These eight words from Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, will go down as among the most powerful indictments of the rancid governing culture President Trump has fostered. They may also shed light on one of the great mysteries of the moment: Why is it that Trump regularly backs off when it comes to confronting Vladimir Putin and Russia?
The matter-of-factness of Haley’s comment made it all the more acidic. She was pushing back against efforts by White House staffers to toss her overboard after she had declared, firmly and unequivocally, that the United States intended to impose fresh sanctions on Russia in response to the use of chemical weapons by the regime of Moscow’s Syrian ally, Bashar Assad.