Everyone seems to think Trump kisses Putin’s ass but he sent weapons to Ukraine to fight Russia, right? Or what about his bombing of Assad forces? Or what about troops in Poland, you know, the country we and England sold down a river after world war II.
We sold all of Eastern Europe “down a river” if “selling” is defined as “not going to war against the USSR along a front stretching from the North Sea to the Mediterranean Sea in 1945 to kick them out”, which is what it would have taken.
Syria… didn’t they get that airfield fixed that night? Didn’t we broadcast our intentions by telling Russia that this was going to happen?
The article you linked to is six months old. They have since enforced those sanctions.
That said, let me amend my previous post: Trump has done barely enough to give himself plausible deniability WRT Russia.
You might hear some crazy talk about me being happily married and having a wife, but that’s bullshit. When I was in college, I used to go out to dive bars and try very hard to pick up girls. Sometimes I’d even take them home. How is THAT being happily married?
The Trump Administration has been tough on Russia, but a lot of that was driven by a Congressional mandate. I think it goes to show that we aren’t an authoritarian regime yet. Trump did campaign on lifting sanctions - this link is amusing.
However, TRUMP fails to approach Putin and Russia with the requisite cynicism and caution. In other words, TRUMP still kisses up to Putin, even as his administration screws him, in a weird geopolitical three-way,
A lot of that is because Trump is stupid and easily manipulated. He has no understanding of geopolitics and he seems cool with the abuses of authoritarian regimes. This is evidenced by his insistence on calling Putin a “competitor”.
In the span of a week, he
Tried to get the G7 to readmit Russia
Promoted an “incredible deal” he wanted to make with Putin. We would give Putin’s investigator’s access to the Mueller investigation ( so they could “help”) in exchange for handing several American citizens - including a former diplomat - over to Russian police.
This one astounds me most of all. Because Trump is giving up two things that are against US interests in exchange for nothing.
Suggested that the Russians would’ve been stronger in their persecution of Hillary than the US if she’d been Russian - or something, it was garbled, maybe he was advocating handing Hillary over to the Russians.
Told the world that he believed Putin over his own intelligence agencies.
Invited Putin to the White House without consulting with his security advisors.
According to Russian state media - which is how we find things out about Trump and Russia, Trump is considering endorsing “free” elections on Crimea. This is among the crap that Putin left Trump to “mull over”
And there was the time he invited all those Russians into the Oval Office to brag about firing Comey. When asked why, he said something to the effect of “Putin asked me to, am I going to say no?”
That said, I think Putin and Russia are learning about Trumps dealmaking style the hard way. Because apparently “the art of the deal” is to agree to whatever your “competitor” wants when he’s at the table. But then you only deliver what you want to deliver and make the guy sue you. Because Trump is basically a wimp, even though he talks big and he can’t stand up for himself at the negotiating table.
So Putin and Russia did get a raw deal when they helped Trump win.
The Republicans should not be so cavalier about the election interference. It might not work in their favor next time.
He also suggested trading Montenegro to Russia in exchange for Russian aid with North Korea.
This is akin to sacrificing your daughter to Dracula, in the hopes that he’ll put a word in with the Devil and help you skip out on Hell. I.e., evil and stupid.
That the man entertained the idea pretty well tells you that he’s either the largest moron in all of history, simply an enormous psychopath, or screwed a 14 year old in the Moscow Marriott.
I personally vote for all three, since the first two are necessary for the third and anyone with the first two would do the third, and so it is.