I’m not much of a conspiracy theorist. I’ve ridiculed 9-11 Truthers and Birthers alike. That said, I believe Vladimir Putin has something on Donald Trump.
I don’t think Trump is a Russian agent in the traditional sense, but something is certainly out of whack with Trump’s relationship with the Kremlin. This is a guy who shows little deference to anyone, yet he treats Putin and the Kremlin with kid gloves.
So far, Trump has not criticized the Russians for anything they’ve done. He’s defended them past the point of absurdity on their apparent hacking of the DNC and RNC. He stayed quiet while Russia assisted the Syrian Army in brutalizing Aleppo. He’s denied their expansionist policies despite Russian intervention in Crimea and Ukraine.
Trump built his campaign insulting people. He called Jeb! low energy. He called Marco Rubio “Little Marco.” He called Ted Cruz “Lying Ted,” insulted his wife and accused Cruz’s father of being part of the Kennedy assignation conspiracy. He nicknamed Hillary Clinton “Crooked Hillary” and he routinely insulted Obama throughout the campaign.
He’s even insulted people who tried to reach out to him. He reduced Chris Christie to an errand boy. He tried to humiliate Mitt Romney by making him publicly apologize.
Trump has spent no time defending or complimenting anybody the way he has Putin. And there’s little political upside to his praise. He’s alienating conservatives and liberals alike. Trump has built his career and his campaign playing to mass audiences for ratings. But on Russia, he’s playing to audience of one—Putin.
So, what does the Russian dictator have on Trump? Is it money? Does Trump owe the Russians tons in loans? Is it photos? Does Putin have proof of Trump in compromising positions? It’s a shame we never got to see those tax returns.
Thomas Mills is the founder and publisher of PoliticsNC.com. Before beginning PoliticsNC, Thomas spent twenty years as a political and public affairs consultant. Learn more >
Trump owes Russian bankers, oligarchs, and crime bosses roughly $1.5B
I do not think Russia has anything on Trump. I think he is so self absorbed and he benefited from the leaks so he does not see an issue. Trump it is all about him. I just hope the opposition gets its act together in opposing him but right now I am not optimistic of that happening.
They really need to get their act together, because Trumps opposition is losing worst than the Cleveland Browns. I mean, Trumps opposition has lost the entire House, Senate, and many Governorships, and now the White House. There is no doubt that America as a whole is simply fed up with the lies, cheating, and corruption his competition has brought to America. As amatter of fact, it can be said with validity that the reason Trump won was because of his opposition.
Look right now the Democrats look like three blind mice. Clinton won the white house with a message that if you worked hard lived by the rules of God and man then you deserved a fair shake in life and we were not getting it we were overwhelmed. He got it it why he won be margins he won by, in a nutshell and he focused on us. But too many in the party could not wait to get away from that message and we have paid for it dearly.
Thomas Mills , believer in fake news. Creator of fake news.
So J.T., set us all straight. Correct the errors you see and reference your sources. Spread the truth. We’re here to learn. I find Thomas to be a credible source of information. If you have information to the contrary, you are free to express yourself. Taking cheap shots is not the same as making a cogent argument.
Jay, well put. Thanks.
well put where?
jt, this is my one and only reply to you as I simply do not get into food fights in the comments section of any blog. However, to quote “You are an idiot and your comment is a stupid as a stick.”
The floor is yours. Make your case.
Bottom line, after moderator did not like the truth in my attempted answer, is this….The article title is WHAT does Putin have on Trump….. Not THIS IS WHAT Putin has on Trump …..its all speculation……IE like I wrote…..creating Fake news. Thomas Mills wrote….Trump has spoken ill of every kind of American hero, every American who has achieved anything in any field, but he has never, ever, spoken a single negative word against Putin……. Well I have achieved a lot (a lot would include anything) in my field and Trump has not spoken ill of me at all. So does this mean I have something on Trump too? (Rhetorical) I will conclude here so big brother does not sensor me again..
In the Daily Kos an answer to your question based on several articles and research from the UKs Financial Times:
http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/1/9/1618540/-Was-Donald-Trump-bailed-out-of-bankruptcy-by-Russia-crime-bosses#read-more
One answer to your question and very worth the read.
I find Trump’s ties to American Organized Crime (particularly the Manhattan wing) to be far more interesting than his ties to Russian Organized Crime – although the two ARE related.
For instance, the Russians took over Chicago from the Italians a decade or two ago..
