February 23, 2022: Putin Likes Trump, Trump Likes Putin

2/23/22: Imagine if you will that an American politician in September 1939 had said, when panzers smashed across the Polish border, that Hitler’s plan was “genius.” That the German dictator was “savvy.” Imagine that that American  would shrug, and say he got along “great” with Hitler, that, “He liked me. I liked him. I mean, you know, he’s a tough cookie, got a lot of great charm and a lot of pride. And he loves his country, you know? He loves his country.” 

Finally, imagine that that politician of yesteryear would attack Franklin D. Roosevelt, instead. 

And there you have the utterly soulless Donald J. Trump, responding this week to news that his old pal Vladimir Putin was sending tens of thousands of troops and heavy armor crashing into Ukraine.

 

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“Not once did I see him do anything to put America first. Not once. Not for a single second.” 

Former Trump White House advisor Fiona Hill, commenting on her old boss

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While Trump finds Putin “charming,” those who possess even a vestige of empathy know what’s at stake. A country of 42 million people, twice the size of Texas, with a freely-elected government, has been invaded.

Trump doesn't care about anyone in Ukraine.

 

Trump might say in 2017, that Putin wasn’t such a bad killer – adding, “What, you think our country is so innocent?” But Putin is a killer, and by no means a reluctant one. He’s the guy who has had critics thrown off fifth floor balconies, poisoned with radioactive tea, and nearly killed when a deadly nerve agent was smeared in the critic’s underpants after KGB agents snuck his suitcase off a plane. Putin is also the guy who has stolen an estimated $70 billion from his people. 

Trump likes the guy.

Trump: The chump.

 

Why would anyone be surprised? Trump stood before the world in Helsinki, four years ago, and denied that Putin had interfered in the 2016 election – even when U.S. intelligence chiefs told him Putin did. And if you don’t know his first campaign was shot through with aides and relatives who met with Russian agents – who were offering help in defeating Hillary Clinton – you badly need to brush up on recent history (see post for 2/13/22). Now our former president has made it clear he doesn’t care how many Ukrainians are run over by Russian tanks. He doesn’t care if all 42 million, minus those killed by the invaders, fall under Russia’s heel. 

And while he  might like the Russian killer, Trump has never liked our NATO allies. He once wondered aloud why we would honor Article V of the alliance, the keystone, which holds that an attack on one member will be considered an attack on all. He also mocked NATO’s sacrifices during the Afghanistan War. 

When our allies rallied to our aid. 

Trump’s downplaying of the NATO alliance – was sweet, sweeter, sweetest music to Vladimir ears.

 

* 

The cracking of their bones still wouldn’t register with Trump. 

IN A stunning radio interview on Tuesday, Trump not only failed to condemn Russian aggression in Ukraine, he praised Putin’s moves, calling him “savvy,” instead. 

Trump’s allies and fans may try to spin this as “Fake News.” But the interview clip was provided by his spokesperson, Liz Harrington, who chose what to post, proving that she is as soulless as the man for whom she works. “In the last 24 hours we know Russia has said that they are recognizing two breakaway regions of Ukraine, and now this White House is stating that this is an ‘invasion,’” host Buck Sexton said. “That’s a strong word. What went wrong here? What has the current occupant of the Oval Office done that he could have done differently?” 

Pause for a moment and then pay attention to everything Donald doesn’t say.

 

“Well,” he responded, “what went wrong was a rigged election,” he said, as always misrepresenting the results of the 2020 contest. And, even worse, making U.S. foreign policy all about him.

 

If ten thousand Ukrainian children were run over by Russian tanks today, the cracking of their bones, and the blood on the tank tracks still wouldn’t register with Donald J. Trump. The invasion of a sovereign nation is only about him.

 

“What went wrong,” he added, “is a candidate that shouldn’t be there and a man that has no concept of what he’s doing.”

 

Did it bother Mr. Trump that 42 million Ukrainians were now in the path of Russia’s guns? Not a bit. “I went in yesterday and there was a television screen,” he told Sexton, referring to how he spends time at Mar-a-Lago, “and I said, ‘This is genius.’ Putin declares a big portion of Ukraine…Putin declares it as independent. Oh that’s wonderful! So Putin is now saying it’s independent. A large section of Ukraine. I said, ‘How smart is that?’ And he’s going to go in and be a peacekeeper. That’s the strongest peace force – we could use that on our southern border.” 

