Inside: The Subtle Evolution of Trump's Views on Putin and Russia
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This is the question that launched a thousand questions
"Do you call [Russian President Vladimir] Putin to stay out of this election?" The then candidate, Donald Trump, was interviewed on July 27, 2016 during his last general election press conference.
"I'm not going to tell Putin what to do," Trump replied. "Why should I tell Putin what he has to do? He already did something today where he said do not blame them, basically, for your incompetence."
It was not about Russia, he said The Democratic National Committee and the files forwarded to WikiLeaks, which had begun to publish them publicly the previous week.
"Why do I get involved with Putin?" I have nothing to do with Putin, I have never spoken to him.I do not know anything about him except that he will respect me "said Trump. But: "Russia, if you listen, I hope you will be able to find the 30 000 emails that are missing, I think you will probably be rewarded powerfully by our press." Let's see if that happens. Yes sir. "
Of course, this demand to foreign opponents was the focus of people's attention, for good reason.On last week, an indictment bearing the signature of Special Advisor Robert Mueller alleged that, the same day, Russian intelligence agents began targeting Hillary Clinton's email server, once the 30,000 emails that Trump had mentioned.However, it seems more meaningful as a result of its summit with the Russian President this week
It is considered a conventional wisdom that Trump's views on Russia and Putin in particular were unequivocally positive during his time in politics.
Trump has evolved slowly and subtly to the position he occupied in July 2016 and demonstrated yesterday in Helsinki, as he was moving towards so many positions that he stubbornly adhered to. [19659002] 2012-2015: Use Russia as a stick – and Putin as an example
There was a period before the 2012 presidential election when Trump first struck the idea de levera
He had been a strong advocate for the birther movement, delighted by the attention his false statements made to Barack Obama's birthplace. While he was playing with the president that year, Trump's strategy reflected his success in 2016: a relentless troll targeting the liberals and the left
Putin and Russia were helpful in this regard, especially when the Russia seized Crimea. Trump has always presented Putin as having no respect for Obama and criticized the president for allowing Russia to surpass the United States. Troop movements. Edward Snowden. Nuclear weapons. Everyone was an example of the Russian threat, Putin's strength and the futility of Obama
"What do you think Obama will do when Putin seizes Alaska?" ? " he asked at one point. The impudence of Russia was the weakness of Obama. "Putin showed the world what happens when America has weak leaders," he tweeted shortly after the annexation of Crimea
"BREAKING NEWS: Obama comes from to make an exchange with Russia he wrote a few months later. "We get borsch and a bottle of vodka."
This period overlapped the announcement that the Miss Universe contest, then held by the US Trump organization, would be held in Moscow Trump was stunned by the opportunity, at one point, wondering about Putin if Putin would become my new best friend?
During this period, Trump also claimed to have a relationship with the Russian president In an interview, shortly before the contest, he told NBC's Thomas Roberts that Putin was "very interested in what we are doing here today, he is probably very interested in this. that you and I say today, and I'm sure that He will see him in some form. "
When he returned to the United States, he boasted of his relationship with the Russian leader." At the Conservative Political Action Conference in March 2014, he linked Putin's respect. to his contempt for Obama
"Putin even sent me a gift, a nice present, with a nice note, I spoke to all his people." Trump said, "And, you know , you look at what he's doing with President Obama, he's playing with him, he's playing with him. "
In a May speech, he said:" I spoke indirectly – and directly – with President Putin, who could not have been nicer. "
2015: Trump describes his approach to Russia
When he announced his Presidential bid, Trump used Putin to undermine the Obama administration.
"Even our nuclear arsenal does not work," he said, referring to a report from April 2014 60 Minutes on the Maintenance of US Nuclear Weapons.
"It came out recently that they have equipment that is 30 years old, they do not know if it worked and I found it awful when it was broadcast on television, because it sends signals to Putin and everyone. other people who are watching us and saying, "It's a group of people, and it's a nation that has no idea what they're doing, they do not know what they do. remake. & # 39; "
When Putin later pointed to his country's nuclear arsenal as a sign of Russian force, Trump claimed to be" shocked "by Putin's bravery.Later in the year, Trump said it was "an enigma to be done for him, and it's a statement made out of disrespect."
"Putin hates us, he hates Obama today," he said in a speech in August. "I think he'd appreciate me, I'll listen to him well I think No, he has no respect for our President and our President do not like it and often they do not have good chemistry, to put it mildly, would you say, but I will hear well with these people. "
Trump was still using Russia after launching his campaign mostly as an example to silence Obama, as when he criticized the Iranian nuclear deal because it allowed the Russians to sell air defense systems. in Iran.He also used Russia to hammer American allies, including criticizing Germany for buying natural gas in the country during an interview in August 2015 – an overview of the rhetoric he used last week
his campaign A few weeks after the start of his campaign, Trump spoke at Freedomfest in Las Vegas, where a member of the audience told him asked a question about Russia and the lifting of sanctions
"I know Putin, and I will tell you we get along with Putin," said Trump. "Putin has no respect for President Obama, fat problem, big problem. "He asserted that Obama had pushed Russia to ally with China. "I think I will hear very well with Putin, agree?" he added. "And I mean where we have strength, I do not think you would need sanctions."
