- Joined
- Apr 18, 2013
- Messages
- 93,563
- Reaction score
- 81,644
- Location
- Barsoom
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Independent
Inside Trump’s financial ties to Russia and his unusual flattery of Vladimir Putin
Trump’s campaign rhetoric is the “biggest dream of everyone in the Kremlin,” Tina Khidasheli, defense minister of Georgia, a U.S. ally, told The Post. “It’s scary, it’s dangerous, and it’s irresponsible. . . . It is a big problem if you have a candidate for president of the United States talking like this.”
Her view is shared in the United States by leading Russia experts from both ends of the political spectrum.
Michael McFaul, who stepped down in 2014 as the U.S. ambassador to Russia, said Trump’s stance toward Russia “makes everyone I talk to around the world nervous — and it makes me nervous as well.”
David J. Kramer, who served as deputy assistant secretary of state dealing with Russia during the George W. Bush administration, said he was “appalled” by Trump’s approach to the Russian leader.
“Why would anyone welcome an endorsement from [Putin]?” Kramer asked, noting Russia’s annexation of parts of Ukraine, its support for Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and its distribution of anti-American propaganda. “Putin exploits weakness and an accommodationist approach. I shudder to think what would happen if he finds that in the next American president.”