Huntsman Choice Means Trump Will Not Be Weak on Russia

We all know the narrative that has consumed the liberal media since last year: the President and his surrogates are in bed with the Kremlin.

For months, 90 percent of CNN's airtime has centered on Russia — despite private admissions by top affiliates the collusion story is a "nothing burger." Last week, the network had a field day when it learned campaign officials sat in on an innocuous meeting with a Russian lawyer.

When the media found out the president of the United States took a second meeting with the president of Russia at the G20 summit — the purpose of which is, by definition, for leaders of member countries to meet — their minds nearly exploded. They conveniently failed to clarify the Chancellor of Germany had invited all G-20 attendees to said meeting.

Donald Trump, Jr. and former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort are testifying Wednesday before the Senate Intelligence Committee. Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and one of his senior advisors, gave testimony to a closed session and remarks Monday. Despite what anyone has said or will say, liberals are in frenzy-mode trying to point fingers to Moscow rather than accepting, as Kushner said, Trump offered a better message and ran a better campaign than his opponent.

But last week, President Donald Trump did serious damage to the narrative put forth by the boys and girls who cried collusion with one fell swoop. His selection of Governor Jon Huntsman for Ambassador to Russia makes one thing crystal clear: The United States will not be weak in its policy toward the Kremlin.

Huntsman, one of Utah's most popular governors in the state's history, served as Ambassador to China under Obama and Ambassador to Singapore under the younger President George W. Bush. He currently leads the Atlantic Council, an international affairs think tank. He is no novice to diplomacy. And he is no dove.

This appointment is a political victory for Trump, and it should go a long way to dissuade any reasonable or unreasonable fears on the left. Huntsman is not tied to Trump or any of his loyalists, which will allow him to execute on the president's agenda while also maintaining some distance from the inner workings of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Huntsman has a track record of being tough on human rights violations in China, and he has been equally critical of Russian transgressions. In the spring of 2014, after Russia's annexation of Crimea — a move denounced by leaders across the globe — Huntsman delivered an address before an Atlantic Council panel, in which he blasted President Vladimir Putin for "reject[ing] a vision that Moscow previously shared: an undivided, free Europe in which Russia would find its peaceful, rightful place." 

Let us not forget, just five years before Russian aggression in Ukraine reached crisis level, then-Secretary Hillary Clinton had offered to "reset" the United States' relationship with the Kremlin (rather than "resetting," however, Clinton mistakenly gave Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov a plastic button that translated to "overcharged").

Having worked under presidents from both sides of the aisle, Huntsman serves with a true servant's heart in this most sensitive of diplomatic posts. President Trump's judgment in making this appointment should be applauded and should address any reasonable concerns on how his administration seeks to deal with Putin and Russia. America's interests will be served well by a seasoned diplomat like Jon Huntsman.

American can all rest more easily with Jon Huntsman on the watch.

Edward J. Pozzuoli is the CEO of Florida-based law firm Tripp Scott. He was the co-chairman of Jeb Bush for Governor (Broward Country). He also served as an integral member of the Bush/Cheney legal team in the 2000 presidential recount litigation. He is an active member of the Republican Party and served as the chairman of the Republican Party in Broward County, Florida.