MUST READ! FOCUS: Frank Rich | Trump's Plot Against America

19 July 18 It's Live on the HomePage Now: Reader Supported News WE ARE ASKING FOR A 'FAIR SHAKE' ON DONATIONS: We never believed that all the readers would donate all the time, nor do we expect it. We absolutely understand that extenuating circumstances happen. But less than 1% of the subscribers donating? That's not right or fair. We have no choice but to stand up and protest that. RSN was in fact built entirely with public funding. It's worth preserving. Give us a hand once in a while. / Marc Ash, Founder Reader Supported News Sure, I'll make a donation! FOCUS: Frank Rich | Trump's Plot Against America  Frank Rich, New York Magazine  EXCERPT:  "The question that’s not going away is “Why?” Why is an American president openly colluding with an enemy dictator who’s out to subvert Western democracy in general, and America in particular? As James Fallows has put it, Trump is either a “useful idiot” or “conscious tool” of Russia. Trump’s Vichy defenders pick the former, arguing that the president is a case study in psychological defensiveness: He thinks that if he concedes the intelligence on Russia’s continuing assault on American elections he is also conceding the legitimacy of the 2016 election that put him in the White House. In the real world beyond Trumpworld, most believe he is a conscious tool. Perhaps, he is indeed being blackmailed by Putin — not over the pee tape, which would presumably be either applauded or excused by Trump’s voters and his Evangelical Christian amen chorus — but over his murky financial dealings in Moscow. It’s also quite plausible, as Jonathan Chait has strongly argued, that Trump has been a Russian asset for over three decades." Rich writes: "The question that's not going away is 'Why?' Why is an American president openly colluding with an enemy dictator who’s out to subvert Western democracy in general, and America in particular?" READ MORE Contribute to RSN Become a Fan of RSN on Facebook and Twitter Update My Monthly Donation