The person who was asking the question was Maria Butina, who was charged yesterday by the Department of Justice to act as agent. the Russian government.
He thought giving Russia a free hand in Syria would be beneficial, reinforcing his anti-war arguments while reinforcing his rhetoric about the possibility of fighting as hard as possible.
wants to have Isis, is not it? he asked rhetorically during a speech in September. "We want to have Isis, Russia in Syria, maybe we should let them do it, and that they do it, but what are we crazy about?"
"I am very happy if Russia wants to go from Isis," he said on Morning Joe the following month. "Let them do it, it's going to be another quagmire, Syria is going to be another quagmire, just like Iraq, just like Afghanistan, they're going to be there, and the Soviet Union has ended by "
When Obama later spoke about working with Russia on targeting Isis, Trump took the credit, tweeting:
"President Obama just told President Putin how important the Russian air strikes against Isis were.
Meanwhile, his approach to Putin was more effusive than ever. During this segment Morning Joe Trump celebrated being 60 Minutes the week before with "my arms mate Vladimir Putin".
At a Republican primary debate the following month, he took "If Putin wanted to come in, and I knew him very well because we were both at 60 minutes, we were companions of road, and we did very well that night, "he said. "But, you know it, but if Putin wants to get himself disfigured by the Islamic State, I totally agree, 100%, and I can not understand how anyone would be against".
Trump and Putin was interviewed separately in separate countries for separate segments, a fact that was quickly emphasized. But Trump apparently saw Putin as a means of strengthening his good faith in foreign relations, something for which he had been criticized during the election campaign. "Putin does not support Obama, like many people," said Trump to a point, encapsulating his point. (He also admitted that he and Putin had been interviewed separately.)
In one of the most remarkable (and forgotten) moments of this period, Trump proudly declared on Twitter that "Russia and the world have already begun to respect us again! "
Why? Because a Kremlin propagandist named Konstantin Rykov had created the site Trump2016.ru. For President Trump, "rejecting the evaluation of the intelligence community, it is rejecting hours of work by disinterested servants who are not political, who have worked very hard." – Jeffrey Edmonds, former director for Russia, National Security Council pic.twitter.com/tLrV0VlZ6o
– CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) July 17, 2018
The primaries: the commentary "genius "
In December, Putin was interviewed by ABC News, during which he called Trump" colorful "and" talented "and" absolutely the leader of the presidential race ". It was the translation of ABC which, according to our factual auditors, differed from other translations. A translation of Interfax made Putin say that Trump was "a very brilliant and talented man". Bright in the sense of vibrant and colorful, not smart.
But Trump's own translation was different.
In the middle of this month, Trump was again on Morning Joe where Joe Scarborough and NBC's Willie Geist confronted him about his support for Putin
TRUMP: When the People call you "shiny" it's always good, especially when the person runs Russia.
SCARBOROUGH: Well, I mean, is also a person who kills journalists, political opponents and. .
GEIST: Invades the countries
SCARBOROUGH :. . . and invading countries, obviously that would be a concern, is not it?
TRUMP: He runs his country, and at least he is a leader, contrary to what we have in this country.
SCARBOROUGH: But, again: He kills reporters who do not agree with him
TRUMP: Well, I think our country is also dead, Joe.
On "Meet the Press," Trump denied hiring Putin.
"I did not congratulate him, he congratulated me, he called me brilliant," Trump said. "He said very good things about me … I'm sure he's a strong leader, what am I going to say, he's a weak leader, he's making minced meat from our president, he is a strong leader, you would like me to call him a weak leader, a strong leader, and I will not be politically correct. "
In a January speech, Trump's presentation of Putin's words still evolved
"Putin says Trump is brilliant, he is the real leader," he said. "Now, I do not know if he thinks it, he does not think so, I'm crazy, I like it, agree?" And these characters against whom I run, they think I should disavow his statement. I told him, why, I will disavow when he says these beautiful things? "
During a debate in early March, Senator Marco Rubio (R) challenged Trump on his eulogy for Putin.
RUBIO: You expressed admiration for him
TRUMP: False
RUBIO: Donald, you said that he was a strong leader.
