Señor Trumpanzee, Try To Remember, Vladimir Putin Is No Friend Of America

You probably read that Trump told Putin, during a phone call, that his staff-- none of whom were chosen by Hillary or Obama or the "Deep State"-- are "stupid people." He's right... though it was probably stupid of him to tell Putin and go even further by telling him "not to listen to them." That's not the kind of thing you talk to Putin about... nor to John Malkovich's character in Billions.



As Trump was leaving for the NATO meeting yesterday he told journalists "I have NATO, I have the UK, which is in somewhat turmoil, and I have Putin. Frankly, Putin may be the easiest of them all, who would think?" The Brits-- as people, if not as a government, hate him. They're making Green Day's 2004 smash, "American Idiot," a hit all over again in his honor. It's already the #1 song on the UK Amazon chart. There's a campaign, "Make American Idiot Great Again," to also make it #1 on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify and YouTube.

If you were wondering what Trump meant when he pronounced the U.K. "in somewhat turmoil," he may be dreading the reception planned for him but it was really about Theresa May's cabinet calling apart, particularly the departure of their own Trump-like imbecile, Blundering Boris, who claimed Britain was "headed for the status of colony."

Monday’s flurry of resignations from Theresa May’s cabinet is causing consternation and frustration around European capitals, with politicians and commentators expressing concerns that chaos in Westminster will paralyse Brexit negotiations and accelerate Britain’s departure from the geopolitical stage.

The prospect of further disarray would more likely cause consternation than schadenfreude in Berlin, said Josef Janning, who heads the Berlin office of the European council on foreign relations. Although that sentiment did not extend to the recently departed foreign secretary, Boris Johnson.

“The sorrow caused by Johnson’s departure in German government circles will be in short supply,” Janning said. “German politicians were alienated by the way in which he carried out his office from the beginning. He was seen as a player, an opportunist.”

...“During Johnson’s tenure, Britain’s desire to shape the framing of European foreign policy has sunk to zero. On the key questions-- how to deal with China, or the future of transatlantic relations-- May has been more responsive than her foreign minister,” said Janning.

Brussels has greeted the resignations with bemusement, interest and froideur. Diplomats said neither the former Brexit secretary David Davis nor Johnson had been big figures in the Brexit talks, but raised concerns that Theresa May’s hard-fought Chequers compromise could be in doubt.

“The question is, can she pull it through,” said one EU diplomat. “The stability of the government is called in question and now we will see what happens. But even if the government were to fall … we have no other option to deal with this or the next government.

...Le Monde conceded the British political crisis had not taken Europeans totally by surprise because “an implosion of the Conservative government one day or another” was expected with the Tories still so divided over Brexit.

As for Davis, the French daily Libération said his departure “didn’t make too many waves” because “he had not, for months, been seen as the principle interlocutor of European negotiators.” The paper added: “His minimal presence in Brussels [four times since the start of the year], his lack of knowledge of the details of the negotiations, even a persistent impression of dilettantism, had left people weary.”

In Germany, Frankfurter Allgemeine was concerned that Europe was witnessing only the beginning of Britain’s descent into political chaos. “After an eventful Monday it looks more likely that the rebellion in the Conservative party will build momentum and a vote of confidence in their leader could become inevitable,” wrote the paper’s political correspondent Jochen Buchsteiner.

On Tuesday, two Conservative Party vice-chairs, Maria Caulfield and Ben Bradley, quit over the soft Brexit plan. Brits shudder at the thought of Trumpanzee sticking us nose into their internal politics now, which is entirely likely. May warned her party's rebels-- Brexit hardliners, to fall in line or risk handing the keys of No. 10 Downing Street to Jeremy Corbyn.