Is Donald J. Trump the latest Vladimir Putin shill?

Swifty · 2016-07-24T12:07:59Z

Vladimir Putin Has a Plan for Destroying the West—and It Looks a Lot Like Donald Trump Slate Cover Story July 21 2016 9:50 AM Putin’s Pupp If the Russian president could design a candidate to undermine American interests—and advance his own—he’d look a lot like Donald Trump. By Franklin Foer On Wednesday, Donald Trump told the New York Times that he would not necessarily come to the aid of NATO states threatened by Russia and would make his decision to defend them from an attack after reviewing whether they “have fulfilled their obligations to us.” It was the latest statement from Trump that was likely greeted with delight in the Kremlin. Earlier this month, Franklin Foer wrote on the frightening ways in which Trump seems to be playing right into Vladimir Putin's plans for destabilizing the West. Vladimir Putin has a plan for destroying the West—and that plan looks a lot like Donald Trump. Over the past decade, Russia has boosted right-wing populists across Europe. It loaned money to Marine Le Pen in France, well-documented transfusions of cash to keep her presidential campaign alive. Such largesse also wended its way to the former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi, who profited “personally and handsomely” from Russian energy deals, as an American ambassador to Rome once put it. (Berlusconi also shared a 240-year-old bottle of Crimean wine with Putin and apparently makes ample use of a bed gifted to him by the Russian president.) There’s a clear pattern: Putin runs stealth efforts on behalf of politicians who rail against the European Union and want to push away from NATO. He’s been a patron of Golden Dawn in Greece, Ataka in Bulgaria, and Jobbik in Hungary. Joe Biden warned about this effort last year in a speech at the Brookings Institution: “President Putin sees such political forces as useful tools to be manipulated, to create cracks in the European body politic which he can then exploit.” Ruptures that will likely multiply after Brexit—a campaign Russia’s many propaganda organs bombastically promoted. The destruction of Europe is a grandiose objective; so is the weakening of the United States. Until recently, Putin has only focused glancing attention on American elections. Then along came the presumptive Republican nominee. Donald Trump is like the Kremlin’s favored candidates, only more so. He celebrated the United Kingdom’s exit from the EU. He denounces NATO with feeling. He is also a great admirer of Vladimir Putin. Trump’s devotion to the Russian president has been portrayed as buffoonish enthusiasm for a fellow macho strongman. But Trump’s statements of praise amount to something closer to slavish devotion. In 2007, he praised Putin for “rebuilding Russia.” A year later he added, “He does his work well. Much better than our Bush.” When Putin ripped American exceptionalism in a New York Times op-ed in 2013, Trump called it “a masterpiece.” Despite ample evidence, Trump denies that Putin has assassinated his opponents: “In all fairness to Putin, you’re saying he killed people. I haven’t seen that.” In the event that such killings have transpired, they can be forgiven: “At least he’s a leader.” And not just any old head of state: “I will tell you that, in terms of leadership, he’s getting an A.” Donald Trump is like the Kremlin’s favored candidates, only more so. That’s a highly abridged sampling of Trump’s odes to Putin. Why wouldn’t the Russians offer him the same furtive assistance they’ve lavished on Le Pen, Berlusconi, and the rest? Indeed, according to Politico’s Michael Crowley, Russian propaganda has gone full throttle for Trump, using its Russia Today apparatus to thrash Hillary Clinton and hail the courage of Trump’s foreign policy. (Sample headline: “Trump Sparks NATO Debate: ‘Obsolete’ or ‘Tripwire That Could Lead to World War III.’ ”) Russian intelligence services hacked the Democratic National Committee’s servers, purloining its opposition research files on Trump and just about everything else it could find. They also wormed their way into the computers of the Clinton Foundation, a breach reported by Bloomberg. And though it may be a mere coincidence, Trump’s inner circle is populated with advisers and operatives who have long careers advancing the interests of the Kremlin. We shouldn’t overstate Putin’s efforts, which will hardly determine the outcome of the election. Still, we should think of the Trump campaign as the moral equivalent of Henry Wallace’s communist-infiltrated campaign for president in 1948, albeit less sincere and idealistic than that. A foreign power that wishes ill upon the United States has attached itself to a major presidential campaign. There is more on the site.

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gondicar

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Posted : July 28, 2016 4:31 pm

rmack

(@rmack)

Posts: 391

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This is a funny thread.

Putin slaps Obama around like a puck on the playground so to divert from Obama's failures you makeup some Putin/Trump fantasy.

Same deal as the DNC email scandal.
Instead of commenting on the actual content of those emails the liberals, without any evidence, make up a conspiracy theory story the it is all about Russia trying to help Donald Trump.

Are the left-wingers, stuck with a criminal/liar nominee that desperate?

Not at all.

Let's see, what could possibly be wrong with Russian oligarchs propping up Trump's campaign with money?

_________________________________________________________________________

What could be wrong?
Because it isn't true and you can't prove it.

Take the hint son: A claim with no evidence by a liberal liar is still a lie.

No go back to your remedial spelling homework.

"No go back to your remedial spelling homework"? Too rich. You guys on the right who love to hand-wring and moan about "big government" sure seem to fall deeply in love with fascist strongmen. Maybe because they look good on their horsies.

[Edited on 7/29/2016 by rmack]

Posted : July 28, 2016 5:25 pm

BoytonBrother

(@boytonbrother)

Posts: 2859

Member

No go back to your remedial spelling homework.

How could this have been missed until now? Great catch rmack. This is the best thing I've seen. He didn't even think to go back and edit it. Just left himself there hanging looking real stupid. Absolutely priceless.

Posted : July 28, 2016 6:58 pm

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