Remember way back when President Barack Obama was called unpatriotic for not wearing an American flag lapel pin? Where are those people nowadays as President Donald Trump has shown himself to be the most unpatriotic of presidents?

I’m talking about Trump’s ties to Russia and Vladimir Putin. 

Evidence of collusion between the Russians and the Trump campaign is growing.  Fox News, Trump’s propaganda arm, has switched themes from “Collusion? What collusion?” to “Yes, there was collusion, but it’s not a crime.” 

The constitution calls it treason. Even without the specter of collusion in the Trump campaign, there is plenty of evidence to question Trump’s patriotism. 

For one, despite the concurrence of 16 U.S. intelligence agencies, Trump refused to acknowledge the Russian hacking until just recently and then tried to blame Obama for it. 

More alarmingly, the Russian hacking didn’t end on election day. They continue to practice cyber warfare by hacking more and more computer systems. As the commander-in-chief, what has been Trump’s response?

Nothing. He hasn’t even acknowledged it’s happening.

Trump himself was in Moscow in 2013 as owner of the Miss Universe Pageant. The FSB (Russian security) most likely spied on Trump during his stay. 

Did they obtain something they could blackmail Trump with? Trump has never said anything negative about Russia or Putin. In Trump’s interview with Bill O’Reilly in February, he defended Putin despite Putin’s habit of jailing or assassinating journalists who write negative articles.   

What would be on Putin’s wish list if he could pick the president? 

First, a lifting of sanctions against Russia.  Secondly, a breakup of NATO, an organization that otherwise threatens his ambitions. Finally, he wants Russia to supplant the U.S. as the world’s eminent superpower.

What has Trump’s Russian policy been? Trump wants to lift sanctions despite Russia’s cyber war on the U.S. 

Trump has already done his part in alarming our allies in NATO by refusing to endorse the principle of collective security as stated in the NATO treaty.

Finally, since Trump’s behavior has lost him any credibility with the rest of the world, the decline of the U.S. as a superpower has begun.

One last thing. Since Trump has filed multiple bankruptcies, he is shut out from U.S. banks. 

Therefore, he is dependent on foreign loans. The largest creditor is Deutche Bank.  The question is did the money for the loan come from the bank or from Russian oligarchs laundering their money to Trump using Deutche Bank as the middleman?

If Trump had disclosed his tax returns, we might already know the answer.

Trump cares only for himself and his businesses. 

He cares about the country only when there is no conflict with the first two.

James Peca is a retired government analyst living in Farmville. His email address is Jep315@gmail.com.