TRUMP: False … he said some very good things about me … Let me tell you , first of all, that I've heard this man talk about Putin for so long. "Putin said about me – I did not say about Putin – Putin said of very good things about me, and I say very well, would not it be nice if we could get along with Russia, we could get along with foreign countries, instead of spending trillions and trillions of dollars? [19659002] A week later, in another debate, Trump "Regarding Putin, I think Putin has been a very strong leader for Russia, I think that it was b a lot stronger than our leader, that I can tell you, "he said. "I mean, for Russia, that does not mean that I support Putin … Fort does not mean good, Putin is a strong leader, I could name a lot of strong leaders, but he is a leader strong, but I do not say it in a positive or negative way, I say it as a fact. "
In Trump's own presentation of comments, Putin's bestowal has grown. [19659002BeforebestTrumpprétendaitsimplementlycalled"brilliant"Enmarsiladitau New York Times that Putin had said: "Donald Trump is brilliant and Donald Trump is a true leader, and Donald Trump will be the true leader. In a speech in Redding, California, in June, he said that Putin's words were "Donald Trump is a genius, he will be the next great leader of the United States."
It is often difficult to draw the line between the hyperbole Trump says and the hyperbole Trump believes. Did Trump really think that Putin had said such effusive things about his candidacy? Did he know that he was inflating comments? Or did he really think that Putin – his acquaintance, if not his friend – had praised him in such expansive terms?
Mid-2016: Putin becomes a liability
"The new joke in town is that Russia has leaked disastrous emails DNC, which should never have been written (stupid), because Putin likes me "
– Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 25, 2016
Shortly before the start of the Democratic Convention at the end of July, WikiLeaks started posting these stolen emails to the Democratic National Committee. According to Mueller's indictment, WikiLeaks would have contacted the identity established by the Russians to control the documents, asking for the possibility of emptying everything before the convention to promote the "conflict between Bernie and Hillary" .
At the time, this was seen as an advantage for Trump. Combined with his proven affinity for Putin and reports at the time linking the hacks to Russia, he raised questions about the interaction of WikiLeaks, Russia, Putin and Trump. That's why Trump was questioned about Putin's rejection at the July 27 press conference.
Perhaps because of the response to his request to Russia to post missing emails from Clinton (they had been deleted). Department of State), Trump began to distance himself from the Russian leader
"[S] he did say, Donald Trump loves Putin, I do not know Putin, I do not know," says Trump in a speech in Wisconsin. "I hope that I like it, I hope that it will love me because I would like to hear with Russia," he said. okay, but I do not know. "
Even then, he tempered his comments. 19659002] "Donald Trump – Think about it – wants to befriend Putin and other things, she says, is not it? He continued. "And I say to myself, what's wrong with that?"
"Putin does not like our president," he said in Miami a few days later. "Putin has no respect for Obama, it would not be good if we could really get along with Russia, it would not be a decent thing, would not it?"
Yet, he acknowledged that the connection to Russia was not really useful. In early October, during the debate on the vice president, Trump's official Twitter account promoted piecemeal links between Clinton and Russia to weaken his opponent:
"CLINTON GOES CLOSE TO POWER TO DESERVE SCRUTIN "
– Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 5, 2016
During the second presidential debate, he argued that he was criticized for being friends with Russia solely as a rhetorical Clinton game.
"I notice, whenever something is wrong, they like to say that the Russians are – she does not know if it's the Russians who are doing piracy, maybe it's not going to happen. there is no hacking, but they still blame Russia, "he said." And the reason they blame Russia is that they think they're trying to tarnish me with the Russia, I do not know anything about Russia, I know – I know Russia, but I do not know anything about the inner workings of Russia. I do not have business there, I do not have any loans from Russia. "
Then there was the infamous third debate.
TRUMP: I do not know Putin, he said good things about me, if we got along well it would be nice. the United States heard and followed Isis, it would be good, he has no respect for her, he has no respect for our president …
CLINTON: Well It is because he prefers to have a puppet in the presidency of the United States.
TRUMP: No puppet. No puppet. Shortly before the election, Trump summed up his answer to questions about Russia in a speech in North Carolina: He had no relation with Putin or Russia and who knows if WikiLeaks releases – which got up earlier than month after the publication of the tape Access Hollywood – is it the result of Russian piracy anyway?
"First of all, I did not know I do not have Putin, I have nothing to do with Russia. Russia, "he said." And, you know, they like to say every time WikiLeaks comes out, they say that it's a conspiracy between Donald Trump and the Russia, take a break, you know, the number one, they do not even know that it is Russia. "It could be Russia, could be China, could be, if you remember Sony, it could be North Korea, there could be a lot of places."
Then Trump won [19659088] The Transition: Outreach to Russia
In an interview with the New York Times a few weeks after the election, Trump again asked if Russia was behind the piracy, suggesting at the same time that his rhetoric about Putin had been validated.
