On February 25th of this year the Harvard Center for American Political Studies released the results of a Harris Poll that found 62 percent of Americans in the survey felt that Russian President Putin would not have attacked Ukraine if Trump was still President of the United States. The poll suggests a sense that things like Trump’s brush-off of his own intelligence people in favor of believing Putin at the Helsinki, Finland conference in 2018, his threat to leave NATO and the nice words he had to say about Putin after Russian invaded Ukraine again this year are signs of a deeper relationship that has served to align the two autocrats.
There is evidence that points to at least a 40-year affair with Russia and its leaders that has facilitated Donald Trump’s financial life including bailout activities associated with his many bankruptcies. It also includes his dream of having a Trump tower in Moscow that appears to have been interrupted by his run for the presidency in 2016.
One of the key elements of America’s move to defend Ukraine was President Biden’s successful bid to reunite Europe and NATO in the face of an attack on the country. This has been a major feat by Biden as he reversed an American foreign policy that previously saw former President Trump bring disunity to the alliance and weakened NATO as an institution.
When one puts together the negative actions of Trump in the West with his fawning over Putin, it becomes clearer as to why the leader of Russia might not have been overly interested in conquering all of Ukraine. Without American, European and NATO support, Ukraine would have had to think seriously about buying into Putin’s designs on building a greater Russia and a Soviet style empire.
Trump was able to integrate his personal ambition and character into a Republican Party that was already beginning to champion perspectives with racial overtones that looked with apprehension at the predictions of fundamental demographic changes that would make the physical face of America darker. He raised the specter of White Americans as a ruling class regardless of whether they are a majority or minority.
Trump’s election loss of the presidency triggered an unsuccessful movement to force and even violently drive the newly elected government from power. This has been followed by the passing of election laws in many states that the Republican Party controls to make it difficult for racial and ethnic minorities and the poor to vote or have their votes count.
Internationally, Trump’s anger at Ukrainian President Zelenskiy for not finding damming investigative results on Hunter Biden and not going along with the notion that it was Ukraine and not Russia that interfered in the 2016 presi- dential election almost led to a denial of about 400 million dollars appropriated by Congress as military aid to Ukraine.
Donald Trump’s pro-Putin stance during his presidency created a following in the extreme right of the Republican Party that is now showing its face as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues. Just last week 8 of these Republican Representatives: Marjorie Taylor Green from Georgia, Matt Gaetz from Florida, Lauren Boebert from Colorado, Thomas Massie from Kentucky, Andy Biggs from Arizona, Dan Bishop from North Carolina, Glenn Grothan from Wisconsin and Chip Roy from Texas were the only ones in the House to vote against revoking normal trade relations with Russia.
They represent a dark side in our history. These characters amplify the way of the tyrant at home and abroad.
The views expressed by David Conde are not necessarily the views of la Voz bilingüe. Comments and responses may be directed to news@lavozcolorado.com.
