The Donald Trump tweet that could have been written by Russia
There is a whole cottage industry of thought about what motivates Donald Trump, a man known for erupting at any perceived slight, to be so deferential towards Vladimir Putin and Russia. However, when it comes to Russia, their possible criminal behavior in helping keep Donald Trump’s business empire alive and presidential campaign afloat is obvious.
The days of Russia’s economic boom fueled by the high prices of oil have been reversed. Most significantly, the economic sanctions the international community placed on Russia for their invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Crimea has had its desired effect. Putin is desperate to have those financial constraints removed, and views Trump as the vehicle to achieve that desired outcome.
When Trump is impeached and imprisoned for his illegal acts, his tweets will serve as a real-time, too-candid roadmap of his own self-sabotage. There are many outrageous tweets to consider, but one recent musing from the President included an incredibly ill-considered sentence. On April 11, 2018, at 8:37am, Trump sent the following social media missive, “Our relationship with Russia is worse now than it has ever been, and that includes the Cold War. There is no reason for this. Russia needs us to help with their economy, something that would be very easy to do, and we need all nations to work together. Stop the arms race?”
That was an enormous mistake. There is no scenario where I can envision any of our current living Presidents, from Jimmy Carter to Barack Obama, ever uttering or writing, “Russia needs us to help with their economy, something that would be very easy to do, and we need all nations to work together.” The United States relationship with Russia has morphed from bitter Cold War adversaries to an attempted rapprochement after the fall of communism, to the current adversarial dynamic. There is no partnership, but clearly, Donald Trump believes there is because he has been compromised. The tweet says it all, and Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller will have his say in the near future.
J.H. Norton is a communications professional, life-long Democrat, and married father of two boys living in Washington, D.C.