Defying Putin’s Puppet February 23, 2026 PAUL KRUGMAN Day 1461 of Putin’s Three-Day War We’re witnessing a war between freedom and tyranny, between an imperfect but decent government and a monstrous mass murderer — and the U.S. government is de facto backing the tyrannical monster. How can MAGA tolerate this? What did their grandparents fight so valiantly for in World War II? Have they seen Saving Private Ryan? When they watched Casablanca, whom did they root for: Major Strasser or Victor Laszlo? Is MAGA really okay with our switching sides? Krugman concludes: Shame on America for betraying a valiant ally. You might almost say that, wittingly or unwittingly — and whether or not stuff like this is true — Trump is Putin’s puppet. DEFIANCE! Our friends hosting THE STATE OF THE SWAMP tonight — watch free! — are this morning delivering to every Republican Member of Congress copies of the U.S. Constitution with a message: You swore an oath to this. Not to a man. Remember that tonight. They’ve flown in the Portland Frog Brigade to handle the deliveries. “That’s right,” writes Defiance founder Miles Taylor, “defiant Americans in blow-up frog costumes will be going door-to-door on Capitol Hill to deliver the Constitution. The same people who’ve been protesting Trump’s ICE facilities — and leading marches nationwide. You won’t want to miss it. Tune in at 930am ET.” BONUS Charlie Sykes from To the Contrary: For days, the FBI had insisted that Kash Patel was on an official trip to Milan for security meetings and adamantly denied that the jet-setting Patel was partying on the taxpayer dime. FBI spokesperson Ben Williamson spent days ripping reports by MSNOW’s Ken Dilanian that Patel would be hanging out at the Olympics. “Your rag outlet wrote that [Patel] went to hang out at the Olympics on the taxpayer dime – even when provided information that your theory was false. When you’re ready to correct that let me know. Won’t hold my breath,” Williamson wrote. But then came the video — which rocketed around law enforcement circles —showing “Patel pouring what appeared to be beer down his throat, spraying some of it in the air and screaming in celebration as a player put a gold medal around his neck.” I love the caption Sykes gave this photo: The Director of the FBI. That pretty much says it all.