While few predicted the stock market surge should Trump get elected, virtually everyone anticipated a thawing of relations between Russia and the US if Donald Trump were to occupy the White House. And yet, 5 months later, the opposite has happened: stocks are just shy of the record 2,400 while relations between the Kremlin and the White House, despite all the rhetoric of Trump being an extended KGB agent or whatever the NYT/WaPo unsubstantiated narrative of the day is, have remained abysmal with no hope of improvement in sight.

As much was confirmed by Putin's spokesman Vladimir Peskov today, who said on Friday that the relationship between the U.S. and Russia may worse now than it was during the Cold War.

When asked by "Good Morning America" host George Stephanopoulos if the U.S. and Russia were in a "new Cold War," Peskov said the current situation may be worse, blaming the US for disintegrating the cooperation between the two countries.

But what will come a shock to the new generation of McCarthyist witch hunters, who see a Russian spy behind every criticism of US policy, or economic data, or of course democrats, Peskov blamed none other than the "present presidential administration"

"New Cold War? Well, maybe even worse. Maybe even worse taking into account actions of the present presidential administration in Washington," Peskov told Stephanopoulos.

"New Cold War? Well, maybe even worse." - Peskov to @GStephanopoulos on relations between the U.S. and Russia and if this is a new Cold War pic.twitter.com/7a4Qa66kec — Good Morning America (@GMA) March 31, 2017

Curiously, as an example of collapsing relations, Peskov cited the decision to expel 35 Russian diplomats from the U.S. in December, which however was made under Obama and not President Trump.

The relationship between Trump and Russia has been the subject of intense scrutiny since before the real estate mogul took office in January. The U.S. intelligence committee unanimously concluded late last year that the Kremlin meddled in the 2016 election to help Trump, and he has spoken warmly of Putin, expressing a desire to improve U.S.-Russian relations. The House and Senate intelligence committees are conducting a probe of Russian election meddling, as well as Trump and his aides' alleged ties to Moscow. The FBI is also investigating.

Putin denied that Russia sought to interfere in the presidential election, and has blamed the accusations on anti-Russian sentiment in the U.S.

However, as the the daily newsflow vividly indicates, the anti-Russia witchhunt continues. And, in keeping with the spirit of anti-Soviet (sic) paranoia sweeping the land, we are confident that Peskov's statement will be interpreted by the left as an attempt by Russia to cover up their undisclosed "ties" to the Trump administration by turning on him.