2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumThe New Yorker: "Trump and Putin: A Love Story"
"Trump and Putin: A Love Story: The attraction is mutual, but history shows whos really using whom."
http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/trump-and-putin-a-love-story
This is an excellent account of Putin's rise to power, his desire to restore the influence and power of the Soviet Union, his opposition to the policies of the Clintons and President Obama, and the advantage he sees in Trump's being elected president.
About Putin's ambitions for spreading Russian influence:
On Trump's and his associates' economic ties with Russia:
Putin sees Trump as a useful idiot:
A long article, but well worth the read. Another reason why it is dangerous to elect a moron as president.
napkinz
(17,199 posts)PatSeg
(47,259 posts)I love the Trump puppet!
napkinz
(17,199 posts)RapSoDee
(421 posts)* No it isn't very pretty what a town without pity can do ooo oo.
PatSeg
(47,259 posts)Iliyah
(25,111 posts)slowly become a lead story.
Wilms
(26,795 posts)Not sure he's qualified to comment on "useful idiots".
But I'll bet the cold warriors are loving this election cycle.
AgadorSparticus
(7,963 posts)Koinos
(2,792 posts)... and would fracture relations with European allies. He knows that the best way to defeat the opposition is to let it be destroyed from within. Having a complete narcissist moron as president would cause years of dissension and economic chaos in the United States. Putin believes that what is bad for the US is good for Russia. He also knows that narcissist morons can be bought with flattery as well as cash.
AgadorSparticus
(7,963 posts)annabanana
(52,791 posts)useful idiot...
Koinos
(2,792 posts)annabanana
(52,791 posts)Hellooo nuclear winter
Koinos
(2,792 posts)Trump has zero knowledge about anything, but ignorance about nuclear weapons and their consequences is not something we can live with in the White House. We cannot have a demented narcissist in charge of nuclear weapons. Even George Bush was not that stupid.
workinclasszero
(28,270 posts)for Putin.
The man is a national security threat. He refuses to release his financial info because it probably ties him directly to Russian interests.
Koinos
(2,792 posts)How can this be happening in our country? I hope the CIA digs deep on this.
workinclasszero
(28,270 posts)party sells its soul to the devil.
The republicans gave up on this country a long time ago and now we see the fruits of that with Trump.
A draft dodger that insults the memory of those that gave their life for the USA and admires dictators like Putin.
The republican party is an agent of a foreign dictator as far as I'm concerned.
Koinos
(2,792 posts)Republicans find democracy inconvenient.
workinclasszero
(28,270 posts)and freedom have no problem jumping right in bed with Putin.
Koinos
(2,792 posts)Thinking is hard. Making choices is hard. Letting others think and choose for us makes life a whole lot easier. But that attraction to despotism is nothing but a temptation to cease being human, to give up the sapiens in homo sapiens.
TeamPooka
(24,205 posts)It's an issue and place that still resonates with Americans over 40 as a real threat left over from the cold war.
Trump is a Russian dupe and we need to hit this for the next 95 days.
Trump knows it too.
That's why he did the Ryan McCain diversion and quickly backtracked, to get the mainstream press off Russia.
Keep the Russia pressure on.
DonCoquixote
(13,616 posts)"Putin sees the ready benefit in having the United States led by an unlettered narcissist who believes that geostrategic questions are as easy to resolve as a real-estate closing. Putin knows a chump when he sees one."
Especially as, even if, especially if disaster happens, he would have propaganda material that could last well into the next century. This is NOT happening in a vacuum, especially if Marine Le Pen wins in France, and Merkel loses in Germany. Then Europe can be led by a bunch of Pro Putin people, which is NOT the same as the old red scare, as Putin's policy on race is actually very, very much closer to the right wing. Anti Muslim, Anti-intellectual, Anti-Gay, and hateful of any woman that is not a line tower.
What the GOP cannot admit is that they are closer to modern Russia than they are to the USA
Koinos
(2,792 posts)If NATO nations erode from within, Putin wins. Putin's effort to undermine Western democratic nations is appearing all over Europe. Trump would be Putin's most important trophy.
Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin
(107,736 posts)Just keep your shirt on when you two go horseback riding. Okay Donald?
pampango
(24,692 posts)today. Donald, though he certainly qualifies as a Putin-buddy, is just the most recent in a long line of conservatives who love them some Vladimir.
BumRushDaShow
(128,440 posts)And with respect to Trump himself, this part explains it all -
I knew kids growing up during the early-mid '70s who were similarly "disruptive in class" and rather than be sent to Daniel Boone (what was one of the public schools here in Philly for kids with disciple issues), they were sent to Valley Forge Military Academy.
tanyev
(42,515 posts)and that's all he reads.