In what ways exactly? What is he going to get out of it? I don't know the answer, that's why I'm asking.

 

This is a complicated answer. The simple version is this: Putin is deeply antagonistic toward the U.S. and hopes to subvert the U.S. internally and externally. Trump’s election has been chaotic at home and places someone both deeply inexperienced and apparently receptive to Russian interests at the helm of U.S. foreign policy.

 

Putin has made a fairly overt attempt at undermining U.S. legitimacy internally. Russia funds/owns the RT channel, which airs in the U.S. and is a mix of right-wing anti-government paranoia and left-wing anarchism, both of which are united by major criticisms of the US government.

Russia was also behind the hacked emails Wikileaks published all summer and, relatedly, is harboring Snowden, undoubtedly out of appreciation for the blow to Americans’ trust in their government his leaks delivered

 

So, Putin is clearly trying to sow the seeds of dissension in the U.S. and, where Clinton was the “status quo” candidate, Trump was very much the wild card. For instance, Trump’s claims about the election being rigged were nightly news in Russia and meshed perfectly with Putin’s attempts to delegitimize the American government internally.

 

And Trump is both a complete foreign affairs neophyte and has a bizarre appreciation for Putin (an appreciation he seems to have for many authoritarians), which is the perfect storm for Russia.

 

There’s nothing inherently wrong with Russia and the U.S. getting along or cooperating. In the abstract those would be good things. But, Putin’s interests are very much at odds with the U.S.’s right now. Putin has made antagonizing and subverting the U.S. a pet project of his as a way to boost his approval ratings at home. The Russian economy has been in the toilet, but stirring up Russian nationalism has been a way to keep the populous placated.

 

So, when Trump says he wants the U.S. and Russia to get along, but seemed ignorant of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine during the campaign, has proposed helping Russia achieve their aims in Syria (which are starkly at odds with ours), has appeared wishy-wash on NATO (another of Putin’s pet projects), and would otherwise like to see the U.S. less involved in global politics (where Russia could fill the void), it’s disconcerting, to say the least, especially when Russia has been increasingly aggressive toward the U.S. in recent years.

 

It might be that Trump is genuinely clueless, but when Trump was advised by the same person who advised Putin’s puppet in Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych (whose corrupt bargain with Putin kicked off the Maidan Revolution and ultimately led Russia to invade Crimea), you start to wonder whether Trump’s swallowed some of this Russian evangelism whole.

 

But, that’s the simple version.

My guess is this will not be a cozy relationship. Russia may like the divisiveness that this election has caused, but don't mistake that for the new President wanting to ride shirtless on a horseback.

 

They love it. If Putin can continue to drive the wedge between the US and our allies in Europe then he will have free reign to do what he wants moreso than now.

I don't know. That's why I am asking. Did you miss the part in the post that you quoted where I said I don't know if this is good or bad for the US?

 

Last I saw Obama and Putin didn't get along at all and that Putin can't stand Obama. I was thinking many BGP conservatives have been critical of Obama and how he has handled Russia but I have never been able to figure out if we should be in bed with Russia or not. Do you have an answer to my question or are you just going to play gotcha games on BGP all day? Let me know. I'm looking for an informed answer.

 

No gotcha games. It was a legit question.

 

If Obama thought dealing with Russia was a good thing, I would think you would think Trump dealing with them would be good.

 

I think it's a good thing. I was only critical of the way Obama dealt with him. I think Putin respects a position of strength instead of one of presumed weakness. I think he sees Trump as strong.

This is a complicated answer. The simple version is this: Putin is deeply antagonistic toward the U.S. and hopes to subvert the U.S. internally and externally. Trump’s election has been chaotic at home and places someone both deeply inexperienced and apparently receptive to Russian interests at the helm of U.S. foreign policy.

 

Putin has made a fairly overt attempt at undermining U.S. legitimacy internally. Russia funds/owns the RT channel, which airs in the U.S. and is a mix of right-wing anti-government paranoia and left-wing anarchism, both of which are united by major criticisms of the US government.

Russia was also behind the hacked emails Wikileaks published all summer and, relatedly, is harboring Snowden, undoubtedly out of appreciation for the blow to Americans’ trust in their government his leaks delivered

 

So, Putin is clearly trying to sow the seeds of dissension in the U.S. and, where Clinton was the “status quo” candidate, Trump was very much the wild card. For instance, Trump’s claims about the election being rigged were nightly news in Russia and meshed perfectly with Putin’s attempts to delegitimize the American government internally.

 

And Trump is both a complete foreign affairs neophyte and has a bizarre appreciation for Putin (an appreciation he seems to have for many authoritarians), which is the perfect storm for Russia.

 

There’s nothing inherently wrong with Russia and the U.S. getting along or cooperating. In the abstract those would be good things. But, Putin’s interests are very much at odds with the U.S.’s right now. Putin has made antagonizing and subverting the U.S. a pet project of his as a way to boost his approval ratings at home. The Russian economy has been in the toilet, but stirring up Russian nationalism has been a way to keep the populous placated.

 

So, when Trump says he wants the U.S. and Russia to get along, but seemed ignorant of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine during the campaign, has proposed helping Russia achieve their aims in Syria (which are starkly at odds with ours), has appeared wishy-wash on NATO (another of Putin’s pet projects), and would otherwise like to see the U.S. less involved in global politics (where Russia could fill the void), it’s disconcerting, to say the least, especially when Russia has been increasingly aggressive toward the U.S. in recent years.

 

It might be that Trump is genuinely clueless, but when Trump was advised by the same person who advised Putin’s puppet in Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych (whose corrupt bargain with Putin kicked off the Maidan Revolution and ultimately led Russia to invade Crimea), you start to wonder whether Trump’s swallowed some of this Russian evangelism whole.

 

But, that’s the simple version.

 

This. Furthermore Putin knows that Russia can't legitamately go head to head with the US in regards to trying to establish hegemony in the world. They tried that when they were much much stronger and still failed due to the weakness of their economy. As bad as out economy may be at the moment it is still worlds ahead of where Russia's is currently. Ruining the US image with Europe and showing our inability to get anything done when they are involved in the M.E. furthers that goal. Trump's talk of potentially pulling back a bit from NATO is music to his ears. Hopefully the current SecDef nominee will have enough influence however to talk him out of that.

No gotcha games. It was a legit question.

 

If Obama thought dealing with Russia was a good thing, I would think you would think Trump dealing with them would be good.

 

I think it's a good thing. I was only critical of the way Obama dealt with him. I think Putin respects a position of strength instead of one of presumed weakness. I think he sees Trump as strong.

 

I'd wager that an ex-KGB agent sees Trump as a barely knowledgeable buffoon, similar to how he looked at Obama. Both were elected largely by their domestic policy promises as opposed to their foreign policy.

 

I can't believe this, but moments like this make me really wish Romney had won in 2012.

No gotcha games. It was a legit question.

 

If Obama thought dealing with Russia was a good thing, I would think you would think Trump dealing with them would be good.

 

I think it's a good thing. I was only critical of the way Obama dealt with him. I think Putin respects a position of strength instead of one of presumed weakness. I think he sees Trump as strong.

Fair enough. What will Trump need to do differently than Obama?

I'd wager that an ex-KGB agent sees Trump as a barely knowledgeable buffoon, similar to how he looked at Obama. Both were elected largely by their domestic policy promises as opposed to their foreign policy.

 

I can't believe this, but moments like this make me really wish Romney had won in 2012.

Yep.

Word is that he has plenty of business interest in Russia and China but he won't let us see his taxes so it is merely speculation.

 

I could be wrong but aren't his Make America Great Again hats made in China?

 

Usa