Donald Trump's Russia and Putin Connection

Donald Trump's Russia and Putin Connection
By James Baxley

The first time I heard Donald Trump speak of Vladimir Putin was during the third presidential debate when Trump said “Putin would rather have a ‘puppet’ as president of the United States.” 

Clinton continues her deflection of the real issues by claiming that Trump had refused to condemn Putin and Russia for recent cyber-attacks, “He’d rather believe Vladimir Putin than the military and civilian intelligence officials that are sworn to protect us.”

Hillary Clinton

My first realization about how Putin was being used in the 2016 Presidential election was a major revelation, for me at least. The queen [Clinton] was using Putin like a pawn on the U.S. political chessboard. Trump, not wanting Clinton to have the last word, as usual strikes back by rejecting the idea that he was close with Putin, but suggested he would have a “better relationship with Russia’s leader than Clinton.” “He said nice things about me,” Trump said. “He has no respect for her, he has no respect for our president and I’ll tell you what, we’re in very serious trouble.”
 

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Clinton responded: “Well that’s because he’d rather have a puppet as president of the United States.” “No, you’re the puppet,” Trump retorted. “Putin has outsmarted her and Obama every single step of the way,”

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin

Before this debate I wasn’t really interested in the election, after all, the choice was voting for the lesser of two evils . . . as usual. And for the other two candidates? The media was ignoring the Green Party's Jill Stein and the Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson.

Apparently this election wasn’t the first time that Trump was linked to Putin. Larry King interviewed Trump in October 2007, after Russia was accused of unleashing a cyberwar on the Baltic country of Estonia, Trump said, "Look at Putin—what he's doing with Russia—I mean, you know, what's going on over there. I mean this guy has done—whether you like him or don't like him—he's doing a great job in rebuilding the image of Russia and also rebuilding Russia period." 

But what is it about Russia that has drawn Trump there for the last thirty-years? I would guess it is to grow his empire. But my second guess would more of a personal reason, after all, two out of three of his wives came from former Soviet satellite states.

The Soviet ambassador to the United Nations, Yuri Dubinin, invited Trump in 1986 to Moscow to discuss expanding Trump’s empire by building a “Trump Tower” in the center of the former Communist superpower city of Moscow. 

Trump Tower

 As the Cold War was ending and the Soviet Union began to open more to outsiders, Trump’s dream of seeing his gilt moniker in Russia looked as if it might happen.

Part of Russia’s allure for Trump was the chance to market American-style luxury apartments to the Russian elite. Trump started in the construction business, so with construction in his blood it is natural for him to view a place that still offered the practical over attractive architecture, or form over function as desirable. 
 

45th President of the United States, Donald Trump

Donald Trump Jr. said in a 2008 real estate conference speech, that the Russian market had “natural strength, especially in the high-end sector” and continues, “Moscow held special appeal because wealthy people throughout the region wanted to own real estate in the capital city.”

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Trump’s Moscow “Trump Tower” never came to light. But that isn’t to say that Trump didn’t want to get his foot into the Russian economy. In a 2007 court deposition Trump had said, “Russia is one of the hottest places in the world for investment. We will be in Moscow at some point.”  

Could he be talking about the present? 

Trump’s business dealings with Russia isn’t a recent phenomenon, he has a 30-year history of business with Russia.