All the possibilities to explain a Putin “hold” on Trump that are mentioned seem entirely possible. The only think missing from the list is some kind of earlier indiscretion by current wife Melanie. That would not be OK for a presidential candidate’s wife, even one with the lack of morals of Donald Trump. However, I think the real basis for the friendship on Donald’s part is that he and Putin are two of a kind. And Donald is too arrogant to realize that in this chess game he is truly outclassed by the experience, training and power of Putin. The latter must be overjoyed at the way Donald dismisses the intelligence agencies and scorns the press. Almost as useful to Putin as dividing NATO.
http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/presidential-campaign/302216-how-much-money-does-the-trump-organization-owe
https://www.google.com/amp/amp.timeinc.net/time/4433880/donald-trump-ties-to-russia/
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/politics/inside-trumps-financial-ties-to-russia-and-his-unusual-flattery-of-vladimir-putin/2016/06/17/dbdcaac8-31a6-11e6-8ff7-7b6c1998b7a0_story.html
Thank you for the links. The Kriss v. Bayrock case complaint lays out the case for racketeering whereby Trump properties are used as part of a criminal enterprise in money laundering.
My comment, the one that you so graciously gave me the floor on (I was unaware you had that authority) was logged 2 minutes before you gave me the floor…but it still waiting moderation. Enjoy!
The replies to this post are as thought-provoking as the post. Thanks for the perspectives.
As for myself, I expect Russia has “invested” heavily in Trump properties and probably bailed him out when he had difficulty securing loans from US banks following his 6th bankruptcy. Is it a coincidence that Manafort was campaign manager (and was only let go when he became a clear, political liability) or that Rex Tillerson is cabinet pick for the powerful position of SoS? I doubt it.
Beyond that, I believe Trump sees a kindred spirit in Putin…now that’s a scary thought.
re also an idiot and your comment is also as stupid as a stick.
Vladimir Putin is not a warm, fuzzy Russian teddy bear. He controls a nuclear arsenal every bit as lethal as our own. The Federation of American Scientists estimates that Russia possesses 4,490 nuclear warheads, while the U.S. has 4,500; Russia has 1,790 active strategic nuclear warheads, compared with the U.S. having 1,750. It is a state secret exactly where those warheads are aimed, but we have no doubt most of them are aimed at us. After studying law at the Leningrad State University, Putin became a KGB agent. Most of his career has been in the intelligence services. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, there have been only two presidents of Russia – Yeltsin and Putin. Putin could not run for reelection in 2008, so he placed a stooge into the presidency and was appointed Prime Minister.
The 2012 Russian presidential election was rife with ballot box fraud. There were tapes of officials stuffing Putin ballots into ballot boxes. Even with the misconduct, Putin’s margin of victory was razor-thin. He stole that election. As President, he has been able to make himself perhaps the richest man in the world. He owns pieces of everything in Russia worth having. He has persecuted any rival that might challenge his dominance. How similar to Donald Trump.
His net worth is estimated to be between $70-200 billion on an income of only $136,000 per year. Like Trump, he pays little in taxes on the assets he is obtained by stealth. After his election in 2012, there were wide-spread protests which were suppressed harshly.
Our NATO partners have grown in number since the collapse of the Soviet Union because Putin’s ambitions make him a serious threat to any nation on the borders of Russia. He has been eager to Make Russia Great Again by acquiring territory that was lost when the Soviet Union collapsed. He lied to the world when he claimed to have no role in the acquisition of the Crimea. It was a ridiculous lie because Russian-made weapons and ammunition were used to slaughter Ukrainians. He has further ambitions to acquire the eastern portions of Ukraine where Russians make up the majority. In the Winter of 2013, his snipers murdered unarmed civilian protesters in the streets of Kiev, a bloody attempt to keep his puppet in power.
During the Trump campaign, Trump’s chief advisor was Paul Manafort, a political advisor to monsters around the world. When it was revealed that Manafort had been paid by the pro-Putin faction of the Ukrainian government, he was quickly dismissed. Manafort denied it but it was reported that he had been paid large sums. “Handwritten ledgers show $12.7 million in undisclosed cash payments designated for Mr. Manafort from Mr. Yanukovych’s pro-Russian political party from 2007 to 2012, according to Ukraine’s newly formed National Anti-Corruption Bureau”
During the campaign, Trump complained about NATO and suggested that member states who hadn’t paid their fair share should be ejected from the alliance. He indicated that the acquisition of the Crimea peninsula by Russia would be OK with him. Trump’s position on Russia reversed long-standing U.S. policy begun at the close of World War II. Strangely, Trump cared little about the Republican Party platform being hammered out in the Summer of 2016 except for one item: he wanted the U.S. government to keep arms out of the hands of the Ukrainian people so that they would be unable to defend against Russian aggression.
