I would bet the guys rubbing elbows with Obiden doesn’t want this guy being so chummy with Putin and wants him out. Didn’t he play golf with the Donald a few times?

@FEWI Some folks may not understand that generals trying to destroy each other's armies have sometimes been friends throughout history. The same is true of Leadership. Those intelligent enough to understand sophisticated relationships and use their skills to evaluate what people are likely to do, know when they are in good company, regardless of the political stripes of their opposition. The astute could easily read that Obama was disgusted by his own Vice President. And the astute can easily discern that Trump is so effective at reading the room that he is utterly unintimidated by anyone.

The very simple minded may read something into who is standing next to whom in a photo or playing golf, but I guarantee that the astute will not be regarding that as significant.

As to your point that external forces may be operative in China, it is unlikely. And the CCP is a big bureaucracy that ultimately directs the path China takes. Most of the CCP is likely to align themselves with Putin, both as a Northern neighbor with whom friendly relations are preferable, and as someone more philosophically aligned than China's "fall guy," the US.

@TimTuolomne Sort of like the Republicans are always commenting on how they so deeply respect these evil democrats while they are trying to destroy our way of life.

@FEWI Those focused on defending the Constitution tend to disinterested in the drama of politics and are likely to be insufficiently critical of Democrats dirty tricks. They also will not be making the Hillary mistake of calling half the voters "despicable." However, I agree with you that they should be more concerned about the danger Democrats dirty tricks are to the Constitution.