Kremlin says Donald Trump may not get to finish his term in office
Donald Trump began his political life as a Russian asset, but at this point his scandal-plagued erraticism may now be a Russian liability. Last week the Kremlin threw Trump under the bus by voluntarily admitting that his attorney had reached out for help on Trump Tower Moscow during the election. Now the Kremlin is flat out stating that Trump may not get to finish his term in office.
Maria Zakharova has the official title of Director of the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, which is a long winded way of saying that she officially speaks for Vladimir Putin. She appeared on Russian television for a lengthy Russian-language interview, which you can find here). If you don’t understand Russian, we’ll save you the trouble. At one point she was asked about Donald Trump. Her response, translated into English: “Not all US Presidents were able to complete their term in office.”
This comes after Trump announced that he was closing the Russian consulate in San Francisco, in a tepid and belated response to the Kremlin’s decision to expel more than seven hundred U.S. diplomats from Russia, which in turn was in response to the decision by Congress to take away Trump’s ability to ever lift Russian sanctions. The Russians responded to the consulate closure by burning documents in the fireplace in broad daylight, seemingly taunting Trump by billowing smoke out the chimney during hundred-degree weather. Now the Kremlin is outright threatening him.
There are a number of ways in which Russia could finish off Donald Trump. The most salacious would be to release the long fabled “Pee Pee Tape.” But the Kremlin could just as easily leak documents proving that Trump illegally borrowed money from Russian banks, as has long been suspected. Now we see whether Russia really is ready to finish off Trump and cut its losses.
