Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told CNN that President Donald Trump might be an “unwitting asset” of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Although likely meant to be a harsh damnation, Clapper’s statement is an unwitting admission that he no longer believes Trump wittingly conspired with Russia.

Clapper clarified his analysis thus: “You consider Putin’s background as a trained, experienced KGB agent and how he would approach somebody that he is trying to co-opt, or influence or gain leverage over, and in this case, you know, appeal to ego. In that sense, in that context, is what I think of when I mean potential unwitting asset.”

Deranged

Clapper demonstrates that he does not understand the method by which Trump operates, which is almost the exact opposite of what, for instance, President Barrack Obama did. Obama used harsh words against adversaries but was soft in action. Trump sweet-talks the heads of dubious regimes like China, Russia, and North Korea while being tough in action.

Clapper does not understand that the conciliatory tone allows Trump to get away with far tougher policies without causing increased tension and conflict. What American president has been tougher on Russia than Trump? Actions speak louder than words, and if Clapper did not suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome, he would see this clearly.

A New Narrative

However, Clapper is not the only one who appears to sense that the Trump-Russia conspiracy theory is coming to an end and that it needs to be rebranded. Hillary Clinton tweeted a Politico article that claims there is a “wide-ranging disinformation campaign” aimed at Democrats “with signs that foreign state actors are driving at least some of the activity.”

.@Politico reports today: "A wide-ranging disinformation campaign aimed at Democratic 2020 candidates is already underway on social media, with signs that foreign state actors are driving at least some of the activity." https://t.co/LjM14jluq8 — Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) February 20, 2019

The new narrative emerging seems to be that Russia is going it alone against America, without Trump directly but using him as an “unwitting asset.”

The Media

Let’s for a moment try to imagine what would happen if Putin’s assets controlled the legacy media and wanted to create polarization and internal conflict in America, as well as degrade the reputation of the United States around the world. What would Putin want the media to do to achieve this goal?

He would surely push 90% negative news about the president to hide the fact that the economy is doing great, unemployment rates for minorities are at a record low, ISIS is beaten in the Middle East, and North Korea is on the verge of denuclearizing.

He would also instruct his agents to constantly pit racial groups against each other through identity politics and fake narratives such as the United States being the most racist country in the world and horribly oppressive to minorities.

Finally, Putin would constantly have his media assets berate the president and portray him as a clown and a buffoon who was mentally unstable and not very bright. Not to mention spreading silly conspiracy theories about the president colluding with foreign states, which would diminish the reputation of the United States all over the world, making trade and peace negotiations harder across the globe.

But wait. That’s exactly what the legacy media is doing. Surely, they are not conspiring with Russia or any other foreign adversary. Only crazy conspiracy theorists would believe that. However, they sure act as Putin’s “unwitting assets.”