BTRTN: What Does Putin Have on Trump? Duh! [View all]

[reggieandlee]

Born to Run the Numbers speculates on the substance of Trump's one-on-one with Putin in Helsinki:

http://www.borntorunthenumbers.com/2018/07/btrtn-what-does-putin-have-on-trump-duh.html

Excerpts: "What do you suppose they are going to talk about on Monday? One guess is that they Vladimir Putin will want to talk about is how to make sure Donald Trump gets re-elected. Why rent the President of the United States for four years when you can leverage that into an option to buy?

"Putin’s a shrewd guy. If he wants to make sure that Trump gets re-elected, the first sign would be to see if he throws Trump a bone in Helsinki. Maybe Putin suggests that they announce some grand agreement to do something about the endless mess in Syria. Maybe Putin offers to join Trump in shutting down Kim Jong-un. It could be a Munich-evoking assurance that Putin will initiate no other Crimea-like annexations in former U.S.S.R. states like Estonia. Perhaps it’s a vague communique promising a dialog on reducing nuclear arsenals. All Putin has to do is make sure that Donald Trump comes out of Helsinki with a win that he can crow about back home and which serves to validate Trump’s emphasis on establishing a positive working relationship with Putin. Donald Trump has a nauseating habit of walking away from every shit storm he creates with a resounding declaration of victory. In the case of this meeting, Putin would seem to have self-interest in helping Trump do so."