Let’s hold on to this moment in our memory a little longer. I was genuinely enjoying myself yesterday, stumbling across photos on social media of the most deranged Putinist weirdos and propagandists decked out in Trump campaign gear.
Personally, I more or less couldn’t care less what kind of administration the U.S. ends up with; I know, and I said so yesterday, that any administration will be focused on Americans, and Russia matters very little to it.
But these people are switching sides mid-flight: yesterday they were wearing St. George ribbons (a Russian military-patriotic symbol) and carrying signs saying “the State Department shall not pass,” and today they’re in T-shirts with the names of President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect Pence (who has called for more active deployment of missile defense against Russia).
So, by their own disgusting vocabulary, all Kremlin propagandists have effectively “signed up as pro-Americans.”
Can you imagine the screeching if some opposition figure had written, “I want to drive around Moscow with a U.S. flag,” right?
Very good—absolutely wonderful.
I remember very well how, right after it was created, the new United Russia party was noisily and grandly sending delegations to the U.S. Republican Party convention. People said they were going to sign some kind of agreement with them.
The Republicans are great guys; their approach to Russia will be based on pragmatism, not on all that nonsense like human rights. We’ll be thick as thieves with them.
Those were the days, huh?
Then, of course, the Republicans became the bad guys again. Bush was a hawk and a villain. The reset button was pressed with the Democrats instead.
The very same people whom television had only yesterday been describing with the line, “If Hillary wins, it means war.”
Let’s make a note of it now too: all Putin’s “patriots” are the best of friends with America. The new administration is being treated as pro-Russian. No one is supposedly imposing a “color revolution.” The “State Department” is no longer an insult but a term of praise. The State Duma applauds the election of the American president, and United Russia members clap louder than anyone.
Let’s stock up on popcorn and wait.