This morning Trump tweeted some garbage, as he often does on Saturday morning:
.@FoxNews Poll numbers plummet on the Democrat inspired and paid for Russian Witch Hunt. With all of the bias, lying and hate by the investigators, people want the investigators investigated. Much more will come out. A total scam and excuse for the Dems losing the Election!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 23, 2018
Ex-CIA director John Brennan saw this tweet and he blasted back this reply:
Your fear of exposure is palpable. Your desperation even more so. When will those of conscience among your Cabinet, inner circle, and Republican leadership realize that your unprincipled and unethical behavior as well as your incompetence are seriously damaging our Nation. https://t.co/n6ivjOYxzo
— John O. Brennan (@JohnBrennan) June 23, 2018
Now the parts about the “unprincipled and unethical behavior” and “incompetence” are pretty much accepted by anyone who, let’s say, has been paying attention for the last year and a half. But the part that is really interesting to me is: “your fear of exposure is palpable. Your desperation even more so.”
John Brennan is the former director of the CIA. He was with the CIA for 25 years, including working as a Near East and South Asia analyst, as station chief in Saudi Arabia, and as director of the National Counterterrorism Center. Like all CIA agents, he is trained in how to interrogate suspects and to read their reactions and behaviors. During his many years, I am sure he observed many suspects who were demonstrating fear of having their crimes exposed or acting desperately. He has first-hand knowledge of what that looks like.
And today he is saying that Trump’s fear is “palpable”. That’s a very interesting word choice. Here is the Cambridge English Dictionary definition:
so obvious that it can easily be seen or know
Or how about this from the Collins dictionary:
You describe something as palpable when it is obvious or intense and easily noticed.
The common word in both those definitions is “obvious”. To this ex-CIA agent who rose up through the ranks to become the director of the CIA, Trump’s fear of his crimes being exposed is obvious. To him, there is no other explanation. And that he is desperate is “even more so”.
I don’t know how anyone can ignore the alert that John Brennan is giving us here. Brennan is pulling the fire alarm. Even if you have been conveniently not been paying attention (I am talking to you Republicans), be warned. John Brennan is saying that it is obvious to him that the building is on fire. Time to get out before the place comes burning down.
