also part of the we ve seen it with giuliani. we ve seen it with the president. if i m doing it in plain sight, it can t be wrong. i think there are a couple things going on here. i think that s definitely part of it. he feels like as long as he s doing it in plain sight, he can say it ssi normal. i also think it s a sign of how confident he is in his ability to shape the public discussion and to twist the truth. with help from his allies and the media, certainly. but the idea that american president feels comfortable being so strangely close to russia after russia has attacked us, given the long history with russia is to me a sign, it s not it is about him doing it in a public. it is also about the fact that he feels like he has the republican party and conservative mediare establishmt sove solidly behind him that he can say basically whatever he wants and he s confident his allies will spin s it in a way that is positive or at least not