A murderous thug has dirt on Trump. Nothing else explains this madness

I never thought I’d see the day when an American president showed greater loyalty to a foreign adversary than to his own people, in a time of war.

But this is where we’re at with Donald John Trump and his mysterious adoration for, and apparent shrinking fear of, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. It’s one of those love affairs that continues to defy logic yet is no longer questioned.

Trump won’t say a nasty word about Russia and certainly not about Putin. What could Putin have on Trump that turned him into such an unquestioning kowtowing toady, submitting to his leader’s every whim, defending his every position?

Trump somehow trusts the word of a murderous, deceitful thug, an international pariah, over any nonpartisan body in his own country.

The suspicion is that whatever Putin has on Trump is very, very bad. Epstein-related, maybe. It has to be something serious, because it’s not as if Trump is the kind of guy who just turns and grovels in the presence of any old brute.

I don’t buy the argument that it’s about respect, or fanboy support, even as Trump regularly calls Putin “strong,” “smart,” and “a genius.” No, this feels much more like persistent menace.

But not only is Trump’s behavior surrounding Putin pathetic and maddening: it’s grown increasingly dangerous.

This has become clear now that credible reports have surfaced about how Russia is sharing intelligence with Iran, to help it target U.S. military personnel and assets in the Middle East, providing locations of warships and aircraft.

It isn’t that this is a surprise. Far from it. Russia is perhaps Iran’s strongest ally. Putin’s aides acknowledge they are on Iran’s side. It makes sense Russia would be doing all it can to help Iran vanquish its enemy.

No, the only part that doesn’t easily compute is the reaction of the Trump administration. Instead of even pretending to be concerned by the news it has soft-peddled it, as if having been told that the countries are merely sharing opinions on their soccer teams.

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to this news with a shrug and the head-scratching words, “It does not really matter.”

What? It “does not really matter” that an enemy is feeding intel to a nation you are fighting, and the chief executive of the United States continues to treat that enemy’s leader like a treasured pal?

She later expounded, “It clearly is not making any difference with respect to the military operation in Iran, because we are completely decimating them.”

Here's the reality: The thing that actually does not really matter is how well America may or may not be doing in the war with Iran. That isn’t the point. The point is that Russia is doing this, and this administration is continuing to treat it as an ally.

Of course, any flippant retort must be seen in light of the reality that Trump is and has always been Putin’s bitch. Everyone associated has gotten the memo and understands that Dear Leader will tolerate no dissing of Vladimir even if he is putting our troops directly in harm’s way.

It’s even worse than that, actually. Since Trump (via the U.S. Treasury) issued a temporary waiver this month, allowing India to purchase embargoed Russian crude oil and petroleum products, the president is helping line Russia's pockets with money it can use to help gather information that will lead to endangering our troops.

In effect, Trump is paying Russia to help Iran attack the U.S.

Let that sink in.

There’s a word for this: treason.

How much more evidence do people need that for whatever reason Trump cares more about Russia than he does the nation he serves as president? This isn’t hyperbole. It’s right there to see.

You have to imagine Russia might not be restricting its intel to the Middle East. It could be feeding Iran info on where we might be vulnerable to a 9/11-style attack.

If that happens, I doubt the Trump response would be, “Doesn’t matter. It’s war, and innocent people are going to get hurt. If it weren’t Russia, it would have been somebody else.”

But here is what Trump actually said about Russia over the weekend, onboard Air Force One: “If you take a look at what’s happened in Iran in the last week, if they’re getting information, it’s not helping that much.”

Again, this is essentially a confirmation that reports of Russian assistance to Iran may be accurate. Everyone associated with Trump, including Trump, understands that this read on the situation is senseless, but saying anything even remotely negative about Russia and Putin is out of bounds.

As usual, what Trump cares about most is taking care of Trump. During Saturday’s dignified transfer returning the remains of six U.S. soldiers killed in the conflict with Iran, he wore a white USA baseball cap, on sale for $55 in his campaign store.

If you’re Trump, there is no such thing as demonstrating class or even the thinnest volume of compassion for people who die for their country. Unless, of course, the country in question is Russia.

• Ray Richmond is a longtime journalist/author and an adjunct professor at Chapman University in Orange, CA.