VP of @WLCongress. Chair of @Renew_Democracy, board of @HRF. Activist, author, speaker, 13th World Chess Champion. Substack: https://t.co/vgzeoFSZPx
309 subscribers
Apr 14 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Trump again rushes to humiliate his sycophants and defenders with a full-throated embrace of Russia, the day after it murdered 30 civilians in Sumy, Ukraine with ballistic missiles on Palm Sunday. Where are the condemnations and resignations of the GOP who spoke out yesterday?
Did Biden launch those missiles? Zelenskyy? Nor did either of them start this war, but you couldn’t tell that from Trump's insane ravings. No mention of Putin, of course, who launched this attack the day after Trump's envoy personally kissed his ass, just to show who’s in charge.
Apr 13 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
Sycophants and conspiracy loons praising the ass-kissing of a Russian mafia dictator by a US president and his envoy. This is Trump's America, and they want you to be as proud of it as they are. And on the day of Russia's bloodiest civilian attack of the year in Ukraine.
Much as Biden's "as long as it takes" was slippery rhetoric to avoid committing to Ukrainian victory, the Trump admin's "working for peace" is a merely a mask for collaborating with Russia to try to force Ukraine to surrender and be destroyed. Capitulation is not negotiation.
Apr 3 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
During Trump‘s first term, I pointed out that anyone skeptical of what propaganda could do in an authoritarian state like Russia only needed to look at how easily one cable channel and some talk radio hosts flipped the GOP into worshiping a reality show host and hating the FBI.
Surveys follow the Dear Leader's agenda with terrible predictability. Russians had balanced views of the United States & NATO and were positive on the European Union until it suited Putin to make enemies out of them one by one. Public opinion quickly followed the propaganda line.
Mar 27 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
🎯 Ceasefires and negotiations are a way of telling Russia you are weak. Dictators act only from strength and assume others do the same. If you wanted them to stop and were strong enough to stop them, you would. If you don't, it's a green light.
Realize this is not a failure of Trump's negotiations. This is the actual point of Trump's negotiations, to protect Russia & Putin and to divide Ukraine into pieces and assets. There is no longer a charitable interpretation. It's Russia & USA vs Ukraine and Europe.
Mar 26 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
My new op-ed in @Welt on the need for Europe to prepare itself to wage war--without Trump's pro-Kremlin America. This will require matching Ukraine's level of courage, and now. | Garri Kasparow: "Europa muss bereit sein, Krieg zu führen" welt.de/debatte/plus25…
This WH's contempt for Europe was again on display in the "secret" chat. Trump is fulfilling everything on Putin's wishlist, so Europe needs a checklist to stand up to Russian aggression. It cannot wait and hope for when Trump & his gang leave power.
Mar 25 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
How far down is the Trump admin on the autocracy fuckup checklist? Deny, lie, attack the source, attack the media, say it was someone else, say it was no big deal, say it was a brilliant maneuver, boast about it, create new scandal. Let’s see how good at Putinization they are.
Never admit error, never apologize, always double down, always counterattack, always distract. It’s better to be twice a liar and do more damage than for Dear Leader to show weakness by admitting error or apologizing to those harmed.
Mar 16 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
A core point we’ve been trying to make for years is that "let Ukraine win" hasn’t been tried yet. From Obama’s naive peace-mongering to Biden & Europe's love of the status quo to Trump’s open embrace of Russia's goals, Ukraine winning simply hasn’t been given a chance.
The absurd idea of Russian invincibility was collapsed by Prighozin’s mutiny, Ukraine’s Kursk op, Russia's need for Iranian & NK weapons and even NK soldiers, and the tiny amount of UKR territory taken against massive RU casualties. All despite regularly starving UKR of support.
Mar 16 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
This whole conversation takes place in an alternate universe where Russia didn’t invade Ukraine unprovoked, bombard Ukrainian cities to the ground, commit thousands of documented war crimes, or couldn’t end the war tomorrow if Putin chose to.
Trump makes demands of Ukraine and even removes resources vital for its defense. Russia demands impossible concessions that would become the end of Ukraine as an independent nation. Meanwhile, no demands are made of Russia, no concessions asked.
Mar 13 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
The question is if Witkoff is there to represent American interests or Trump and Musk’s personal interests. Is this to negotiate a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, or more strategizing on how to help Russia take over Ukraine?
Putin doesn’t care what he’s saying, btw. This isn’t a calibrated or as he put it "nuanced" statement. It’s a middle finger, making demands on Ukraine, agreeing to nothing. He’s getting what he wants already and Trump is not applying real consequences to anyone but Ukraine.
Mar 11 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Putin doesn’t want a ceasefire or peace or anything like it. He started this unprovoked war & he needs constant conflict to distract from his disastrous rule in Russia. He’ll accept the destruction of Ukraine and a pause to rearm, but this is a permanent wartime footing.
