The Blogs: Putin and Trump’s ‘bromance’ continues to be an enduring mystery

As the world’s media and political strategists settle into the new age of Trump’s vision for America, they have succumbed to the acceptance that he has changed the US political landscape forever. Donald Trump is indeed the undisputed master and commander of the popular vote writes Patrick J O Brien

Donald Trump’s ties to international leaders like Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, and Russia’s Vladimir Putin show how Trump has built bonds with both allies and adversaries alike. Trump’s adulation for autocrats is widely reported, this was displayed this year at Mar-a-Lago, where he hosted Viktor Orbán, the far-right Hungarian prime minister who is a close Putin ally and foe of Ukraine aid, whom Trump extolled. “There’s nobody that’s better, smarter or a better leader than Viktor Orbán,” Trump said. In turn, Orbán lauded Trump as “a man of peace”, and said if Trump is re-elected, he “won’t give a penny” to Ukraine and the war will end.

Trump has pledged to put a swift end to Russia’s nearly three-year war in Ukraine during his presidential campaign, raising fears that he would try to force Ukraine to accept a deal on Russia’s terms. Putin has publicly demanded that Ukraine cede swaths of territory across its east and south as a precondition to halting the fighting. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said that his country needed security guarantees from NATO and more weapons to defend itself before any talks with Russia.

Trump nonetheless has mused that Russia will eventually win the war in Ukraine and scoffed at the billions of dollars in US assistance sent to Ukraine under President Joe Biden and Harris. Trump has boasted that he can quickly end the Ukraine war, with his aides suggesting forcing Ukraine into territorial concessions by conditioning US assistance. He has dismissed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a great “salesman.” When Zelensky requested a meeting with Trump in September, Trump told the wartime leader how he enjoys a “very good relationship” with Putin.

Trump has made plain his fondness for Putin, who has in his own way returned the favor. But as Trump comes back to the White House, their divergent interests could still make the relationship complicated. Trump has repeatedly praised Putin, whose hyper-masculine style and professed attachment to traditional values has increasingly found favor among some US Christian conservatives. At a rally in March, Trump praised Putin as “smart” yet also faulted his February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, saying that sending troops to the border had been “a hell of a way to negotiate” but that going in was a “big mistake” that did not turn out well. Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated Trump on winning the election, while also calling his response to an assassination attempt last July “manly” and “courageous”.

Trump has been clear that he sees America’s key adversaries as China and Iran, not Russia, and part of the rationale for withdrawing from America’s European entanglements and obligations is to allow a clearer focus on the Indo-Pacific and the Middle East. If anyone in Trump’s foreign policy team harbors visions of a grand alliance with Moscow against Beijing and Tehran, they’re indulging in a dangerous fantasy.

Personally my fear is if Putin is allowed to succeed in reducing Ukraine to a vassal state, will he just stop there? Our security, European and transatlantic will be jeopardized. The cost of supporting Ukraine is well known, but the cost of not doing so would be infinitely higher. If Putin succeeds, China would weigh the implications, North Korea would be emboldened, and Iran would become still more dangerous.

Moscow has long been seen as welcoming Mr Trump’s anti-establishment credentials and enjoys the chaos he has injected into American and global politics. Moscow was widely accused of interfering in the 2016 presidential election to boost Mr Trump’s campaign against Hilary Clinton. The Kremlin has repeatedly rejected those charges.

Trump you could argue, is the first US president who has the ability to outsmart Putin in many ways. Putin had fooled four US presidents previously. Yes, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and, of course, President Biden all fell for the “former” KGB operative’s chicanery, having gullibly trusted Putin that Russia could be America’s friend. George W. Bush famously proclaimed that he “looked the man in the eye.” Bush described Putin, the “former” KGB operative, as “consistent, transparent, honest, and an easy man to discuss our opportunities and problems with,” according to the White House archives. What the future holds for Trump and Putin only time will tell but what is sure is that we are facing a new political space between the two superpowers.