Dear President Trump,

Did Rudy know ahead of time that the story about Russian propaganda trolls targeting Mueller was going to hit the next day? Was this what prompted him to make that excruciatingly stupid comment about your campaign’s collusion with Russia having happened before the election? Did he think that if he could somehow distract and confuse people he could keep us from wondering whether there was any coordination between the Oval Office and the Russian trolls smearing Mueller (and likely tilting the mid-terms to limit your losses)? I don’t know whether it’s more illegal (immoral, reprehensible, etc.) to work with a foreign adversary to steal an election than it is to work with them after the fact to prop up and protect the illicit figurehead and his coterie. Do you know? If you don’t know the answer now, I bet you (and I and the rest of the world) will know pretty soon here because it seems highly likely that it will be revealed that someone close in to you is tipping the Russians off with previews and insider info with which to sharpen their sticks and strengthen their chloroform.

The post-election Russian propaganda campaign has taken place (and is taking place) alongside several full press efforts by other entities to keep you propped up. From the beginning we saw one after the other “Never Trumpers” fall in line and start singing your praises even as you made disastrous mistakes right and left and threw their comrades under the bus. Fox News and the NRA (with some help from Russian agent-troll Martina B) also filled the airwaves from Day 1 with radical misinformation meant to keep your ass afloat. Really, the troll news is another “duh!” moment – they toiled long and hard in those windowless mine-like rooms in Russia to get you elected so of course they are going to do all they can to assure that their investment in you paid off; Troll King Vladimir wouldn’t have it any other way. You are still too useful to him to abandon you just yet.

I predict we are going to see an even more desperate ratcheting up of the bow-down-to-the-mighty-Trump rhetoric coming from all these players because your base is starting to get restless as their vision clears and they see that 2+2 is just 4 for everyone and it’s really not 5 for them.

May we be safe from misinformation campaigns.
May we be happy to think critically.
May we figure out how to strengthen democracy against hostile, manipulative actors.
May we not settle or make peace with this nihilistic dysfunction.

Sincerely,
Tracy Simpson