Not sure this belongs in Factual Questions, so feel free to move it to a more appropriate forum.
If Trump were to suddenly feel the heat and decides to lam it to Russia, what would happen? I expect that Putin would refuse to return him in exchange for allowing the FSB to debrief him. Given the intel he had access to, would the US take steps to prevent that from happening (anything from ordering him not to leave Mar-a-Lago to shooting down his plane)? Given that he’d probably be going from memory (unless there are a bunch of documents still missing) and supposedly he didn’t pay much attention in intel briefings, how much of a threat would he really be?
Let’s hope he stays in Russia as Putin’s guest, but I doubt he has any interest in going there since his massive fan base of loonies is here in the US, not in Russia. Plus, nothing in Russia is going to be as opulent or comfortable as his many properties here. I doubt there’s any intel he hasn’t already told somebody linked to Moscow, so the damage is already done. Good riddance I say.
He’ll need to ask Putin for 1) a single-story residence or 2) one with no windows above the first floor. I’d mention the tea, but never mind, it’s Diet Coke (is that available in Russia?) all day.
I don’t think Putin wants him. Putin has even less time for losers than Trump does, and Trump both lost his last election and couldn’t even instigate a coup. He doesn’t qualify for the Big Strong Manly Man Dictators club. Those guys were willing court him when he was PotUS of the US, but he’s not that anymore so he’s of no further use to them. I don’t think Trump has anything in his head that Putin hasn’t already obtained by other means. Trump had access to a lot of important information but it’s unlikely he understood a lot of it. Unless he can bring his “beautiful mind” boxes along I don’t think he has any intelligence to sell.
If Trump absconds to Russia at best he winds up in a gilded cage while Putin tries to figure out how he can extract something useful or valuable out of Trump’s presence in Russia. That’s the best case scenario, there are worse ones.
You kidding? HUGE propaganda coup for Putin. "American president prefers Russia to U.S.! " and trot him out to spout whatever lies Putin finds convenient. All it costs him is some confiscated dachas and a few hamberders and Diet Cokes.
Yes, that’s the gilded cage aspect. And the PR would certainly be a use of Trump Putin would exploit.
But beyond that I don’t think Trump would have value for Putin, who might at some point think him too expensive a pet to keep. Trump running to Russia isn’t going to have any sort of politcal power, his followers will start dropping away, and he certainly won’t have any intel.
I thought the idea wouldn’t be so much to extract something useful from him at this point as to send a signal to the next guy: hey, if things start going bad for you there after you ally yourself with me while you’re lining your pockets as a head of state, then you can — as he, correctly, did — count on getting VIP treatment here; me showily treating him well is evidence that I’m the kind of guy that you, too, can do business with.
Does anyone think that the reason he wasn’t judged a flight risk is that 1.) he has nowhere he is willing to go and 2.) there is nowhere willing to have him?
Trump is a toddler. He has never thought beyond himself and his immediate gratifications in his life.What he wants is constant fawning and adulation. Where is he going to get that but here? He can’t run for president anywhere else – and running for president (not actually being president, he has little interest in that) is his raison d’etre.
Follow the money. If someone like Trump heads to asylum, their accounts and assets will be frozen. Presumably, everyone with a beef would sue against those assets, and if he fails to show up for court, he loses. He will be (like I assume Snowden is) dependent on the arbitrary largesse of the Soviet government and other oligarchs. The US has means of tracking a lot of bank activity and twisting arms to persuade foreign banks “If you want to do business with anyone who does business with the US banking system, you will do what we say.” (The “500 lb gorilla principle”). All in all, life would not be as comfortable as here, even if the US sanctions on the Russian economy went away.
[Moderating]
While there is some factual content to be had here, there’s a lot more room for speculation, and so I think that the conversation will go a lot more smoothly in IMHO (facts are allowed there, too). Moving.
I like the idea. It just might be the disillusioning event that knocks the legs out from under MAGA. I think Trumpism is bigger and more of a problem than Trump himself.
And I think Putin may have a use for Trump. Putin may come up with a way to bring Trump there that would be harmful to the West. Though, if he just thinks like I do, he wouldn’t.
There’s plenty of golfing opportunities in Russia, cheating is probably part of the game too. I can’t see him doing polar plunges or going hunting or knocking back vodka in short he’d get homesick for Bedminster.
Nothing much at the beginning, then they run out of useful idiots, matresses soaked in urine, and red baseball caps.
Then tanTrump discovers that the Russian legal system is very different from America’s: the conviction rate is close to 98% if you are innocent, and 100% if guilty.
On the surface, it would appear to be an enormous intelligence boon for the FSB, but the whole scenario is so (historically) preposterous that they could never be sure a Trump defection wasn’t just an elaborate trap. On top of that, can anybody be sure of the validity of anything that comes out of Trump’s mouth?
Considering all the reports of how T**** barely paid attention to his daily briefings when he was president, how much useful intelligence would he be able to provide anyway?
