Who is Rodney Mims Cook, Jr.?

According to his Wikipedia biography, he is a 70-year-old designer who was appointed by Donald Trump to the post of Chairman of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) in January of this year.

He established his first architecture firm i 1983, focusing on making “pretty houses for rich people.” He also developed an interest in the architectural history of his native state of Georgia, and once commented that “We are remembered as much for the buildings we destroy as those we build.” [Wikipedia.org.]

Yet, since his appointment to the CFA, he has advocated for both the new White House ballroom and Trump’s proposed triumphal arch — apparently abandoning his earlier principles in deference to the demands of his new boss.

But what is most interesting about Cook’s first year in his new job is his travel in June to St. Petersburg, Russia, where he headed the first American delegation in nearly a decade to attend Vladimir Putin’s International Economic Forum — a delegation that included conservative political commentator Candace Owens and actor Steven Seagal, both of whom have been vocal in their support of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine . . . as well as the notorious Tate brothers, Andrew and Tristan, who have since been placed under arrest in Florida while awaiting extradition to the U.K. on charges of rape, sexual assault, and human trafficking.

Prior to his departure for Russia, Cook was issued a diplomatic passport, given extensive briefings, and assigned a security detail. While in St. Petersburg, he met with Kremlin officials, including Putin senior aide Anton Kobyakov. And during his panel’s session he passed along “a good hello from your friend, President Trump.” [Roman Sheremeta, Facebook, August 20, 2026.]

My reaction exactly!

Apparently it’s not enough that we already have Middle East diplomacy being orchestrated by a real estate developer (Steve Witkoff) and a presidential son-in-law (Jared Kushner) while happily making profitable side deals for themselves. Now we also have an architect — under diplomatic cover and accompanied by a blogger, an actor, and a pair of accused sex traffickers — carrying friendly messages from Trump to Putin.

And all the while, Trump himself is busy schmoozing North Korea’s Kim Jong Un while betraying our allies in South Korea.

Now, I don’t want to be an alarmist, but . . .

No, wait . . . that’s not true. I do want to sound an alarm here. No matter how you look at this, it stinks, and it’s scary as hell. Trump rants about the so-called “communists” (his name for liberals) threatening America, while he plays footsie with the real threats to the world’s democracies.

And who is there to stop him?

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
8/22/26