Ahead of Bi-Lateral Meeting, Trump Already Played Into Putin’s Hands

Trump has already repeatedly played into the hands of Vladimir Putin, and they haven’t even had their bi-lateral meeting yet. If Trump wants to show that he will be tough on Russia, he has a lot of ground to make up in their meeting today.

  1. Trump dismissed Russia’s election interference. In the first 24 hours of his foreign trip, Trump had already given a gift to the Kremlin by downplaying Russian interference in our election. The Kremlin even issued their own statement following Trump’s remarks, directing reporters to “note the nuances” of  his language. 

 

  1. Trump gave Putin an excuse to block the U.N.’s condemnation of North Korea. Trump stood on the international stage and questioned the conclusion of U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia meddled in the election. Meanwhile, Russia blocked a United Nations Security Council condemnation of North Korea’s latest rocket launch because theyquestioned the conclusion of U.S. intelligence that the rocket was an ICBM.

 

  1. Trump used Putin’s talking points on U.S.-Russia relations. Trump’s address in Warsaw “synched with Putin’s longtime talking points about U.S.-Russia relations” when he called on Moscow to “join the community of responsible nations in our fight against common enemies and in defense of civilization itself.”