Putin Says Russia Won't Expel Diplomats In Response To U.S. Sanctions

[kennetha]

16. Putin is playing a bigger game than you ma think

By making it abundantly clear that he regards Trump as his useful fool, he is actually intentionally sowing division among Americans, further undermining and discrediting our democracy. His goal isn't just to get a more friendly administration who will look the other way here and there. His goal is to humiliate America entirely, the way, in his mind America has humiliated Russia. How does he do that? He does it by first installing Trump, then making it clear that he regards Trump has his puppy, which makes it clear to many Americans that Trump not only lacks popular legitimacy, but also brings into question his formal legitimacy, by bringing into question the validity of the election, which divides Americans from each other, which discredits our democracy, which humiliate us in the eyes of the world, which makes us lose any claim to moral leadership of the so-called free world, which causes the free world to be rudderless and leaderless, especially if he can pull off similar tricks elsewhere, which gives Russia a free path to rise again!

So Trump is just a pawn in an elaborate chess game. Unfortunately for us he is too blind and narcissistic to appreciate the extent to which he is being used.

But maybe there's enough cold warrior left in some Republicans that they will not be taken in and will do everything they can both publicly and privately to stiffen the Donald's spine.