Escalation is also required. Big wars that require big sacrifices from a repressed citizenry require big enemies. If they aren’t available, you have to make them. This is why Putin has always talked about fighting Europe, the US and NATO, not just Ukraine.
Mar 7 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Talk is cheap. And has there ever been a Trump statement that acknowledges Russia is the invader and could end the war by going home? Ukraine could "get to the table" & Russia would blow up the table. Limiting Ukraine's ability to defend only encourages Russia to keep attacking.
Russia’s latest massive attacks against Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure came right after Trump limited Ukraine’s ability to defend itself and threats to withdraw aid completely. Putin sees weakness to be exploited so why would he stop?
Mar 6 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
America’s credibility as an ally has degraded to the level of Russia and China with every retreat over four administrations. As Truman warned, failure to deter is what leads to bigger wars. If your enemies don’t believe you will use force, you eventually have to.
The president sets foreign policy, but when it's so blatantly contrary to long-standing US policy, values, and interests in the short and long term, there must be more resistance than social media statements of concern.
Mar 5 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
It felt like a curiously Soviet entrance, as if every Republican there knew someone would be going over video to see who was clapping hardest and longest, but maybe my imagination...
Never mind, Trump is already into the "enemies of the people" material, so my original diagnosis was accurate. Will he be announcing record grain harvests next?
Mar 4 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
Just remember that whenever Vance, Trump or Musk and the rest talk about Ukraine and Zelenskyy, ask why they aren’t talking about Russia and Putin, the cause of the war that could end it today.
Minerals, suits, thank-yous, it’s all chaff. Putin’s wishlist for the Trump admin, in no particular order: 1) Halting or delaying Ukraine aid 2) Lifting sanctions 3) Splitting US from EU allies & NATO 4) Stopping Ukraine's attacks on RU energy infrastructure …
Mar 3 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
Btw, this echoes the pleas of the Russian opposition back in the Obama era when Putin might have been deterred. Obama wanted peace with everyone and we warned him Putin didn't care. But if he wasn’t going to stand up to him, at least stop legitimizing him and working against us.
Biden became more of the same, although his old Cold War instincts had initial promise in clearly seeing Russia and Putin as enemies of the USA who would do far greater damage if not stopped in Ukraine. But despite my many complaints, Trump was the greater danger and we see why.
Mar 3 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Russia is a threat to America's interests, not to Trump's or Musk's. This distinction must now be embedded in any conversation about national security, as happens in every autocracy. Kissing up to Putin, destroying the Atlantic alliance, tanking the economy with tariffs, etc.
Western media, leaders, and analysts still struggle to realize Russian policy has nothing to do with "good for Russia" or Russians. It’s Putin, personally, and his cronies. Dictatorships don’t exist as states for long; they become public fronts for private mafias. Putinization.
Feb 28 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
Zelensky is a wartime leader watching his people suffer and die under Russian attacks every day. To be lectured and lied to by Trump and Vance, as they defend the war criminal dictator committing these atrocities, is unimaginable agony. An everlasting shame for America.
All Ukraine advocates have tried to give the new Trump admin time in good faith despite the clear pro-Kremlin track record of Trump, Musk, and others. But today's performance demolished that hope. It could have been choreographed by Putin himself, and perhaps it was.
Feb 24 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
What is the red line for the Republican Senate at this point? Just keep voting with Trump where they have authority and complain about him on things where they don't? Bongino appt on same day as voting with Russia & North Korea on UN motion. And?
At some point, they will have to act if they actually believe in anything and if they want to have any say in stopping Trump's increasingly urgent and treasonous actions. Voting for all his nominees then whining on Twitter about his embracing Russia is pathetic.
Feb 19 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Lies are loyalty tests. Like when Trump says the 2020 election was stolen and his sycophants won't contradict him. Everyone knows Russia started this war and invaded Ukraine. Twice! But Trump bows his head to Putin like a whimpering dog and repeats his master's lies.
Trump attacks Zelensky, a heroic wartime leader defending his nation, by repeating bullshit and slander handed to him by a terrorist KGB dictator who has been turning Russia into a gulag and invading his neighbors for 25 years.
Feb 15 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
I've been telling my European friends here in Munich, you can either write history or be in the dustbin of history. The outcome is unclear. The EU was designed to avoid making decisions and now must make critical ones quickly.
80 years ago, American power was needed to demilitarize Germany in order to defend the values of the free world. Today, German militarization is required to defend those same values from American power!
Feb 14 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
This is accurate. Understanding what Putin actually wants versus what his propaganda & puppets say is vital. He needs constant conflict to distract from his failed dictatorship. He wants to destroy the Ukrainian nation for its resources and Russian empire. Act accordingly.
Western so-called leaders spread refuted myths about Russia’s motivations and Putin’s "legitimate concerns" because otherwise they would have to face the reality that there’s no way he will stop unless they stop him. Which they don’t want to do because they are cowards.
