Real enemies make the enemies list

or another failure of Trump

In September 1971, Chuck Colson and George Bell compiled a list of President Nixon’s enemies in a memo to White House Counsel John Dean. The original list had 17 names on it. When the list became publicly known in 1973, the general view among those on the Left was “Why the Hell am I not on Nixon’s list?”

Yesterday, Russia sanctioned 13 people as part of the tit for tat efforts of Vladimir Putin and his oligarchy. The U.S. cuts off his banks, most of his business, and communications; and Putin’s response is now “we cannot be friends anymore” plus veiled, and not terribly viable, military threats.

Some of the people on the list make sense — Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, and Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo (he’s the guy who has made economic sanctions work).

Others not so much — Jen Psaki, Hunter Biden, and Hillary Clinton. Jen is the Press Secretary everyone wishes they had (and a national treasure), and Hunter and Hillary are private citizens.

Putin has lived through 13 U.S. Presidencies and has been President or Prime Minster for the last five. In picking on Hunter Biden, Putin is trying to reroil the Right and remind the GOP of Putin’s efforts to aid Donald Trump in his reelection. The fact that Hillary Clinton made this list is a sign of a real fear of her formidability in Putin’s eyes. But, she is a private citizen who has not been in public service for more than a decade — her appearance on the list is nothing more than “red meat” for the Right.

Of course Joe Biden made the list. Putin forgot the President is a junior, so either the President or his late father have been sanctioned.

The person who did not make the list is former President Donald Trump. For a guy who campaigned about how tough he would be on Putin and now claims to have been as President, Donald Trump should be insulted.