(Sure, Mexico, remembering 1846, would love that concept.)

 

Trump wasn’t appalled. Trump was impressed. “That’s the strongest peace force I’ve ever seen. There were more army tanks than I’ve ever seen. They’re going to keep peace all right,” he said. “No, but think of it. Here’s a guy who’s very savvy. I know him very well. Very, very well.” 

“By the way,” Trump continued, “this never would have happened with us had I been in office. Not even thinkable. This would never have happened. But here’s a guy that says, ‘You know, I’m going to declare a big portion of Ukraine independent. He used the word independent. And we’re going to go out, and we’re going to help keep the peace. You got to say that’s pretty savvy. And you know what the response was from Biden? There was no response. They didn’t have one for that. Now, it’s very sad.”

 

Trump is impressed by all those Russian tanks.

Read that again. With the U.S. at risk of being dragged into a wider war, with all our key allies rallying to oppose Putin – Donald J. Trump calls his successor “sad,” but calls an enemy leader a “genius.” Says, he likes the man. It’s as close to sounding traitorous as any U.S. president has ever come.

 

* 

The world rallies against Putin – but not Trump. 

By comparison, Mr. Biden had no trouble labeling the entry of Putin’s troops into the disputed Donbas region of Ukraine as “the beginning of a Russian invasion.” Then he ordered sanctions in response to a “flagrant violation of international law.” 

He has also rallied our allies in support of Ukraine. Germany has agreed to back the U.S., cutting off a major pipeline from Russia that would have brought in much-needed natural gas. This will mean sacrifice for the German people in the form of substantially higher prices for energy. Britain has bolstered ties with Poland in the face of growing threats from their neighbor, and the U.S. has sent 5,000 additional forces to Poland. You might think Trump would care about our troops. No. Trump cares only about himself. The Brits have also sent the Ukrainians 2,000 anti-tank missiles. Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia remember the half century they spent under Russia’s boot, following World War II. They understand what’s at stake and have asked for additional NATO troops.

 

The U.S. is not alone in its response this week. The 27 members of the European Union have voted unanimously in favor of sanctions. Denmark is offering $25 million in aid to help the Ukrainian military. Canada has sent a special operations team to help. The French and Czechs have sent arms and ammunition. Turkey has sent drones. 

No one else has called Putin “savvy.”

 

The British ambassador to the United Nations warned that the Kremlin decision to invade would unleash “the forces of war, death and destruction on the people of Ukraine. The humanitarian impact will be terrible,” Ambassador Barbara Woodward said. “We know that women and children will suffer most.” 

Trump hasn’t mentioned any children at all.

 

The nations of the world are speaking up, while Trump has not. The U.N. ambassadors of Kenya, Gabon, and Ghana condemned the Russians. New Zealand called in the Russian ambassador and expressed “strong opposition.” Australia announced fresh sanction. Japan promised “severe actions.” South Korean President Moon Jae-in was clear. “Ukraine’s sovereignty and territory must be respected,” he said. “A military clash against the wishes of the international community...would bring huge ramifications in the politics and economies of not only Europe, but to the whole world.” 

Ireland’s premier denounced Putin’s actions as “an outrageous and moral breach of the most fundamental and basic principles of international law.” 

“Our thoughts must be with the innocent people of Ukraine at this, their most difficult hour. 

“We stand with them.”

 

Trump? Trump didn’t mention “innocent people.” He saved all his vitriol for Joe Biden, instead. Always anxious to attack the man who beat him in 2020, he said sanctions would never work. He said Biden had no plan. European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell disagreed. He told reporters Tuesday that the package of sanctions “will hurt Russia, and it will hurt a lot.” 

Yesterday, Russia’s stock market fell by 33 percent.

 

Russia’s neighbors remember what happened last time they ended up under the Soviet yoke. The Romanians remember the boot on their necks. Their president called Putin’s actions a “flagrant violation of international law, which must trigger the most severe response from the international community. We strongly support Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”  Romania also announced it could shelter up to half-a-million refugees if need arose.

 

It never dawned on Trump that a refugee crisis might result. He was only impressed with all the tanks Putin had.

 

Putin liked him. He liked Putin. That was good enough for Trump.

