Russia, Russia, Russia

Morning Dispatch

The puppet, with Putin

Bob Woodward has a new book coming out that reveals more details about the enduring and disturbing relationship between Donald and Vladimir Putin. War is yet another example of Woodward’s belated reporting, and at this point, I think his work could be more accurately be described as history rather than journalism.

According to Woodward, Donald has kept in fairly close contact with his Russian handler since leaving office in January 2021. The two have spoken at least seven times. Putin is likely checking in on his investment, making sure the leash around his puppet’s neck is still tight, and keeping him in line when it comes to his Ukraine talking points.

Putin’s efforts seem to be having the desired effect. Ever since Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, Donald has pressured Republicans to block military aid to our ally; he has praised the attack as “very smart;” and, because he is an enemy of Western democracy, he has also refused to say that Ukraine should win the war. As recently as February, Donald promised he’d “encourage” Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” to NATO allies that don’t fund their militaries sufficiently.

As for my uncle’s motivations, we can’t discount the possibility that he has shared the contents of the highly classified documents he stole from the White House with the leader of Russia, our enemy.

Woodward also reveals that Donald, “secretly sent Putin a bunch of Abbott Point of Care Covid test machines for his personal use” in 2020. Taking tests away from Americans and giving them to Putin likely put American lives at risk when Covid tests were scarce, the spread of the virus was out of control, and deaths from COVID were on the rise.

Putin, who was terrified of getting the virus, accepted the illicit gift but counseled Donald not to make the it public because, he said, “people will get mad at you, not me.” It’s sweet how the two friends look out for each other.

In responding to the allegations, Donald’s Communications Director, Steven Cheung, put out the following press release that sounds like it was dictated by his boss:

None of these made up [sic] stories by Bob Woodward are true and are the work of a truly demented and deranged man who suffers from a debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome. Woodward is an angry, little man and is clearly upset because President Trump is successfully suing him because of the unauthorized publishing of recordings he made previously. President Trump gave him absolutely no access for this trash book that either belongs in the bargain bin of the fiction section of a discount bookstore or used as toilet tissue. Woodward is a total sleazebag who has lost it mentally, and he’s slow, lethargic, incompetent and overall a boring person with no personality.

Sadly for Steven, the actually Kremlin confirmed that Donald had indeed given Putin former Covid-19 testing kits at the height of the pandemic.

Donald’s ties to Russia go way back—from visits to Moscow and his willingness to launder Russian oligarch money. It was in the lead-up to the 2016 election, however, that his relationship with Putin became a serious national security concern. At the time, our own intelligence agencies warned American voters that Russia, with the help of the Trump campaign, was interfering in the 2016 election. Nineteen members of the Trump campaign, including Donald, had repeated contacts with Russian officials throughout 2015 and 2016.

We didn’t need confirmation to know that Donald is still in Putin’s pocket and that Putin is still calling the shots. The question is, will having it make a difference?