Putin says three nice things to hear this month alone
Some claim that it is “due to weakness in Putin”
WP points out “the mentality of envy toward dictators”
The Washington Post (WP) reported on the 26th (local time) that former U.S. President Donald Trump’s campaign remarks clearly show his preference for dictators around the world, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.
WP analyzed that although some people criticize Trump for not criticizing Putin because of his weaknesses, it is more due to Trump’s envy of strong leaders.
Trump has made several pro-Russian remarks this month alone.
He said that if North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members do not increase defense spending, Russia will “be left to do whatever it wants.” Far from blaming Putin for the death of dissident Alexei Navalny, he claimed that he was a political prisoner who resembled Navalny. Last week, Russia was praised for “defeating Hitler.”
Trump has consistently praised Russia and held Putin in high regard, refusing to confront Russia on major issues, including Russia’s interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and its invasion of Ukraine two years ago.
Then, some argued that Trump may have been exploited by Putin. A representative example is when former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked President Trump at the White House in 2019, “Why is it Putin in everything?”
Even as the Ukraine war enters its third year, Trump’s pro-Russian actions have not changed at all. Rather, the Republican Party he leads is blocking support for Ukraine.
Former Speaker Pelosi recently emphasized, “Whatever the reason, Trump’s love for Putin is dangerous for NATO and dangerous for protecting democracy in Ukraine.” He also added, “Remarks about Navalny also make me think about what weakness Trump has in Russia.”
But Russia experts and Trump supporters say Trump has no weaknesses and just likes strong dictators like Putin.
◆Bolton “I want to be a person who can do whatever he wants.”
John Bolton, a former national security adviser under President Trump and a strong critic of Trump, pointed out, “Trump likes and wants to be a strong person who does what he wants without hesitation.”
He emphasized that Trump likes all dictators, including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Turkiye, North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Bolton said Trump “didn’t get along well with democratically elected leaders, especially female leaders,” and that Xi was “fascinated by his control of China” and went so far as to call him “king.”
Former Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul also said that Trump likes dictators and pointed out that Trump appears to have the same governing philosophy as dictators.
He said, “Dictators have ideological similarities, there is a growing trend of populist nationalists around the world, and Trump’s remarks and Putin’s remarks are very similar,” adding, “It is not because Trump is copying Putin, but because they have a similar worldview.” explained.
◆ “I fell into dictators because of my vanity and preference for tough guys.”
An anonymous former Trump aide said Trump “envies dictators.” He said that “about a dozen times a day” he and his top aides tried to explain to Trump that Putin was dangerous and a threat to American interests, but that Trump was fascinated by Putin’s “tough guy” image.
He said, “Putin and others just fell for Trump,” and “I fell for them because of vanity and preference for tough guys.”
However, Trump’s campaign headquarters rejects the criticism that Trump is soft on Putin. Carolyn Leavitt, spokeswoman for Trump’s campaign headquarters, pointed out in a statement that Putin said Biden was a better U.S. president to deal with than Trump, and emphasized, “The reason Putin continues the war in Ukraine for years is because he looks down on Biden.” “The reason all enemies, including Russia, stayed quiet when Trump was president was because they knew what the United States would do.”
The relationship between Trump and Putin is not simple. This is because the investigation by the U.S. intelligence community, the Senate Special Committee, and Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller revealed that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
◆The details of the meeting with Putin were not explained to close associates.
However, Trump did not acknowledge Russian interference in the election. He claimed it was a “Russian hoax” that was “witch-hunting” him. People who know Trump personally say that he was unable to separate himself from Russian policy because he viewed the rumors of Russian election meddling as an accusation against him.
Fiona Hill, who served as senior director for Europe and Russia at the National Security Council (NSC) under President Trump, said, “For Trump, Russia’s interference in the election on his behalf meant undermining his election victory. She would always say, ‘No, no, I won big.’ “He hated being humiliated by Putin,” she said. “If Putin had even said to Trump, ‘We elected you,’ it would have exploded.”
Whatever the motivation, there are quite a few forces that support Trump’s policy line toward Russia. Justin Logan, director of foreign and security policy at the Cato Institute, criticized the Biden administration’s Ukraine policy as “an endless war.” “Republican voters ask, ‘Is there a way to win the war?’ He emphasized, “We want to spend unlimited money to squeeze out Russia’s hard work, but this is not good for American taxpayers.”
Edward King, chairman of the Defense First Foundation, said Trump “woke the minds of European countries” regarding NATO. “The United States’ role within NATO must be reconsidered. There are no permanent alliances. “It’s not because of America’s security interests, but because of relationships with other countries, and it’s just getting entangled in all kinds of conflicts,” he said.
◆Attempts to enter Moscow on a large scale during his time as a real estate developer
On the other hand, it is true that leaders, Democratic politicians, Trump’s security advisers, and even some Republicans are concerned about Trump’s history of attempting to enter Russia on a large scale while he was a real estate developer in New York.
In June 2016, Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., met with Russians at Trump Tower in New York who wanted to weaken Trump’s rival, Hillary Clinton.
Trump even publicly called on Russia to hack Clinton’s emails at a press conference. He said, “Take my word for it, we will be able to find the 30,000 missing emails.”
Even after being elected president, Trump boasted of his bromance with Putin. In May 2017, Trump revealed the secret to the Russian Foreign Minister and the Russian Ambassador to the United States in the Oval Office of the White House. At the time, current and former U.S. officials warned that this would expose U.S. information sources about the Islamic State (IS).
Trump also made it a habit to say he would overthrow NATO. It’s Putin’s long-held wish. Trump, who had a private meeting with Putin for two hours with only an interpreter at the 2018 Helsinki summit, rejected the U.S. intelligence agency’s judgment of Russian election interference and took Putin’s side at a press conference with Putin.
Afterwards, whenever he met Putin throughout his tenure, he tried not to explain the details of the conversation even to his senior aides.
Even after he resigned from the presidency, it remained the same. When Putin invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Trump said Putin was a “genius” and “good job in space.”
Alexander Vindman, who served as the NSC Europe and Russia director during President Trump’s term, was concerned that Putin would strengthen his offensive against Ukraine due to Trump’s comments threatening to tell NATO members to do whatever he wants.
“This is to let people know that the second Trump administration will be friendly to our enemies and hostile to our allies. “This situation cannot be better for Russia.”
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.