Fiona Hill says Trump was obsessed with Putin, not Russia

Fiona Hill, a former National Security Council official and White House adviser who served in the Trump administration, said the former President TrumpDonald TrumpSenior US and Israeli Security Officials to Discuss Iran and Palestinians in Washington State AG Seek to Meet TikTok CEO Regarding “Slap a Teacher” Money Challenge – Featured by NRHC – Biden Plays Hard With Debt Limit With McConnell PLUSthe “fixation” of s was on the Russian president Vladimir PoutineVladimir Vladimirovich Putin International coalition stops “prolific” hackers implicated in ransomware attacks Moscow will not side with Washington against Beijing just because we think it should Russia says it launched a missile for the first time hypersonic from a PLUS submarine and not the country itself.

Hill, in an appearance Tuesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”, said Trump sees qualities in Putin he wants to emulate.

“For Trump, his fixation was on Putin. It wasn’t about Russia, it was about Putin himself, it’s what he saw in Putin that he saw many qualities that he wanted to have in himself, ”Hill said. .

Hill, an expert on Russian affairs, was put in the spotlight in 2019 after giving damning testimony in Trump’s first impeachment inquiry. Democrats used this testimony to prove that the then president tried to leverage US military aid to persuade Ukraine to launch an investigation into Hunter Biden, the son of the then Democratic candidate for President Joe Biden.

Hill, when asked on “Morning Joe” if the Russians could have something about Trump that made him act with deference to Putin, said “you can be sure they had something.”

She said that because Trump, as a businessman, was looking to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, it is likely that the Russians collected information on him. She added that it is common practice in Moscow to collect information on people who are thinking about business plans in the country.

Hill, however, pointed out how much Putin enjoys manipulating people and how Trump has become the target for it.

“The most important thing was the ability to manipulate, because what Vladimir Putin likes to do is find out what buttons he can press, you know, people’s vulnerabilities, and that’s what he’s up to. is focused in the case of President Trump, ”she said.

Hill hit the headlines again in June when reports surfaced that she and other former Trump officials had helped President BidenJoe BidenUS & Israeli Security Officials Talk Iran & Palestinians In Washington Over Money – Presented By NRHC – Biden Plays Hard With Debt Limit With The Long, Winding Road Of Bill McConnell Highway MORE prepare for his summit with Putin.