like a  duck , it may well be a duck. The degree of quacking here has become so cacophonous  that only the deaf can ignore it, and only the blind can fail to see  the various connections . Perhaps when it comes to Conspiracy theories and Mr. Trump , what’s good for the goose is  good for the gander as well.