Book excerpt: ‘Swiftboating America’

The Epoch Times presents the second part of an exclusive edited extract from the forthcoming book “Swiftboating America” by Hans Mahncke, co-host of “Truth over News” on EpochTV. Sign up at SwiftboatingAmerica.com to get a notification once the book is out.

The Inception of the Dirtiest Political Trick of All Time

It all began with an email exchange between Jennifer Palmieri, director of communications for the Clinton presidential campaign, and Joel Johnson, a senior adviser to Bill Clinton. Johnson asked who was in charge of the “Trump swift boat project” and Palmieri sarcastically replied, “Gee. Thanks, Joel. We thought we could half-ass it. Let’s discuss.”

The two emails marked the inception of the dirtiest political trick of all time: Clinton’s Russiagate scam, a multi-pronged and multi-layered campaign to paint Trump as an asset of the Kremlin.

Clinton’s Russiagate scam was a completely unheard of and beyond the bounds of anything that had previously happened in the dirty world of American politics. Her intention was to execute an elaborate scheme that painted her opponent as an agent of a foreign power. It was a devious plan, and it came at a heavy price for all Americans. Russiagate not only consumed Trump’s presidency, but it also altered the geopolitical balance of power for generations yet to come. In her failed attempt to become president, Hillary Clinton had swiftboated America herself.

Trump’s Ambition to Improve Relations with Russia

Trump recognized the problem of antagonizing Russia long before he became president. One of Trump’s campaign themes starting in 2015 was to improve relations with Russia. He would often ask at his rallies, “If we could get along with Russia, wouldn’t that be a good thing, instead of a bad thing?”

By painting Trump as a Russian stooge, the Clinton campaign would garner a wide coalition of support ranging from globalists to war-mongering neocons.

Putting Trump and the Kremlin in the same corner also provided Clinton with an insurance policy in case any of her 30,000 deleted emails from the clandestine server she used during her time as secretary of state were leaked. Any disclosure could be blamed on the Russian government and, by extension, on Trump, thereby deflecting attention from whatever was in those emails.

The Trigger on the Swiftboat Project

When unrelated emails from the Democratic National Committee were released in July 2016, Clinton pulled the trigger on her carefully crafted Swiftboat project.

By painting Trump as a Russian stooge, the Clinton campaign would garner a wide coalition of support ranging from globalists to war-mongering neocons. The Russian stooge story could be interspersed with more familiar stories about shady business dealings and illicit affairs.

Clinton’s devious plan was to catalyze traditional political smears involving suspect business matters and extramarital affairs into something more explosive. Russia was that catalyst. Best of all, it was an issue that the entire Washington establishment could coalesce around.

The Cost of Clinton’s Scheme

Clinton’s Russiagate scam came at a heavy price for all Americans. It not only consumed Trump’s presidency, but it also altered the geopolitical balance of power for generations yet to come. In her failed attempt to become president, Hillary Clinton had swiftboated America herself.

Clinton’s intention was to execute an elaborate scheme that painted her opponent as an agent of a foreign power. It was a devious plan, and it came at a heavy price for all Americans.

Trump’s slogan throughout the 2016 campaign was “Make America Great Again.” One of the central tenets of Trump’s platform was to get the United States out of its many foreign entanglements, wars, and proxy wars. As part of that wider ambition, Trump was determined to improve relations with Russia.

Trump recognized the problem of antagonizing Russia long before he became president.

Clinton’s scheme was completely unheard of and beyond the bounds of anything that had previously happened in the dirty world of American politics. In 1972, Republican operatives broke into the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate Office Building in Washington. The ostensible purpose of the break-in was to eavesdrop on a political opponent, but even that act pales in comparison to what Clinton did.

Clinton’s Russiagate scam was a completely unheard of and beyond the bounds of anything that had previously happened in the dirty world of American politics.

Reminding voters of Trump’s business past might have strengthened his image as an outsider who could get things done. Highlighting his extramarital flings wouldn’t have had the same effect as it would have in the 1980s. Ironically, it was Clinton’s husband, Bill, who broke that particular glass ceiling.

What was needed was something that would catalyze traditional political smears involving suspect business matters and extramarital affairs into something more explosive. Russia was that catalyst.

Clinton’s Russiagate scam was a devious plan, and it came at a heavy price for all Americans. In her failed attempt to become president, Hillary Clinton had swiftboated America herself.