"Red, White, and...Russian? The GOP’s Identity Crisis"

Trump’s bromance with Putin isn’t just gross; it’s deadly. When America can't spot an enemy, it’s not strong. It’s stupid. And stupidity has consequences.

There was a time, not so long ago, when Americans actually knew who the bad guys were. When the words Russia and Putin triggered images of shirtless dictators riding bears, hacking elections, and poisoning their enemies with polonium cocktails. We had clarity. We had common sense. We had something resembling a goddamn spine.

Fast forward to today, April 26, 2025, and guess what? Somewhere between Trump's narcissistic delusions, Fox News brainwashing, and a population so exhausted it can barely find Ukraine on a map, we’ve now arrived at Russia is our buddy.

I shit you not; according to a new Pew Research Center poll, only 50% of Americans see Russia as an "enemy," down from 61% last year and a whopping 70% back when Putin kicked off his little "special military operation" of murder and mayhem in 2022.

And here's where it gets downright treasonous: Among Republicans, the so-called patriots waving flags and screaming about freedom, that number is even lower; just 40%. That's right; 40% of the GOP doesn’t even think Putin is our enemy anymore. In fact, 12% now call Russia a "partner". A partner! Like we’re all going drinking together after annexing some random democracy!

How did we get here? Simple: Trump, Trump, and more Trump.

Fresh off another one of his self-aggrandizing phone calls with Putin (because you know Donald needs constant validation from fellow tyrants), Trump declared that America is “a much different country than we were a few months ago” and promised friendlier ties with Russia. And like good little cult members, his MAGA base swallowed it whole. No questions asked. No critical thinking engaged.

Let me be crystal clear: Russia stands in direct, ideological opposition to everything America used to represent; freedom of speech, free elections, human rights, the dignity of the individual. Putin's Russia is a mafia state run by thugs, murderers, and oligarchs who jail journalists, poison political opponents, and invade their neighbors. This is the regime that bombs Ukrainian cities like Sumy; killing 34 innocent civilians just days ago, while Trump shrugs it off and says he was told the strike was a "mistake." A mistake?! Like Putin accidentally hit the wrong button on his murder machine?!

Meanwhile, Americans' support for Ukraine; you know, the country actually fighting for its survival against Russian imperialism, is dropping like a stone, especially among Republicans. Only 23% of them now believe we should help Ukraine defend itself. That's down from 36% after the 2024 election.

You want to know why? Just look at the Oval Office embarrassment back in February when Trump’s pet VP, JD Vance, publicly berated President Zelensky during a meeting intended to strengthen U.S.-Ukrainian ties. Zelensky showed up with a pen ready to sign an agreement; he left with his dignity barely intact after Vance treated him like a street beggar asking for loose change.

And while Trump and his circus of clowns work overtime to blame Zelensky, and even Biden!, for "starting" the war (seriously, what color is the sky in their world?), Putin is sitting back, laughing, and counting the American voters who now think he's just another misunderstood world leader.

Now, as we prepare to watch Pope Francis’s final rest, we are reminded of values like compassion, humility, and caring for the marginalized; the complete and utter antithesis of what’s coming out of Trump’s America and Putin’s Russia.

If there was ever a moment for moral clarity, it’s right now. But instead, we're drowning in a sea of disinformation, revisionist history, and straight-up stupidity.

Make no mistake: the normalization of Russia isn't just some political quirk; it's a flashing red warning sign that we are losing our national identity. If we can’t even agree that a brutal authoritarian regime hellbent on expanding its power is our enemy, then what the hell are we even defending anymore?

We used to be a beacon for the world. Now? We’re a pawn shop with nukes, hocking our principles for the next conman who calls us 'great' again.

This didn’t happen overnight. It’s the result of years of Trump poisoning our institutions, our media, and our collective brainpower, all while cozying up to dictators. It’s the result of an administration rewriting the fundamental values of what a democratic republic even means; values like the ones Pope Francis lived and died defending, values that are under full-scale assault today.

America, it’s time to wake the hell up. If we don’t reclaim our values; and fast, we’re not just risking our democracy. We’re handing it over, gift-wrapped, to the very enemies we used to stand against.

And when that day comes; when our flag is nothing but a meaningless prop, and freedom a forgotten memory, don’t say you weren’t warned.

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