Russia. It's Always About Russia.
And always has been
“The Russia Russia Russia hoax”
Some variation on this missive has been a consistent part of Trump’s lexicon since his shocking win in 2016. There was no escaping it during even a cursory glance at the history of both his first term and the four years that followed. And here it is, 2024, Trump is back in office, and lo and behold, Russia is once again at the forefront of discussion.
Everything Old Is New Again
Way back in 2017, several US intelligence agencies issued a joint finding on Russian influence in the 2016 election.1 They determined, then made clear, in a relatively brief and easy to understand document, how Russia attempted to influence the election. The various influence operations, mainly carried out through social media, that Russia incorporated during the 2016 election were identified and explained. These efforts attempted to raise Trump while attacking Hillary Clinton. Special Counsel Robert Muller then investigated to determine if the Russians had coordinated with the Trump campaign. The Mueller Report explicitly laid out the findings:
There was extensive criminal activity by both Russian personnel and Trump Administration officials
Russia engaged in extensive attacks on the election system in 2016
There were numerous links between the Russian Government and the Trump Campaign
Mueller specifically did not exonerate Trump, instead pointing out that he engaged in obstructive behavior
Mueller concluded that he could not, due to Justice Department rules preventing the indictment of a sitting President, recommend charges against Trump. He did, however, state that Congress could and should further investigate the actions of the Administration. Of course, then-Attorney General Bill Barr intercepted the report and released a summary that was diametrically opposite of the report’s findings, leading many Americans to falsely believe, and may still believe, that Trump was exonerated.
Trump / Russia 2.0
Near the end of the first week of T2.0, some folks got prematurely excited when Diaper Don bleated out vague threats towards Russia. As a wise person once told me though, watch his hands, not his mouth. Despite the seeming shift in tone, the administration’s actions told the true tale. In the month since the inauguration, the list of pro-Russia changes made by the admin is staggering.
Trump nominated notorious Putin sycophant Tulsi Gabbard to Director of National Intelligence. Despite “concerns”, the GOP led Senate confirmed the person who Russian State television referred to as “our girlfriend”.
In one of her first actions as Trump’s newly minted Attorney General, Pam Bondi shut down the Justice Department unit tasked with capturing Russian Oligarch’s assets.
In case that wasn’t clear enough, she also disbanded the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force, a group that was formed to protect our elections against precisely the types of interference we saw from Russia in 2016.
Taking His Putin Pills
While the domestic capitulation to enable Russian influence has been significant, to truly comprehend just how firmly Trump is entrenched within Vladimir Putin’s pocket, one must look at how the United States is now approaching Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine. Despite Trump’s facile promises to end the war on his first day in office, the conflict continues unabated. This is not a surprise, nor is the 180-degree change in America’s support.
Trump’s views on Ukraine should not be a surprise to anyone. Remember that during the only debate of the election season, Trump refused to answer a very basic question about the war: “Do you want Ukraine to win this war?” Trump waded fully into the conflict just last week, choosing to call aggressor Putin first, in the first contact between Putin and the US since the former’s invasion of Ukraine three years ago. After the call, Trump was fully onboard the Russian propaganda wagon, stating falsely that Ukraine had started the war. He then announced that the United States and Russia would meet, in Saudi Arabia, to discuss the war and other issues. Notably absent from this discussion were both Ukraine and any European representation, indicating yet again that Trump’s United States is willing to forego 80 years of European Alliances to cater to the Russian dictator.
It is also notable to review what was discussed at this meeting. In addition to essentially abandoning Ukraine, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was put into a position where he was severely outclassed, discussed resumption of diplomatic relations with Russia. Additionally, relaxing or removing of sanctions, some of which have been in place since the Obama administration, is apparently on the table as well.
In exchange for all of these concessions, Russia would be expected to give up… nothing.
It’s Always Personal With Trump
Remember the “perfect” phone call that led to Trump’s first impeachment? On the other end of the line for that call was a very new, very inexperienced Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky. Trump was trying to strongarm Zelensky into fabricating malfeasance by Hunter Biden. Zelensky refused to do so, word got out, Trump was embarrassed by a comedian-turned-politician, and he was ultimately impeached.
Well, Trump never forgets a slight, real or imagined, and revenge is apparently his biggest motivation. When you consider that, along with the fact that there are so many indications that Trump is, at best, compromised by Putin2, any other ending to the Ukrainian situation evaporated when the votes were counted on and after November 5, 2024. If there is any question as to any point made in this piece, please consider this bleat from Trump, sent just today (February 19th, 2025):3
So many of the Putin/Russia propaganda points, organized into a neat little package. Who’s getting played like a fiddle Don?
Take care and stay strong.
This link points to a PDF file. I have downloaded and stored it, as it is currently hosted at dni.gov, the website of the Director of National Intelligence. Since the person currently holding that post is a Putin stooge, who knows how long documents like this will continue to be available there.
At worst, he is an active, knowing agent of the Russian dictator.
I really don’t want to share his Truth Social bullshit, but this one was important to share in its native form.