This Is an Actual United States Senator Questioning the Actual Secretary of State
The Further Adventures of Antony Blinken, Secretary of State, on Capitol Hill
Part the Second: I Am Confused By The Senate
On Tuesday, the Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee got its chance to question Secretary Blinken, and Republican Senator James Risch took the opportunity to force Blinken to sprain a muscle trying to keep a straight face. This is a United States Senator questioning the Secretary of State as to whether or not the President of the United States is being operated by remote control, and I am not lying about any of this. Gaze in awe.
RISCH: I am more concerned about the top decision-making. We have all seen this. We have seen it as recently as yesterday. Somebody in the White House has the authority to press the button and to cut off the president's speaking ability. Who is that person?
BLINKEN: I think anyone who knows the president, including members of this committee, knows that he speaks very clearly and very deliberately for himself. No one…
RISCH: Are you saying that there is no one in the White House who can cut him off? Because yesterday, it happened, and it has happened a number of times before that. It has been widely reported that someone has the ability to cut off his sound and stop him from speaking. Who is that person?
BLINKEN: There is no such person. Again, the president speaks for himself, makes all the strategic decisions, informed by the best advice he can get from the people around him.
RISCH: So are you unaware this is actually happening? It happened yesterday at the Interagency Fire Center. It was widely reported. The media has reported on it. It is not the first time it has happened. It has happened several times. Are you telling this committee that this does not happen, that there is no one in the White House who pushes a button and cuts him off mid-sentence?
BLINKEN: That is correct.
RISCH: So this did not happen yesterday at, nor on other occasions where the media showed the American people that his sentence was cut off mid-sentence? Are you saying that did not happen?
BLINKEN: Senator, I really do not know what you are referring to. All I can tell you is, having worked with the president for 20 years, both here on this committee experience with the president for 20 years, anyone who stopped him from speaking his mind would probably not stay long at their job.
Apparently, this is a Thing that’s been bouncing around in the right-wing media ecosystem, in which almost everything is proof that the president is senile. It’s so awfully hard to keep up with all that flotsam these days. But I would not be surprised if Blinken’s going to need a tanker truck full of Pappy Van Winkle by the time this week is over.
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