Trump has been trying, since the fall of the Soviet Union, to put his name in gold on a hotel in Moscow. Russia, for all practical purposes, has been a nation run by organized crime since the fall of the USSR, and its president is the godfather. Russian has nothing the world wants or needs except for oil and vodka – and vice. Most of Western Europe has seen Russian pimps, drug lords, and crimes bosses move into major urban areas since the early 1990s. Human trafficking, kidnapping-for-ransom, extortion, identity theft and hacking have become major industries. Trump has sought the support of oligarchs and criminal chiefs for two decades.
Why, indeed, would Trump be so smitten with a thug, a murderer, the world’s greatest thief, and the greatest threat to the United States in the world? Trump has spoken ill of every kind of American hero, every American who has achieved anything in any field, but he has never, ever, spoken a single negative word against Putin. In fact, he asked Putin to spy on Hillary Clinton, which Putin did.
Russia is responsible for bombing civilians in Aleppo, Syria. Putin has had his political opposition murdered. He famously poisoned an opponent with radioactive material so that the victim died an excruciating, slow death. He lies to the world when his lies are easily caught. What does the Donald see in him? Actually, the question may be asked in reverse. What does the KGB chief, the career spy, the commander of world-class hacking resources know about the American president-to-be?
J. Edgar Hoover was able to blackmail his way into a long career as head of the FBI by holding fat files filled with damaging material on politicians, celebrities, and business leaders. He held office through an implied threat of extortion. Donald has not lived an exemplary life. We know that he doesn’t pay taxes, that you cannot take his word for anything or his signature on a contract, that he is a sexual predator, that he cheated on his wives, that his business deals go south after he has taken his cut, that his partners are often crime-connected, but what does Putin have on him? Is Russia holding a file of Trump’s offenses against God or humanity that would destroy this vain, petty, immature egomaniac?
Putin is the only man in Christendom that escapes Donald’s sharp tongue. It is hard to imagine anything much uglier than what has already been revealed, but he is The Donald and he is a huge douche bag.
Trump is an entertainer and knows nothing about diplomacy or the workings of government. This should be obvious to everyone, and yet he will be our president. Let’s hope he doesn’t get us all killed. My worst fear is that, as a businessman billionaire, he will privatize Medicare and Social Security. He lacks compassion for the common person.
You are an idiot and your comment is a stupid as a stick
Hmmm. Name-calling. Just like your hero. Have a blessed day.
They are called adjectives. Signed…Deplorable. (Too easy) BTW-Trump was not even close to my first choice, and certainly not my here, so you wrong. Have a blessed day as well!
Trump is imploding in front of everyone and yet his supporters and trolls live in an alternate reality. Emperor wear no clothes, yet some cheer on and others shrug off consoling that somehow it does not affect them. Sooner than later, the recordings of conversations Trump campaign team with Russian officials during 2016 election campaign will be known to congress, media and public. Then, Trump will have to answer to the nation about treasonous collusion with a foreign power during the election campaign which is illegal in any democracy. Can anyone name any other time in American history, a foreign power overtly and covertly interfered in American elections?
Trump is trying to end the Cold War.
The Pentagon, our intelligence agencies, their allied media, and everybody else on the MIC payroll is trying to keep the Gravy Train rolling.
NATO has been pushed right up to the border of Russia in open defiance of the deal that Reagan made with Gorbachev. The Warsaw Pact was disbanded, but the scheduled NATO disbandment never happened, as we broke our deal.
The dismantling of the last Cold War Empire is absolutely critical to the survival of the human race. It is willing to annihilate everyone and everything to preserve its dominance of the globe. Just look at its stated foreign policy objectives: to use all means including chemical, biological, and nuclear in order to preserve its current economic dominance.
Even a broke clock is right twice a day, and Trump is right on the money on this one.
Yeah, great frickin’ job they did on 9-11.
Damn planes flew around for over an hour, and our jets didn’t even show up in the most heavily defended air corridor on the face of the planet.
Hell, let’s give everybody a damn freedom medal for a job well done.
You think they have Trump by the balls due to election irregularities that would reveal Trump to have not been legitimately elected?
They way they had W by the balls, and he had to enact the PNAC’s plan for a New Pearl Harbor, or be exposed as having lost?
Oh goodness gracious. Trump hasn’t been inaugurated and he is trying to start a war with China. That explains what Putin sees in trump. What trump sees in Putin is obviously flattery for his ego from a bully he admires. Tillerson sees $$$$$ for himself in the oil and gas contracts that his company Exon has with Vietnam which does have an interest in the South China Sea. So Tillerson gets the US tax payer to pay for his military adventure, Putin gets the US tax payer to fund a war with Rusia’s natural enemy China and we get another military shellacking.. Sorry I can’t find a shorter version of this parade. It is awesome. Wonder if trump knows? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoC0Xcjko0A