 

Every country on Russia’s western border understood what was at risk and condemned Putin – save one – Belarus. The autocratic leader of that country manages to remain in power with the backing of Russian troops. Moldova condemned  the invasion. Norway referred to the invasion as “a serious violation of the rule of law.” Finland announced it would reevaluate plans to partner with a Russian company to build a massive nuclear power reactor. Even Hungary, led by a right-wing president, fell in line and announced, “Hungary is part of the [European Union’s] common position.” 

No one in Slovakia thought all those Russian tanks were impressive. Prime Minister Eduard Heger warned that, “Recognition of separatist republics [in Ukraine] is the support of violence and hatred. Ordinary people will suffer. I am deeply outraged by President Putin’s move.” 

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic warned that the crisis “could spread in other parts of Europe and the world, especially on the Western Balkans.” Trump wouldn’t care about the Balkans and probably couldn’t find the region on a map unless he was going to hop on a plane and go there to play golf.

 

In fact, Trump was thrilled to think that Putin’s moves might cause trouble for President Biden.

 

He called Biden’s actions “weak.”

 

He said Putin was going to love watching what would happen. “Now it has begun, oil prices are going higher and higher, and Putin is not only getting what he always wanted, but getting, because of the oil and gas surge, richer and richer.”

 

Trump still couldn’t bother to mention the death and destruction that would be visited on the Ukrainian people. 

 

*

 

“Just walking right in.”

 

Wednesday, he doubled down. He said Putin was beating Biden “like a drum.” Talking to his fat cat pals at a dinner in Mar-a-Lago, where every member knows they’ll be safe from Russian artillery fire and need not worry about being chewed to bits under the treads of all those tanks, Trump mocked his successor. Putin, he said, was “pretty smart.” He was “taking over a country, literally, a vast, vast location, a great piece of land with a lot of people, and just walking right in.”

 

And all “for $2 worth of sanctions.”

 

Trump wasn’t worried that the Ukrainians would fight long and hard to keep the enemy from “just walking right in.” He wouldn’t care if Russia wiped their entire population from the face of the earth. He only cared about making the man who beat him in the last election look bad. Again, we shouldn’t be surprised. In 2019, Trump put self-interest ahead of U.S. national security when he refused to provide Ukraine with more than $400 million in military aid, until the Ukrainian president agreed to investigate Hunter Biden and dig up dirt on his dad.

 

That’s not “Fake News,” either. Trump’s own national security advisor, John Bolton, said that’s what his boss did. And so did a parade of witnesses, which led to Trump’s first impeachment.

 

Perhaps former White House Russia advisor Fiona Hill – who once worked for President Trump – summed it up best. She told CNN on Sunday that Trump’s foreign policy had emboldened Vladimir Putin. Trump, she said, had always been driven by personal concerns rather than U.S. national interests.

 

“There’s no Team America for Trump,” she cautioned. “Not once did I see him do anything to put America first. Not once. Not for a single second.”

 

He’s not a real patriot – and Vladimir Putin has to be loving every word he’s hearing spill from Donald’s lips.

 

 

POSTSCRIPT: As has so often been the case, our former president remains singularly ill-informed. He talks about “$2 worth of sanctions.” But the European Union has issued a 600-page list of penalties and sanctions against Putin and his cronies. No more lavish trips to Paris to buy luxury goods. No more visits to their villas on Lake Como. They’ve been banned from travel anywhere in the EU. Britain also announced travel bans on three of Putin’s richest money-grubbing pals and froze their assets. Included in the list of sanctioned individuals are Putin’s chief of staff and his minister of defense – because where one kleptocrat is found, others always abound. All 300 lawmakers who approved Putin’s decision to invade have been banned, as are a number of well-know “propagandists” for the Russian oligarchs.

 

No doubt some of the crooks will have stashed their ill-gotten gains in places hard to reach. But consider the pain of Vladimir Solovyov, a prominent television anchor known for sucking up to Mr. Putin and telling viewers how lucky they are to be led by such a fine leader.

 

According to The New York Times, Solovyov has “publicly boasted about owning a house near Lake Como. The 900-square meter, three-story mansion near the lake features a large pool and a garden,” and  was valued at “5.6 million euros, about $6.3 million,” in 2016. Now the homeowner is banned.