As it turns out, we do know some of the contents of that Trump — Putin phone call. Though … it might be better if we didn’t.
During the conversation, Vladimir Putin brought up the idea of extending the New START treaty. And Donald Trump responded with … what's that?
When Putin raised the possibility of extending the 2010 treaty, known as New START, Trump paused to ask his aides in an aside what the treaty was, these sources said.
Where’s that entirely appropriate Twitter account? Ah. Here it is.
But despite not knowing what the START treaty was about, there was one thing that Trump knew down in his tiny orange bones.
Trump then told Putin the treaty was one of several bad deals negotiated by the Obama administration, saying that New START favored Russia. Trump also talked about his own popularity, the sources said.
Trump did mention the treaty during the campaign—though he got the name wrong—when he talked about how it stops the United States from updating its nuclear arsenal (it doesn’t) while Russia builds more warheads (that’s wrong).
The phone call with Putin has added to concerns that Trump is not adequately prepared for discussions with foreign leaders.
You think? What’s the etiquette on using the same tweet twice in one story?
The New START treaty reduces the number of nuclear warheads to one-third of the numbers allowed under the original START. As it stands, the New START treaty runs through 2021. It can be extended, but only if both parties agree. However, by 2021 at least it may not won’t be Donald Trump making that decision. Unless Trump actually violates the treaty, it will remain in effect … and he probably still won’t know what it is.