The best way to sum up where Republican position on Donald Trump, Russia, and America; they have a great problem with an FBI agent hating Donald Trump and none with a Russian president loving him.

Presidents are called upon to respond to a national crisis. Our current president is a national crisis. He proved it Monday as he rolled over and submitted to the leader of a hostile nation that assaulted our Democratic process.

All the rumors and accusations used to explain why Donald Trump is subservient and worshipful of Vladimir Putin sound like bad conspiracy theories even the worst Hollywood b studios would reject. But every time Donald Trump opens his mouth, he gives them credence. After his summit, meeting, get together, or whatever it’s being called by who you ask, the crazy conspiracies are the only explanation. On Monday in Helsinki, Finland, the president of the United States threw America, the foundations of Democracy, and the greatest institutions of our freedom under the bus for Russia and Putin. On Monday, Trump chose Putin over America.

Before Trump left for his trip to NATO, the United Kingdom, and the summit with Putin, Robert Mueller handed him a gift. He was told that 12 Russians were going to be indicted for meddling in our election. Mueller had the names, followed their keystrokes, and even knew which building they worked out of. Since Trump wouldn’t use this information as a great reason to cancel the summit, he could have taken those indictments and thrown them in Vladimir Putin’s face. Instead, he spent the week calling the investigation a witch hunt.

Trump was the one who called for the summit. He didn’t even have an agenda and didn’t even prepare. In fact, despite attending a NATO meeting the week before his trip to Finland, he didn’t know that Finland wasn’t a member of NATO. He was asked for his expectations of the summit with Putin, and he answered, “Ask me after.” How do you have expectations afterward? Putin, however, did come prepared. He had an agenda. He had expectations. Trump fulfilled every expectation Putin and every Trump critic had.

Putin brought pen and paper to his meeting with Trump. Trump brought his ass. Putin gave Trump a soccer ball and Trump handed Putin both of his.

Sharing a stage with Putin, Trump refused to challenge him on his denial of meddling in our election. He said he can’t see why Putin would meddle when his performance is every reason why they would. Trump continued to deny collusion with Russia while standing on a stage with Putin before the entire world colluding with Russia.

Trump blamed the United States for the hacking of the DNC. He even said blame went to both sides, which is what he said about Nazis and the people they attacked in Charlottesville. He blamed Obama because the meddling happened during his administration, though the meddling was done to create a Trump administration. Trump complained that the Russian investigation was driving a wedge between the United States and Russia, much like a murder will complicate the relationship between a murderer and the murdered.

It’s a shame our war in Afghanistan after 9/11 complicated our relationship with al-Qaeda.

In the past, Trump has argued that Putin really wanted Hillary Clinton to win and would have preferred dealing with her. He can’t make that argument anymore (but he probably will) because Putin explicitly stated he wanted Trump to win.

Putin was actually asked if he had anything on Trump. Trump later told Sean Hannity, who agreed, that Putin denied he had anything. Actually, Putin didn’t. He laughed at the question. He said he didn’t know when Trump was in Moscow as a private citizen and that he couldn’t have surveilled the 400 businessmen who were at the event, which is a huge lie. They monitor every foreigner. He finished the statement by telling the press, “Please disregard these issues and don’t think about this anymore again,” which I’m sure works really well on Russian journalists before they trip off a building.

Sharing a stage with the Russian leader who attacked our nation, Trump took his side and attacked our nation. Donald Trump committed treason yesterday in front of the entire world. He openly colluded and cooperated with Vladimir Putin and pushed forward the Russian agenda. He even stated beforehand that the European Union was a foe, while Russia was more of a competitor. When Putin offered for Mueller to visit Russia and get assistance from the 12 Russians he just indicted in his investigation, Trump said, “that’s an incredible offer.”

Some Republicans criticized Trump, though most did it mildly. But, if Republicans are criticizing Trump, there is definitely a problem. It’s not a small one.

The American president isn’t just stupid, racist, narcissistic, and a con man. He’s a traitor who has committed treason in front of the world. This is not a secret anymore and the nation needs to remove him as soon as possible. He has gone from being a national embarrassment to a national threat.

For most Republicans who give Trump a 90% approval rating, they will keep chugging along. They did it after “I like heroes who weren’t captured,” attacks on Gold Star families, and even after he said there were good and bad people on both sides in Charlottesville while defending Nazis. Republicans used to claim they were the party of law and order, patriotism, respect for our troops and the flag, loving America more than the other guy, and would always be the first to defend it. Was it all a lie? Will Trump’s approval go higher than 90% after Putin has the keys to the Oval Office?

Thomas Friedman for The New York Times wrote, “There is overwhelming evidence that our president, for the first time in our history, is deliberately or through gross negligence or because of his own twisted personality engaged in treasonous behavior — behavior that violates his oath of office to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”‘

The best case scenario is that Trump has unknowingly become a Russian asset, which is possible by the display of his incoherence Monday. The worst case is that Trump is willfully doing Putin’s bidding. Either way, Trump is putting Russian interest before the United States, which he swore to protect and defend. Now, we need protection from him.

Donald Trump is a traitor. It’s not a theory anymore. The footage we have from his performance yesterday is much more disgusting than any pee tape.

Email Clay Jones at [email protected]