Has there ever been, in history, a more appeasing world leader than Donald Trump?
Regardless, Trump’s appeasement of Russian leader Vladimir Putin is definitely unprecedented.
Just look at all the parodies of the pair: tinyurl.com/…
Now that actual American troops’ lives are at imminent stake, the issue becomes yet more stark and dire. So dire, in fact, that even Senator Ben Sasse form Nebraska is demanding answers.
While looking up information on SCOTUS’s imminent ruling on Trump’s taxes, I found this tidy list done by CNN of Trump’s most insidious conciliations toward Russia.
The list is from November, 2019, so I’m sure there is more. And it doesn’t yet include Russia’s bounty on American troops, but it will……
I will bullet-point all 25, while expounding some of the more important entries.
Over the years, he's made no secret that he has a soft spot for the country and its authoritarian leader, President Vladimir Putin. Trump has proved that he is willing to reject widely held US foreign policy views and align himself with the Kremlin on everything from Russian interference in US elections to the war in Syria.
Trump's ties to Russians were so concerning that the FBI believed there was good reason to investigate potential collusion between his 2016 campaign and the Kremlin. Counterintelligence investigators also
examined whether Trump himself was somehow a Russian asset.
Here's a full breakdown of 25 occasions when Trump was soft on Russia or gave Putin a boost.
1. Trump has repeatedly praised Putin
While he was a private citizen, during his 2016 campaign and throughout his presidency,
Trump has showered Putin with praise. He said Putin was "so nice," he called Putin a "strong leader" and said Putin has done
"a really great job outsmarting our country." Trump also claimed he'd "get along very well" with Putin. Few, if any, Western leaders have echoed these comments.
2. Trump hired Manafort to run his campaign
3. Trump suggested Russia can keep Crimea
Trump said Putin did "an amazing job of taking the mantle" when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. During the presidential campaign,
Trump broke with US policy and suggested he was OK if Russia kept the Ukrainian territory. He repeated a Kremlin talking point, saying,
"The people of Crimea, from what I've heard, would rather be with Russia than where they were."
4. Trump aides softened GOP platform on Ukraine
5. Trump made light of Russian hacking
6. Trump denied that Russia interfered in 2016 election
7. Trump transition undermined Russian sanctions
8. Trump was open to lifting Russian sanctions
Days before his inauguration,
Trump told The Wall Street Journal that he was open to lifting sanctions on Russia. He said:
"If you get along and if Russia is really helping us, why would anybody have sanctions if somebody's doing some really great things?" Putin has tried for years to persuade the US and European countries to end crippling sanctions on Russia's economy.
9. Trump refused to say Putin is a killer
"There are a lot of killers. Do you think our country is so innocent?"
10. Trump mulled giving spy compounds to Russia
11. Trump gave Russia classified intelligence
In a shocking move during the early months of his presidency,
Trump shared highly classified intelligence with two senior Russian officials during an Oval Office meeting in May 2017. The intelligence, which was about ISIS, was sensitive enough that it could have exposed a vulnerable source.
The unplanned disclosure by Trump rattled even many of his Republican allies.
12. Trump was reluctant to sign Russian sanctions
13. Trump thanked Putin for expelling US diplomats
14. Trump criticized and alienated NATO allies
15. Trump eased sanctions on Deripaska
16. Trump congratulated Putin on his sham election
17. Trump defended USSR invasion of Afghanistan
During a January 2019 Cabinet meeting, Trump
defended the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan. He said the Soviet Union "was right" to invade in 1979 because "terrorists were going into Russia." The comments puzzled many observers, who noted that the Soviets invaded to bolster a communist government and the US had backed Afghan militants who fought the Soviets.
18. Trump praised pro-Russian leaders in Europe
19. Trump didn't publicly condemn Russian attack
20. Trump wanted to let Russia back in the G7
Breaking with American allies, Trump repeatedly called for Russia to be invited back into the Group of Seven. Russia was suspended from the working group
of leading industrial nations in 2014 after Putin annexed Crimea. At this year's G7 summit in France, Trump pressed the other leaders to include Russia next year. They
balked at the request, which would have been a huge benefit to Putin
without any concessions.
21. Trump's Syria withdrawal gave Putin a boost
22. Trump repeated Kremlin talking points on ISIS
23. Trump spread Russian myths about Ukraine
24. Trump temporarily froze US aid for Ukraine
As the impeachment inquiry has revealed,
Trump personally froze $391 million in US military and security assistance for Ukraine in mid-2019. US diplomats said Ukraine desperately needed the help for its war against Russian proxies. Previously, the Trump administration had slow-walked sales of anti-tank missiles to Ukraine
because of concerns it would upset Russia, according to a State Department official.
25. Trump considered visiting Putin on Russian soil