Feb 15, 2017: Russian Connection | Flynn | Positive Polls | Pelosi Fake News

Russia Connection - Red for the Blue newsletter

1. The Russia Connection: Breaking News

Last night The New York Times dropped a bombshell saying “Trump Campaign Aides Had Repeated Contacts with Russian Intelligence.” Here are some early stabs at by Red loyalists to explain what seems damning:

Why isn't the headline: "Officials Say No Evidence of Cooperation Betw Trump campaign and Russia"- as story states. https://t.co/8WleU06Tig

— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) February 15, 2017

Notice the inflammatory headline compared to the article's content. NYTimes is fake news. pic.twitter.com/IUH9dyXUIA

— Asa J 🇺🇸 (@asamjulian) February 15, 2017

No doubt Obama Admin loyalists who were still working in new Trump gov't leaked report of this transcript.

— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) February 14, 2017

And from John Podhertz, editor of Commentary magazine and New York Post columnist: 

This Times story crumbles a bit as you're reading it. No evidence of collusion. Contacts between people near Trump and some Russians.

— John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) February 15, 2017

Meanwhile, David French of the National Review is already coming out against Petraeus to fill Flynn's role. He writes:

"Finally, if the Trump administration wants to maintain a shred of credibility, the same team that hyped and stoked the 'lock her up' chant should be the last team to hire (as national-security adviser, no less) a man who actually pled guilty to mishandling classified information. It would be an act of breathtaking cynicism, even for Donald Trump."

What We're Watching: All things Russia.

2. Flynn Fallout (Part I)

Well, we knew there was going to be a lot of it. When we posted yesterday morning, the Red Media seemed to be confused about its take on Trump’s dismissal of National Security Advisor Flynn. By mid-day, the firing was unpopular among the most alt-right of the media and there were two basic streams of thought:

  1. Flynn is a victim of of a nefarious bipartisan cabal of globalists. InfoWars.com, the website of talk radio conservative Alex Jones, set the tone for conspiracy theorists with this article: “The resignation of General Flynn is part of an ongoing effort by the military-industrial complex to sabotage President Trump and re-assert control over foreign policy.” 
     
  2. There is a conspiracy of leaks from the White House that must be stopped. “Find and prosecute the leakers,” thundered Laura Ingraham. “BLAME Obama admin officials & appointees — leaks were targeted and coordinated to undermine the Trump admin,” tweeted Earl Shay.

3. Flynn Rush (Part II)

You know that a story is getting under conservatives’ skins, when Rush goes in deep. Tuesday he was apoplectic about the firing of Flynn, which he called a “political assassination.” Rush had many, many points. Only some of them contradictory. In order:

  • It is not Trump’s fault. It is Obama’s fault. Flynn used to work for Obama. DId you know that?
  • Flynn didn’t do anything wrong except make a phone call to Russia. What’s the big deal.
  • If he lied to Pence. That’s bad, however.
  • The media is out to delegitimize Trump anyway they can. How long can any one man take it?
  • Trump will survive and even proposer. How? More Immigration and Custom Enforcement raids. Rush in his own words:

“I’m gonna tell you, Trump’s not stopping. There will be more ICE raids this afternoon to make people forget about this. The media’s gonna try as hard as they can not to let go of this, because now they’ve got their scalp. They think they have blood in the water, they’ve got a scalp and they think they can get another and then another and then another and then another until finally they get Trump.”

Worth noting: Did Rush really call for Trump to order more ICE raids to distract the public? Previously, he also proposed Trump hold rally like he did during the election to keep the fan base fired up and loyal.

4. Finally Some Good News: Positive Polls?

The Red Media made the most of a new Gallup Poll showing that showed not everyone in America is unhappy with Trump’s first 100 days. The Washington Examiner got good Facebook traffic with this post: “A new Gallup poll finds that clear majorities of Americans see Donald J. Trump as a president who ‘keeps his promises, is a strong and decisive leader, and can bring about changes the country needs’."

The Daily Caller cited another poll from Rasmussen reports that 52% approve of Trump’s performance so far. Additionally the poll shows that 79 percent of Republicans like Trump’s performance and 72 percent of Democrats disapprove.

5. Nancy Pelosi Falls for Fake Tweets

Sean Hannity was ecstatic that the New York Times published tweets from the fake @GenMikeFlynn account. (Likely because it was a good distraction from the Flynn situation and an excuse to voice a more familiar message.) He was even more thrilled to see Pelosi and Elijah Cummings cite the same fake Flynn tweets in call for investigation. Jennifer Burke of Politistick also noted the blunder. Her takeaway?

“But, don’t worry, folks. The Democrat Media Complex will likely provide a nice cover for Nancy Pelosi, After all, they typically do what they can to provide a shield from criticism of their Dear Leaders on the left. Had a Republican made such a huge, slanderous faux pas, CNN and MSNBC would be assembling their panels to discuss the integrity and mental state of the offender for the next 24 hours.”

Additionally, this photo with caption poking fun of the mistake was just beginning to get some traction on Twitter yesterday afternoon:

J B