"[W] when they said, during the campaign, Donald Trump loves Putin, Putin likes Donald Trump, I said, huh, it would not be good," he said. "I would say that in front of thousands of people, would not it be nice to report what they said, it would not be good if we really got along with Russia, would not it be nice if we went after ISIS together … You know that they thought it was bad that I was hearing with Putin or that I firmly believe that we can get along with Russia, it's a good thing we can agree with not only Russia.We now know that in December, Trump National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn, contacted former Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak to discuss sanctions planned by the Obama administration to punish the country for its interference in the election. "Flynn asks that Russia does not react to the sanctions, and Kislyak later tells him that this convinced Putin on the subject. 19659002] Trump publicly tweeted his praises for the response of Putin:
"Great Move on Delay (by V. Putin) – I've always known that he was very smart! "
Dec 2016 to present: An angry defense
At that time, however, the media was already reporting that intelligence officials believed that Russia had actively interposed in the US. election in order to help Trump win the elections.
Imagine if the election results were the opposite and we tried to play the Russia / CIA card, "he tweeted. "This would be called the conspiracy theory!"
The Democrats, including Clinton, were just showing green grapes. He tweeted a quote from Putin on this point
"Vladimir Putin said today about Hillary and Dems:" In my opinion, it's humiliating, you have to be able to lose with dignity. "So True!"
Intelligence agencies (then still under the leadership of Obama) have prepared a classified report documenting evidence of Russian interference. Trump expressed skepticism, implying that the proof was being manufactured.
Two weeks before his inauguration, he received the evaluation and, at a press conference a few days later, he offered one of his rare public recognitions. involved in the interference.
"Regarding piracy, I think it was Russia," he said. "But I think we are also being hacked by other countries and other people."
He noted, however, that "President Putin and Russia have declared today that these false news were indeed false news."
He continued: "Now, anyone. one would say, "Oh, of course, he'll say it." I respected the fact that he said that. "
In public and private, Trump continued to defend Putin while claiming that the investigation was unfounded. He told the Australian prime minister that his appeal with Putin had been much more enjoyable, according to a falsified transcript. In an interview with Bill O'Reilly, then Fox News, Trump defended Putin's record of killing political opponents.
"There are a lot of killers," said Trump. "Do you think our country is so innocent?"
In March, despite the objections of his advisers, Trump congratulated Putin on his re-election as president despite international outrage over the poisoning of a former Russian intelligence officer on the ground British. "I am not for Russia, I am for the United States," he said last month, defending his proposal for Russia's readmission to the G-7 group of countries. "But as an example, if Vladimir Putin was sitting next to me today instead of one of the others and we were dining the other night in Canada, I could say that you would do me a favor, you would come out of Syria? Do me a favor, would you like to get out of Ukraine? "
Sometimes, Trump also publicly criticized Putin and Russia. In April of last year, he said Putin's support to Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad that Putin "supported a person who is really a diabolical person and I think it's very bad for Russia" . "
" Do not go and return that animal, you would not have a problem right now, "Assad's Trump said. "He was going to be knocked down, I thought he was gone, he was still a week, he was finished, he was nothing, nothing, and then Russia came to save him and Obama did it." 39, one of the worst history with the Iranian agreement, so you really have Iran and you have Russia and you have Assad. "
He offered the same criticism before hitting Syria for the second time this year
"In 2013, President Putin and his The government promised the world that it would guarantee the elimination of chemical weapons from Syria.The recent attack of Assad and today's response are a direct result of Russia's failure to deliver on that promise, "he said. "Russia must decide whether it will continue on this dark path, or whether it will join the civilized nations as a force for stability and peace." On Twitter, he said that Russia and Iran were "responsible for supporting Animal Assad".
Trump's comment about Putin and Russia was mostly to denigrate the investigation in familiar terms: "False news" and "witch hunt." This was accelerated last May with Mueller's appointment and, last July, when the news of the meeting between Donald Trump and a Kremlin lawyer at Trump Tower broke out
When this lawyer admitted to having links with the government earlier this year, Trump offered a reason for this sudden revelation at a Speech: "Do you know why she did this? Why do not you say you're involved in government so we can make their lives in the United States even more chaotic?"
That's the way which Trump has been trying to defend against the growing issues over his relationship with Putin: he is much harder than anybody else d. Another in Russia
At a press conference in April, Trump said that "no one has been as tough with Russia as me." He pointed to evidence: increased energy exports, a stronger army, the expulsion of Russian diplomats in response to the poisoning of this former Russian agent.
"I was the worst nightmare of Russia," he said in June. "If Hillary came in, I would think Putin is probably going to" Man, I wish Hillary won. "Because you see what I'm doing."
Yesterday, Putin was asked directly about how he wanted Trump to win in 2016 and he had ordered officials to help him out. win
"Yes, I did it.I did it," replied Putin. "Because he talked about bringing US-Russia relations back to normal."
