Regardless of what the White House believes, history transcends Twitter.
Angry that Attorney General Jeff Sessions has come under attack for meeting with Russian officials during the campaign, President Trump tweeted a throwback picture of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer grabbing coffee with none other than Vladimir Putin. On the Internet, it was checkmate.
In real life, the photo from 2003 was a cheap shot. Back then there was a bipartisan effort to rewarm relations with Russia. The United States was busy enough with the war on terror without antagonizing the old Cold War antagonist.
And long before Trump even had a television show, President George W. Bush had a bromance with Putin. Beginning in 2001, the two began meeting more regularly in order to ease tensions. “I looked the man in the eyes,” Bush told the world that July, before adding “I was able to get a sense of his soul.” Never the best judge of character, the 43rd president invited Putin to his Texas ranch later that November.
The point isn’t to argue that Bush is guilty of palling around with a thug from the old Soviet Union. The point is that during the early 2000s, and when Schumer treated Putin to Krispy Kreme donuts, relations were slowly warming. Things didn’t really start to deteriorate until the end of Bush’s first term.
In a historical vacuum, the argument that Schumer is just as guilty as Sessions seems plausible. Context is important, though. The Democratic leader has never swept his meetings under the rug while under oath. Trump’s attempt to conflate the two relies on a selective history.
Whether or not the president is tweeting tongue in cheek or being dead serious, his criticism won’t last long.
Philip Wegmann is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
